Terracotta group of Eros and Psyche
Two terracotta groups of Eros and Psyche, made by the same mould. The naked Eros holds an inverted torch and embraces Psyche, who sits next to him and turns her head to kiss him.
According to the myth, Aphrodite, inflamed by the outstanding beauty of young Psyche, ordered Eros to make her fall in love with the ugliest and most invalid man on earth. But when Eros saw Psyche, he fell in love with her himself and did not fulfill the order. Later, he transferred Psyche to a palace, where the two lovers could meet every night, under the condition that Psyche should not learn his identity. One night she discovered his identity and Eros left infuriated. However, their love was powerful, and despite the strife they went through, the two lovers managed to reunite, get married and have a daughter, named Hedone.
The embrace of Eros and Psyche is represented in various kinds of artistic media (sculpture, wall-painting, mosaics, figurines) from the Early Hellenistic period onwards. The two groups of the Canellopoulos Museum are dated to the Roman period and were probably made by the same mould, One of the them bears an incised inscription on the back, near the base, reading:
ΜΑΡΚ[…] / ΒΕΤΟΥ[…] / Υ.
PUBLICATION
– Brouskari Μ. 2002. Τhe Paul and Alexandra Canellopoulos Museum, Athens, 94-95.
– Zarkadas Α. 2009. «114. Terracotta group», in Stampolidis Ν. – Tasoulas Γ. (eds), Eros. From Hesiod’s Theogony to Late Antiquity, Athens, 146-147.
– Brouskari Μ. 2002. Τhe Paul and Alexandra Canellopoulos Museum, Athens, 94-95.
– Zarkadas Α. 2009. «114. Terracotta group», in Stampolidis Ν. – Tasoulas Γ. (eds), Eros. From Hesiod’s Theogony to Late Antiquity, Athens, 146-147.
