PSYCHE, si'kE (Greek lovx6, meaning breath, soul, life), in Greek mythology, a beau tiful maiden regarded as an allegorical personi fication of the human soul. In a version of her story given by Apuleius in 'The Golden Ass' she is the daughter of a king and far outshines in loveliness her two elder sisters. Men take her for Venus herself and pay her the homage due to the goddess. In anger Venus directs Cupid to inspire Psyche with love for some un worthy wretch, but Cupid himself falls in love with Psyche. Meantime her father consults the oracle of Apollo regarding his daughter's marriage, and is commanded to convey her to the summit of a mountain and there leave her, for she is the destined bride of a monster dragon feared by gods and men. Sorrowfully he obeys, but when Psyche is left alone she is wafted by Zephyr to the palace of Cupid who visits her every night and departs unknown before morning. She is warned by her lover never to seek to know who he is, and no break would have occurred to her happiness had she not allowed her jealous sisters whom she ad mitted to her confidence to half persuade her that she held a hideous monster in her arms. One night while Cupid slept she came with a lamp to see him and in her astonishment and joy at beholding the most beautiful of the gods she lets fall a drop of heated oil upon his shoulder. Cupid awakes, reproaches Psyche for her suspicions, and leaves her. After try ing in vain to drown herself, Psyche wanders from place to place seeking her beloved till she comes to the temple of Venus. Having Psyche
at last in her power Venus treats her as a slave and imposes menial tasks, under which the maid would sink but for secret help ob tained from Cupid. At length Venus orders Psyche to descend to the realm of shadows and bring away Proserpine's box of cosmetics. She succeeds in the adventure, but on opening the box is assailed by a deadly vapor issuing therefrom and perishes. Cupid now reappears, touches her with an arrow and restores her to life. Venus is reconciled, and Jupiter places Psyche among the immortals. Her marriage to Cupid is celebrated with great festivities, while her envious sisters cast themselve from a precipice. The story, as the name implies, doubtless was an adaptation of, and possibly was founded upon, the theory of the pre-exist ence of the soul, its suffering in this life, and then final redemption. Various phases of the story are to he found in early Greek and Ro man art, dating even from the 2d century a.c., Psyche being represented as a delicate maiden with butterfly wings. Consult a translation of Apuleius' story in Walter Pater's 'Marius the Epicurean' (London 1885; new ed., New York 1902); and poetical versions of the tale in Morris' 'Cupid and Psyche' in 'The Earthly Paradise' ; and Bridges, 'Eros and Psyche' ; Conze, 'De Psyches imaginibus quihusdam' (Berlin 1855); Rohde, E., 'Psyche' (1894).