Why does cupid have a bow and arrow

In Antonio del Pollaiuolo's painting of Apollo and Daphne , her arms are already leafy branches — all through the cruelty of Cupid! What terrible god is this? In Parmigianino's Cupid Carving His Bow , the love god turns to look at us as he hews his wicked weapon. In Caravaggio's Love Conquers All , he has dark wings, his penis is showing, and he bestrides a world of learning and culture that yields to his attack. Cupid's arrows go so wrong in art that he sometimes seems to have changed his job — he might be working for the Christian God.

Bernini's Ecstasy of Saint Teresa features an angel with a spear, piercing the heart of a Catholic mystic. But wait. And he is known as the god of affection. Legend has it that Cupid shoots magical gold-tipped arrows at gods and humans alike. By piercing their heart with an arrow, he causes individuals to fall deeply in love.

The image of Cupid as a flying infant with a bow and arrow is the version that we're most familiar with to this day. Armed with a bow and a quiver filled with both golden arrows to arouse desire and leaden arrows to ignite aversion, Eros struck at the hearts of gods and mortals and played with their emotions.

In one story from ancient Greek mythology , which was later retold by Roman authors, Cupid Eros shot a golden arrow at Apollo, who fell madly in love with the nymph Daphne, but then launched a leaden arrow at Daphne so she would be repulsed by him.

Instead, Cupid became so enamored with Psyche that he married her—with the condition that she could never see his face. After roaming the known world in search of her lover, Psyche was eventually reunited with Cupid and granted the gift of immortality.

In the poetry of the Archaic period, Eros was represented as a studly immortal who was irresistible to both man and gods. For any and all of these reasons, Cupid is nakkie. So why do we see him in greeting cards and classroom decorations wearing a diaper? Because this is America and the only thing we like bald is our eagles. Or by hiding in a laurel tree until February 15th…. It's like visiting the museum with a close friend who just happens to know all the best stories, secrets and gossip.

Skip to content. Glad to hear it. So do we. Picture Cupid in your head. The conversation went something like this: Apollo: Hey Cupid, those are some dumb arrows you got. Grabs his man-parts intimidatingly Cupid: Um, Apollo, ever heard of heartbreak?

The worst shit ever?