Ryan K.

Billings 2/13/2012 HON 112 (Ogle) Parallels between Psyche and Aeneas Vergils The Aeneid is one of the most important works of Roman literature, an incredible epic chronicling the journey of a man named Aeneas, a survivor of the Trojan War. While this text is often compared to the earlier Homeric epics, it has a few striking similarities to a surprising text one written centuries later. Apuleius The Golden Ass includes a myth titled Cupid and Psyche, which draws some interesting parallels to the events of Aeneas travels. Specifically, Psyches journey to overcome Venus is a mirror image of Aeneas journey to found Rome. Aeneas and Psyche both must overcome obstacles created by an angry goddess, journey to the Underworld, and eventually reach a transcendental purpose. The Aeneid begins with the following passage:
I sing of warfare and a man at war. From the sea-coast of Troy in early days he came to Italy by destiny, to our Lavinian western shore, a fugitive, this captain, buffeted cruelly on land as on the sea by blows from powers of the air behind them baleful Juno in her sleepless rage. (Vergil, 3)

This apt opening to the epic serves many purposes, and helps to set up the major conflict that stands as one of the central subjects of the text. The protagonist is a nameless man at war, sailing towards his destiny from Trojan shores in the midst of conflict. His adversary is Juno, a baleful goddess who rages against the protagonist. Indeed, the protagonist, later named as Aeneas, faces a myriad of obstacles created by Juno throughout his journey, and eventually must defeat her and

pass these obstacles to reach his destined goal. While this setup is not uncommon amongst epic literature such as the works of Homer and the nameless author(s) of Beowulf, it finds a surprising parallel in Apuleius The Golden Ass, a text that could be considered an early novel. The story of Cupid and Psyche contained within starts with a similar pretense the protagonist, Psyche, must overcome the wrath of Venus. It becomes apparent that to defeat their adversaries and reach their destiny, each protagonist must embark on an epic journey. The events of Aeneas journey are of epic proportions. His ship is thrown off course, and eventually reaches the shores of Carthage, where Aeneas falls in love with the queen, Dido. Their love ends prematurely as Aeneas continues his journey to Italy, where he must battle yet another dangerous enemy to secure the fate of his men and of Rome. Psyche first travels to the palace of Cupid, and falls in love with the mysterious god, much like Aeneas and Didos love story. She then ventures around a variety of dangerous locales to fulfill the tasks set before her by Venus in order to be with her beloved. While each of these journeys are extremely similar, there are three distinct parallels that can be drawn between them. The first parallel that becomes apparent is that both protagonists have a tragic love-story central to their lives. Aeneas must leave Dido behind in order to reach the shores of Italy, and so must tragically end their relationship. This turn of events proves too much for Dido, who commits suicide in her anger and loss. Psyche also loses her lover when she falls for the treachery of her sisters and attempts to look at Cupid, whom she was told not to gaze upon. While it would seem that Psyches story is far less tragic due to the happy reunion of the couple in the end, the suffering caused by Psyches betrayal leads to other tragic events, such as the deaths of her sisters.

The second parallel lies within the obstacles that each character must face. There is a major human enemy in each of the books that lead to grief and strife for the protagonist. When Aeneas finally reaches Italy, he finds himself embroiled in a complex struggle over the marriage of Lavinia, the daughter of King Latinus (the Italian ruler), and becomes the enemy of a local suitor named Turnus. Psyche becomes subject to the jealousy of her sisters, who use trickery to force her to betray Cupid, thereby exacerbating the hatred of Venus. To make matters worse, each of the characters unluckily come across monsters during their trials. Aeneas, for example, encounters the same Cyclopes as Homers Odysseus discovered. Psyche faces vicious golden sheep, from which she must obtain wool, and a mountain guarded by massive serpents. Both protagonists manage to defeat these monsters with help, as Aeneas is aided by a straggler from Odysseus crew, and Psyche is helped by a river-god and an eagle. The third parallel is in the intervention by Jupiter that resolves the conflict in The Aeneid and the tale of Psyche and Cupid. In order to prevent the conflict from escalating further and to divinely control the events at hand, Jupiter addresses the gods in both texts. In The Aeneid, he attempts to settle Junos rage and forbid her from continuing her war:
Come now, at last have done, and heed our pleading, and give way. Let yourself no longer be consumed without relief by all that inward burning; let care and trouble not forever come to me from your sweet lips. The finish is at hand. You had the power to harry men of Troy by land and sea, to light the fires of war beyond belief, to scar a family with mourning before marriage. I forbid your going further. (Vergil, 397)

In the tale of Cupid and Psyche, Jupiter also settles the rage of Venus, and allows Psyche to rejoin her beloved:

Then he turned to Venus: My dear, you have no occasion to be sad, or ashamed that your rank and station in Heaven has been disgraced by your sons match; for Ill see that the marriage is one between social equals, perfectly legitimate and in complete accordance with civil law. (Apuleius, 142)

The happy ending to the conflict between Venus and Psyche seems to be inspired by the ending of Aeneas battle with Juno. Jupiters address to the angry goddesses seems extremely similar, and both goddesses react with grudging acceptance. Indeed, this inspiration found in Apuleius account of Psyche manifests in many ways, as has been shown above. However, there is one huge plot point that has been missed in this account. During the journeys of Aeneas and Psyche, they are forced to journey into the dangerous depths of the Underworld. Their journeys begin in a similar manner as each obtains a guide to help them traverse the dangers of the Underworld. Aeneas finds a guide from the Temple of Apollo, named Sibyl, who leads him to the gate of Dis, the entrance to the afterlife. Sibyl then helps him continue onwards to the river Acheron, where she appeases the ferryman to guarantee Aeneas safe travel across the river, and then all the way through until Aeneas reaches his father. Psyche, in comparison, is also guided, but by a tower that gives to her special instructions that allows her to safely complete her voyage. Without her guide, she would have committed suicide in an attempt to enter the Underworld through death. Through their respective guides, Psyche and Aeneas manage to reach their goal: a vital object for their quest. Psyche obtains a physical object the box of beauty that was requested by Venus in order to complete her final trial. Aeneas, on the other hand, gains the knowledge of his true destiny from his father, and learns the correct path to take to fulfill this destiny. But what is the significance of this parallel event? The descent to the Underworld is portrayed as an incredibly important event in the development of the protagonist of an epic. It is seen not only in Vergils The Aeneid but in

Homers The Odyssey and even older texts, such as the ancient Sumerian poem Inanna. It is rare to find such an event in non-epic poetry, and the fact that The Golden Ass seems to model the descent found in The Aeneid is striking. While it could be purely coincidental, the major similarities suggest that Apuleius used Vergil as an inspiration for this part of the tale of Psyche and Cupid. When the parallels found in other plot events of the texts are taken into account, it seems as though Apuleius is almost directly copying the structure of Vergils tale. To fully prove these parallels, however, we must examine the final part of each text the ending. Incredibly, the events that close each text seem to be closely mirrored. Aeneas and Psyche finally complete their journey and ascend to a higher purpose. Aeneas battles his enemy, Turnus, in one-on-one combat and emerges victorious. After all of the suffering and losses he faced, he defeated his enemies and founded the city of Rome:
He came to Italy by destiny, to our Lavinian western shore, a fugitive, this captain, buffeted cruelly on land as on the sea by blows from powers of the air behind them baleful Juno in her sleepless rage. And cruel losses were his lot in war, till he could found a city and bring home his gods to Latium, land of the Latin race, the Alban lords, and the high walls of Rome. (Vergil, 3)

Psyche resolves her conflict with Venus, and is taken to Jupiter, whom rewards her with a drink of nectar:
When she arrived he took a cup of nectar and handed it to her. Drink, Psyche, and become an immortal, he said. Cupid will now never fly away from your arms, but must remain your lawful husband for ever. (Apuleius, 142)

Both characters suddenly are elevated to larger-than-life positions, one as the founder of one of the most powerful civilizations in history, and one as the immortal wife of Cupid. These endings have yet another parallel: both characters find love in the end. Psyche obviously is

reunited with her lover, while we can assume that Aeneas will marry Lavinia, the catalyst for much of the conflict in the final books of The Aeneid. To conclude, we have completely covered the entirety of the events of The Aeneid and the myth of Cupid and Psyche, along with the myriad parallels drawn between them. Not only do both protagonists overcome similar trials created by similar goddesses, but each venture to the Underworld in a similar manner and face a similar, happy ending. While this usage of the word similar may seem repetitive, it only highlights how these texts closely mirror each other. While the parallels have been proven, it is difficult to say whether they are completely intentional. Certainly, it seems as though many of the scenes in Apuleius account of Psyche and Cupid are inspired by parallel scenes in the Aeneid, there does not seem to be any historical account of any admittance to this inspiration on Apuleius part. The consistent exploitation of Vergils The Aeneid by Apuleius suggests, however, that Apuleius had a working knowledge of Vergils epic and used it during the writing of his novel The Golden Ass.

Cited Works
Vergil, translated by Robert Fitzgerald. The Aeneid. New York: Random House, 1983. Print. Apuleius, translated by Robert Graves. The Transformations of Lucius, Otherwise Known As, the Golden Ass. New York: Farrar, Straus & Young, 1951. Print.