Cupid and Psyche
Preserved but no longer current.
An episode in the Golden Ass (q.v.) of Apuleius. It is an allegory representing the progress of the soul to perfection. William Morns retells the story in his Earthly Paradise (May), as also does Walter Pater in Marius the Epicurean. See PSYCHE.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Cupid and Psyche” mean?
An episode in the Golden Ass (q.v.) of Apuleius. It is an allegory representing the progress of the soul to perfection. William Morns retells the story in his Earthly Paradise (May), as also does Walter Pater in Marius the Epicurean. See PSYCHE.
Is “Cupid and Psyche” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.