Classical statue of Cupid with his bow.

In Roman mythology, Cupid (Latin cupido) is the god of erotic love and beauty. Roman mythology, or more appropriately Latin mythology, refers to the mythological beliefs of the Italic people inhabiting the region of Latium and its Love is any of a number of Emotions and experiences related to a sense of strong Affection. NOTICE TO WOULD-BE-ROMEOS*************** He is equated with the Greek god Eros, and another one of his Latin names is Amor (cognate with Kama). Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and Heroes the nature of the world and the origins and significance Kāma ( Skt, Pali; Devanagari: काम is pleasure sensual gratification sexual fulfillment pleasure of the Senses, desire eros the aesthetic In popular culture Cupid is frequently shown shooting his bow to inspire romantic love, often as an icon of Valentine's Day. Valentine's Day or Saint Valentine's Day is a Holiday celebrated on February 14

Lineage

There are many differing stories about Cupid's parentage. Cicero provides three different lineages: son of Mercury (Hermes) and Diana (Artemis), son of Mercury and Venus (Aphrodite), and son of Mars (Ares in Greek mythology) and Venus. Marcus Tullius Cicero ( Classical Latin ˈkikeroː usually ˈsɪsərəʊ in English January 3, 106 BC &ndash December 7, 43 BC was a Roman "Alipes" redirects here For the Centipede Genus, see Alipes (centipede. Hermes ( Greek,, ˈhɝmiːz in Greek mythology, is the Olympian god of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them of Shepherds and In Roman mythology, Diana was the goddess of the hunt, being associated with wild animals and woodland and also of the Moon. In Greek mythology, Artemis language|Greek] ( Nominative), ( Genitive))] was the daughter of Zeus and Leto, and the twin sister Venus was a major Roman Goddess principally associated with Love, Beauty and fertility, the equivalent of the Greek goddess Mars was the Roman Warrior god, the son of Juno and Jupiter, husband of Bellona, and the lover of Venus. In Greek mythology, Ares ( Ancient Greek:, Μodern Greek Άρης) is the son of Zeus and Hera. Plato mentions two of these, and Hesiod's Theogony, the most ancient Greek theoography, says that Cupid was created coevally with Chaos and the earth. Hesiod ( Greek: Hesiodos) was an early Greek Poet and Rhapsode, who presumably lived around 700 BCE Theogony ( Greek: Θεογονία theogonia = the birth of God(s is a Poem by Hesiod describing the origins and genealogies For the state of disarray see Chaos. In Greek mythology Chaos ( Xάος) or Khaos is the original state of existence from which

Throughout ancient mythological writing, there appear to be either two Cupids or two sides to the figure of Cupid. One is the son of Jupiter (Zeus) and Venus. In Roman mythology, Jupiter was the king of the gods and the god of Sky and Thunder. Zeus (zjuːs in Greek: nominative: Zeús /zdeús/ genitive: Diós; Modern Greek /'zefs/ in Greek mythology He is a lively youth who delights in pranks and spreading love. The other is a son of Nyx and Erebus, known for riotous debauchery. In Greek mythology, Erebus or Erebos ( Ancient Greek:, English translation: "deep blackness/darkness or shadow" was the son of a primordial

Cult

Cupid's cult was closely associated with that of Venus, with Cupid being worshipped as devotedly as she. Additionally, Cupid's power was supposed to be even greater than his mother's, since he had dominion over the dead in Hades, the creatures of the sea and the gods in Olympus. Hades (from Greek, Hadēs, originally, Haidēs or, Aidēs, probably from Indo-European *n̥-wid- 'unseen' refers both to the ancient Mount Olympus (Όλυμπος also transliterated as Ólympos, and on Greek maps Óros Ólimbos) is the highest Mountain in Greece Some of the cults of Cupid suggested that Cupid as son of Night and Hell mated with Chaos to produce both men and gods, making the gods the offspring of love.

Portrayal in art and literature

Caravaggio's Amor Vincit Omnia

In painting and sculpture, Cupid is often portrayed as a nude (or sometimes diapered) winged boy or baby armed with a bow and a quiver of arrows. Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, usually just known as Caravaggio, (28 September 1571 – 18 July 1610 was an Italian Artist active in Rome Amor Vincit Omnia (meaning "Love Conquers All" known in English by a variety of names including Amor Victorious, Victorious Cupid "Nappy" redirects here For other uses see Nappy (disambiguation and Diaper (disambiguation.

The Hindu Kāma also has a very similar description. Kāmadeva ( Sanskrit: कामदेव is the Hindu deity of love On gems and other surviving pieces, he is usually shown amusing himself with childhood play, sometimes driving a hoop, throwing darts, catching a butterfly, or flirting with a nymph. In Greek mythology, a nymph is any member of a large class of mythological entities in human female form He is often depicted with his mother (in graphic arts, this is nearly always Venus), playing a horn. He is also shown wearing a helmet and carrying a buckler, perhaps in reference to Virgil's Omnia vincit amor or as political satire on wars for love or love as war. Publius Vergilius Maro ( October 15, 70 BCE &ndash September 21, 19 BCE later called Virgilius, and known in English as Virgil or Political satire is a significant part of Satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politicsusing political cartoons politicians and public affairs

Cupid figures prominently in ariel poetry, lyrics and, of course, elegiac love and metamorphic poetry. Elegiac refers either to those compositions that are like elegies or to a specific poetic meter used in Classical elegies In epic poetry, he is less often invoked, but he does appear in Virgil's Aeneid changed into the shape of Ascanius inspiring Dido's love. Publius Vergilius Maro ( October 15, 70 BCE &ndash September 21, 19 BCE later called Virgilius, and known in English as Virgil or For the group of nine Ancient Egyptian deities see Ennead. The Aeneid (əˈniːɪd in In Greek and Roman mythology, Ascanius was the son of Aeneas and Creusa. Dido was according to Greek and Roman sources the founder and first Queen of Carthage (in modern-day Tunisia) In later literature, Cupid is frequently invoked as fickle, playful, and perverse. He is often depicted as carrying two sets of arrows: one set gold-headed, which inspire love; and the other lead-headed, which inspire hatred.

The best-known story involving Cupid is the tale of Cupid and Psyche. The Tale of Cupid and Psyche (or The Tale of Amor and Psyche) first appeared as a digressionary story told by an old woman in Lucius Apuleius ' Novel,

In the Artemis Fowl book series, the character Holly Short's great-great grandfather is Cupid. There is a draft page for this article here. Artemis Fowl is a series of Fantasy novels written by Irish author Eoin Colfer Holly Short is a fictional character and a LEPrecon Captain in the Artemis Fowl children's book series by Eoin Colfer.

Holiday character

Cupidon (French for Cupid), by Bouguereau, 1875

Cupid is a holiday character and symbol usually representing Valentines Day and the emotion of love. Cupidon (French for Cupid) is a Painting created by Artist William-Adolphe Bouguereau in 1875. William-Adolphe Bouguereau (November 30 1825 – August 19 1905 was a French academic painter. Year 1875 ( MDCCCLXXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Lists of holidays The words holiday or vacation have related meanings in different English-speaking countries and continents but will usually refer to one of The musical instrument is spelled Cymbal. A symbol is something --- such as an object, Picture, written word a sound a piece Valentine's Day or Saint Valentine's Day is a Holiday celebrated on February 14 An emotion is a mental and physiological state associated with a wide variety of feelings thoughts and behaviours Love is any of a number of Emotions and experiences related to a sense of strong Affection. Cupid is based on the god of Roman mythology of the same name but has undergone many changes. Cupid is the Roman version of the Greek deity Eros. Eros (Ἔρως in Greek mythology, was the primordial god of lust, Love, and Intercourse; he was also worshipped as a fertility

The most common representations of Cupid include a baby with wings and a bow and arrow. Sometimes the arrow has a heart for its tip. Cupid is most often seen nude or diapered. Nudity is the state of wearing no Clothing. The term' "nudity" can also occasionally be used to refer to wearing significantly less clothing than expected "Nappy" redirects here For other uses see Nappy (disambiguation and Diaper (disambiguation. Cupid is sometimes blindfolded, symbolizing the figure of speech "love is blind. A figure of speech, sometimes "

Reinterpretation of the Cupid character may leave off any or all of the traditional details of the character, so long as the character's main purpose is to make or help people fall in love (or possibly become physically intimate). In the analysis of 18th- and 19th-century Western Music, an elision, overlap, or rather reinterpretation ( Umdeutung) is the perception after An organism's sex is defined by the gametes it produces males produce male gametes (spermatozoa or Sperm) while females produce female gametes (ova or Egg cells; individual

Humorous interpretations may feature an obviously grown man but keeping the other traditional elements including the diaper.

It is said that if Cupid's arrow hits you, you will fall hopelessly and madly in love with the next person you meet. NOTICE TO WOULD-BE-ROMEOS***************

See also

• Aphrodite
• Apollo and Daphne
• Cherub
• Eros (love)
• Eros (mythology)
• Kama, the god of love in Hinduism. CHERUB is a series of young adult books written by the author Robert Muchamore. Kāmadeva ( Sanskrit: कामदेव is the Hindu deity of love Hinduism is a religious tradition that originated in the Indian subcontinent.
• Love at first sight
• Putto
• Roman mythology

References

http://www.crystalinks.com/cupid.html