Microfiction (W3): Psykhe and Eros Continued

Note: This was a continuation of this week's story that was a Greek version of Cupid and Psyche. The telling was also simplified as the second half of the story gets kind of confusing at points with things happening at the same time in two places. 

Psykhe and Eros Continued 

Psykhe hears of Aphrodite's rage and seeks the help of Demeter and Hera who deny her only because they love Aphrodite as family and cannot betray her. She decides to turn herself in and Aphrodite repeatedly assaults and insults psyche before she is tasked with 3 impossible feats to win back Eros who gravely misses her. The first was to sort a pile of small grains by night fall, knowing this is impossible some friendly ants help her since she is the love of Love himself. The next task was to obtain the golden fleece of carnivorous sheep, when a mysterious voice tells her to avoid sheep until the shade when the fleece was then hanging for her.

Psykhe and Eros Finale

For the last task Psykhe must obtain a jar of beauty from Persephone in the Underworld. She enters through a tunnel with tithe for the ferryman and 2 cakes to distract Cerberus and is instructed not to stop for anyone as it is a trap. She obtains the jar of beauty but then opens it despite warning, she falls into a dead sleep. Meanwhile, Eros has gained aide of Zeus who gathers the gods to marry Eros and Psykhe so that Eros will mature and settle down. Eros finds Psykhe and removes the sleep and they go to Olympus and are wed and Psykhe given immortality and later give birth to their daughter, Pleasure.

Bibliography

 Apuleius' The Golden Ass, translated by Tony Kline. Source

 Wedgewood-Marriage of Cupid and Psyche 

Located at Brooklyn Museum Source

Microfiction: Freya, Women Want to be Her, Men Want to be With Her

Freya and the Necklace (1890) 

by James Doyle Penrose

 Source

The Hill Giant

    Once a hill giant offered to help build a fortress for the gods requesting the sun, moon, and Freya as wife. The gods agreed if he and his horse, Svadilfari, finish before the start of summer. The giant began working letting Svadilfari do most of the work. The deadline was arriving and the gods were fearful he would succeed. Loki disguised himself as a mare, seduced Svadilfari, rendering the hill giant unable to meet the deadline. The gods got a fortress ... and an 8 legged foal (Sleipnir) for free, Loki was impregnated by Svadilfari. Sleipnir later became Odin's steed.

Brísingamen

    Freya, a concubine of Odin, discovered 4 dwarves crafting a beautiful necklace. She wanted it, the dwarves said she could have it if she slept with ALL of them. She did what a jewelry loving goddess had to do. Loki saw this & disguised himself as a flee & stole the necklace from sleeping Freya giving it to Odin. Freya told Odin about the theft but he said he knew all about her affair & he would give it back if she started a never ending war between 2 kings. Every time a king died he would rise again. She agreed.

Author's Note

    I decided to write about Freya as she is an interesting Norse goddess of beauty, love, fertility, and war. She was often lusted after and sometime lusty herself pending on who told the story. The first story is told in Gylfaginning from the Prose Edda, and demonstrates how lusted after Freya really was. The second story is from the Sörla þáttr written by Christian priests. The point of this book was to make the non-Christian Norse look bad, hence why they made Freya out to be a greedy, materialistic floozy in the story of how she obtained her famed necklace Brísingamen.

Bibliography

• Freya, Thomas Apel https://mythopedia.com/norse-mythology/gods/freya/