As we can see from the story of Peleus and Thetis
and that of Cupid and Psyche, the marriage
feast is a traditional and very it form of celebration.
The Feast of the Gods
The myth of Peleus and Thetis
differs from that of Cupid and Psyche, but they both treat the subject
of marriage. In Greek mythology, Peleus was the king of Phthia in Thessaly,
while the nymph Thetis was a daughter of Nereus. Zeus and Poseidon had quarreled
over Thetis's hand, but because Themis had foretold that the son of
Thetis would become greater than his father, they thought it better to marry
her to a mortal, Peleus. But Thetis objected and tried to wrestle out of
Peleus's clutches by transforming from bird to tree to tigress. Finally Peleus,
with advice from the centaur
Chiron, caught her, made her resume the form of a goddess, and married her
on Mount Pelion in the presence of the gods. The Muses sang, and everyone
brought gifts. In the myth of Cupid and Psyche, Venus was jealous of the girl’s
great beauty. The goddess ordered Cupid (Eros) to make Psyche fall in love with a lowly person. Instead, Cupid fell in love with Psyche himself. Every evening at sunset he went to see her, insisting,
however, that she never look at him. Psyche
accepted this condition, but one
day she broke her promise, lighting a lamp to look at him as he slept. Cupid
awoke, furious, and abandoned her, but
Psyche refused to give him up. After long wanderings she was finally forgiven, and the two were married at a feeast attended
by the gods. Allegorically, it symbolizes the union of
the soul (psyche) and desire (eros).
Sources
Pindar Pythian
3.92ff.; Apollodorus 170; Catullus
Carmina 64.3 Iff.; Apuleius Metamorphoses 4-6
Iconography
A popular subject
in ancient art, which was developed in painting from the Renaissance to the
18th century because of its archaeological interest and the excellent excuse it
provided to represent lavish banquets in mythological settings
Giulio
Romano, The Marriage of Cupid and Psyche (detail), са. T528. Mantua,
Palazzo Te, Cupid and Psyche Room
Giulio Romano, The Banquet on the Island of Cythera, 1527-30. Mantua, Palazzo Te, Cupid and Psyche Room
• Here we see the rustic banquet organized by the satyrs in honor of Cupid and Psyche. Its position opposite the feast of the gods is meant to illustrate the contrasting but complementary aspects of love: the elevated and the material.
• The hybrid human-animal figures are a clear allusion to the more instinctive side of human nature.
• The satyr Pan is seen offering a bread roll to a naked goddess. This can be taken as an erudite reference to the belief among the ancients that the Latin word panis (bread) derived from the name of the god.
• Mercury is the messenger sent by the gods to break up the disorderly feast and endow it with harmony of a superior order.
