# Psyche — The Golden Ass character guide

> Psyche in The Golden Ass by Apuleius.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** fair Psyche, poor Psyche

**First appearance:** 0011-v

## Snapshot

A princess whose beauty draws worship meant for Venus, she is married to an unseen husband and must earn her way back to him through trials.

## Who they are

Psyche is so lovely that crowds abandon Venus's altars for her, and the goddess's jealousy drives her family to expose her on a rocky crag as a bride for a monster. Instead she is carried into a palace of invisible servants and a husband who visits only in darkness, a situation whose tenderness is inseparable from its prohibition against looking. Her story, told within the novel, becomes the book's central parable of curiosity, love, and the hard labor by which a soul is remade.

## Relationships

### [Venus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_golden_ass_se/characters/venus)

_rivalry_

Venus, jealous of Psyche's beauty, persecutes her with cruel tasks and relentless hostility.

### [Cupid](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_golden_ass_se/characters/cupid)

_romantic_

Cupid falls deeply in love with Psyche, secretly marrying her and protecting her from his mother Venus.

### [Jupiter](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_golden_ass_se/characters/jupiter)

_family_

Jupiter, as king of the gods, grants Psyche immortality and formally welcomes her as Cupid's bride into the divine family.

### [Zephyrus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_golden_ass_se/characters/zephyrus)

_friendship_

Zephyrus, the west wind, kindly carries Psyche to Cupid's palace and later assists her in completing Venus's tasks.

## In the story

### [The Marriage of Cupid and Psyche](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_golden_ass_se/chapters/the-marriage-of-cupid-and-psyche)

The mortal bride who is elevated to goddess and married to Cupid.

### [Chapter XXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_golden_ass_se/chapters/xxii)

Psyche wanders in despair, seeks refuge at Ceres' temple, is persuaded by her sisters to kill her husband, but instead discovers Cupid's true form.

### [Book VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_golden_ass_se/chapters/book-vi)

Psyche undergoes trials set by Venus, including sorting seeds, fetching golden fleece, and retrieving water from the Styx, before being rescued by Cupid and granted immortality.

## Links

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