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Cupid Facts & Worksheets

Cupid is the ancient Roman god of love in all its varieties, the counterpart of the Greek god Eros and the equivalent of Amor in Latin poetry.

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Cupid is the ancient Roman god of love in all its varieties, the counterpart of the Greek god Eros and the equivalent of Amor in Latin poetry.

See the fact file below for more information on the Cupid or alternatively, you can download our 23-page Cupid worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

ORIGINS AND BIRTH

  • Cupid, meaning “passionate desire,” is the god of erotic love, desire, attraction, and affection. He was the son of the beautiful love goddess Venus and the god of war Mars.
  • He is the Greek counterpart of the god of love and sex, Eros.
  • Compared to his Roman version, Greek Eros was among the primordial gods who came into existence asexually. Some versions however say he is either the child of Heaven and Earth, Ares and Aphrodite, Night and Ether, or Strife and Zephyr.
  • In his Latin version, Cupid is believed as the son of Venus without reference to a father. But some say it was Vulcan, the husband of Venus.
  • In another version, Cupid was the son of the winged messenger of the gods, Mercury and the goddess of love, Venus.
  • Cupid became common in Roman art during the era of Augustus, the first Roman emperor. His image transferring the weapons of Mars to his mother Venus became a motif of Augustan imagery after the defeat of Antony and Cleopatra in the Battle of Actium.

ATTRIBUTES

  • Cupid popularly appeared as a winged infant carrying a bow and two kinds of arrows: (a) the golden arrow – filled with uncontrollable desire, (b) lead arrow – anyone struck feels aversion and desires only to flee.
  • One famous story where both arrows were used was when Cupid shot Apollo with the golden arrow, but strikes the object of his desire, the nymph Daphne, with the lead. Affected by the lead, Daphne opted to turn into a laurel, rather than become Apollo’s lover.
  • In the Archaic period poetry, he was irresistible to both man and gods. But by the Hellenistic period, he was already portrayed as a playful, mischievous child especially in his matchmaking.
  • Cupid is sometimes described as blind and blindfolded- symbolic of the sight of the beloved can be a spur to love—as blinkered and arbitrary.
  • On coinage issued by Sulla the dictator (82–79 BCE), Cupid bears the palm branch, an attribute of Victory.
  • In Lucretius’ physics of sex, cupido represented human lust, animal instinct to mate, and the impulse of atoms to bond and form matter.
  • Cupido as an association of sex and violence is found in the erotic fascination for gladiators.
  • Cupid was the enemy of chastity, hence heavily disliked by the virgin goddess of the hunt, Diana, because of his passion-provoking arrows.

CUPID TALES

  • Cupid the Honey Thief – He was stung by bees when he stole honey from their hive. He cried and ran to his mother Venus, complaining that so small a creature shouldn’t cause such painful wounds. Venus laughs, and taught him a lesson of poetic justice: “he too is small, and yet delivers the sting of love.”
  • Cupid and Psyche
    • In this tale, Cupid was already a young man. Cupid’s mother Venus sees that a mortal girl is born with a beauty so great that people forget to worship Venus, the goddess of love and beauty.
    • She started to miss all the attention and altar sacrifices, so she sent down her son, Cupid, to Psyche to make her fall in love with a gross monster.
    • But he scratches himself with his own arrow, and when he sees Psyche he falls completely in love with her.
    • Psyche’s father, meanwhile, goes to see the oracle of Apollo to ask why Psyche has not found love like her two sisters. The oracle’s answer: she will be taken by a fearsome dragon-like creature and bear his monstrous offspring. Her father is horrified, but apparently resigned to her fate.
    • The West Wind bears Psyche to a meadow, where she finds a beautiful and luxurious house of gold. There she is to live, alone – but for a ghostlike presence which makes itself known through whispers. That night, the monster comes to her in the darkness and makes her his wife. She cannot see him, she can only feel him. He comes to her every night, but is gone by sunrise.
    • He, of course, is no monster. He is Cupid. Meanwhile, Psyche’s family has become concerned about her fate. Cupid allows the West Wind to bring her sisters so that they may see she is safe and happy with a child.
    • The sisters are awed by the luxury in which they find Psyche living, and very curious about her husband. With their cajoling, she decides to see her lover’s face.
    • So one night, Psyche hides a lamp in her bedroom, and lights it once her husband is sleeping. Instead of a monster she sees the most attractive man she has ever seen. In her shock, she stumbles, spilling oil from her lamp. The commotion awakens Cupid and discovering he has been seen, he flees.
    • Psyche is left alone, heartbroken. She seeks help to find Cupid on the temples of Ceres and Juno, then Venus herself. Venus beats her and mocks her, and then sets her a series of impossible tasks. For each task, Psyche receives help, arranged by Cupid, from wildlife and even other gods who take pity on her; until during her final trial, when she must collect a box containing beauty from the queen of the underworld, she falls unconscious.
    • Cupid finds Psyche and awakens her, then appeals to Jupiter that he and Psyche be permitted to be together. Eventually, Jupiter agrees. Venus is told to leave the lovers alone. Psyche is given ambrosia to become immortal; and all the gods celebrate their official marriage with a huge banquet.

POPULAR CULTURE

  • Because of his associations with love, 19th century Victorians began depicting this cherubic version of Cupid on Valentine’s Day.
  • The Hallmark Cards followed the new Cupid trend and began manufacturing Valentine’s Day cards in 1916.
  • Ever since, the image of Cupid as a flying infant who inspires love has stuck in people’s minds. And it’s the version of Cupid that we are most familiar with to this day.

Cupid Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about Cupid across 23 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Cupid worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about Cupid who is the ancient Roman god of love in all its varieties, the counterpart of the Greek god Eros and the equivalent of Amor in Latin poetry.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Cupid Facts
  • Eros X Cupid
  • Worldwide Gods of Love
  • 21st Century Cupid
  • Symbols of Love
  • C.U.P.I.D. Free Verse
  • Cupid Match
  • Love Quotes
  • The Cupid Maze
  • A Cupid Story
  • Love Stories

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Link will appear as Cupid Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, March 29, 2021

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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