Psyche, goddess of the soul and butterflies
encaustic mixed media image of butterflies representing the Goddess Psyche
I love learning about goddesses and their stories; they feel timeless and deeply relatable. One that recently caught my attention is Psyche, the Greek goddess of the soul and butterflies. Her myth is a story of love, perseverance, and transformation.
Psyche began her life as a mortal princess whose beauty rivaled even Aphrodite. Her very name means soul, and she is often shown with butterfly wings — the perfect symbol of what the soul becomes when it embraces change.
Her beauty stirred jealousy in Aphrodite, who sent her son Eros (Cupid) to punish Psyche by making her fall in love with a hideous creature. But when Eros saw her distracted by her beauty, he accidentally pricked himself with one of his own arrows and fell deeply in love instead. Through Apollo’s guidance, Psyche’s father was told to leave her upon a mountaintop, where she was carried away to a magnificent palace filled with every luxury. There, each night, her mysterious husband came to her in darkness, warning her never to look upon his face.
Though their love grew, Psyche’s jealous sisters planted doubt. What if her unseen husband was not a man at all, but a monster waiting to devour her? One night, driven by fear and curiosity, Psyche lit a lamp. She discovered not a monster, but the most beautiful god asleep beside her. Yet when a drop of oil from her lamp spilled onto his shoulder, he awoke. Feeling betrayed, Eros fled to his mother’s care.
Heartbroken, Psyche sought Aphrodite’s help in winning him back. The goddess set before her four impossible tasks:
Sort a mountain of mixed seeds in a single night — accomplished with the aid of compassionate ants.
Gather golden wool from deadly rams — made possible by the whisper of a river reed telling her to gather the wool from branches along the path of the rams.
Fetch water from the Styx and Cocytus — completed with the help of Zeus’s eagle.
Descend to the underworld to retrieve a box of beauty from Persephone — done only by resisting the cries of the dead along the way.
Psyche triumphed through each trial. But on her return from the final one, curiosity overtook her. She opened the box, hoping to make herself more beautiful for Eros. Instead, she fell into a deep, deathlike sleep.
When Eros discovered her, he was devastated. He begged Zeus for mercy, who granted Psyche immortality so she and Eros could be reunited. At last, the soul (Psyche) and love (Eros) were joined in eternal union.
This myth carries many layers — jealousy, curiosity, perseverance, and transformation. But its heart is clear: when the soul embraces its trials, it is transformed, and love and soul are bound together forever.