Cupid’s Crafts for Kids
Cupid's Arrow Crafts for Kids
When it comes to St. Valentine’s there are more myths, legends and traditions than mystery flavors in a box of chocolates. One in particular that began with the ancient Greeks and Romans and survives even today is the idea of being struck by Cupid’s arrow.
After being hit by Cupid’s arrow, the first person you see will be your heart’s desire. If you made the Mythology Crafts laurel wreath, you know that Eros, as the Greeks called him, shot Apollo making him fall madly in-love with Daphne.
In the photo above you can see the Greek depiction of Eros as a handsome young man with wings. In Greek mythology, he was sometimes known as one one the first primordial gods and at other times considered the son of Aphrodite (to the Romans Venus), the goddess of love. The Greeks also had a hard time deciding if his father was Hephaestus (Aphrodite’s husband) or Ares (the god of war).
Once the god of love makes it to the Roman pantheon, there is no doubt he is the son of Venus. In this painting by Tintoretto, Cupid is shown as the child of Venus and Vulcan (the Roman name for Hephaestus.)
Venus often sends Cupid on missions of mischievous match-making. In Virgil’s Latin epic, The Aeneid, Cupid shoots Dido, the Queen of Carthage causing her to fall in love with the Trojan warrior, Aeneas.
Over time Cupid changes from the handsome young man to a plump looking baby angel. By the Renaissance, we can even see paintings with multiple Cupid-like, flying cherubs. But one thing has remained consistent, his golden arrows of love.
Let’s have a little fun this Valentine’s Day and make Cupid’s Crafts.
