# Psyche — Bulfinch’s Mythology character guide

> Psyche in Bulfinch’s Mythology by Thomas Bulfinch.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** poor Psyche, the pious Psyche

**First appearance:** 0026-xi-cupid-and-psyche

## Snapshot

A mortal princess whose beauty draws worship away from Venus, she must win back her divine lover through labors no goddess thought a girl could survive.

## Who they are

Psyche is the youngest of three royal daughters, so radiant that crowds mistake her for Venus herself and leave the goddess's altars cold. That unintended rivalry sets a jealous deity against her, while her mysterious husband forbids her ever to look upon his face. Her story turns on trust and curiosity: the smallest disobedience costs her love, and only a series of impossible tasks can restore it.

## In the story

### [Author's Preface](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/bulfinch_s_mythology_se/chapters/author-s-preface)

Her story with Cupid is cited as the source of the fountains of Love and Hatred.

### [Cupid and Psyche](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/bulfinch_s_mythology_se/chapters/xi-cupid-and-psyche)

The youngest princess whose beauty incurs Venus's wrath; she endures trials and is ultimately made immortal.

### [P](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/bulfinch_s_mythology_se/chapters/p)

A beautiful maiden personifying the human soul, sought by Cupid, lost him by curiosity, but was made immortal and restored to him.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/bulfinch_s_mythology_se/characters/psyche
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/bulfinch_s_mythology_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/bulfinch_s_mythology_se/characters