PYRAMUS & THISBE

EVENTS:

Romeo and Juliet reflect the plot of this Roman

myth. In the Ovidian version, Pyramus and Thisbe
is the story of two lovers in the city of Babylon in
the Middle East who occupy connected houses,
forbidden by their parents to be wed, because of
their parents' rivalry. Through a crack in one of the
walls, they whisper their love for each other.
Frustrated by their pitiable state, they arrange to
meet near at Ninus' tomb under a mulberry tree
and state their feelings for each other. Thisbe
arrived first, but upon seeing a lioness with a
mouth bloody from a recent kill, she fled, leaving
behind her veil. The lioness drank from a nearby
fountain, then by chance mutilated the veil Thisbe
had left behind. When Pyramus arrived, he was
horrified at the sight of Thisbe's veil, assuming
that a fierce beast had killed her. Pyramus kills
himself, violently thrusting a sword into his groin,
and in turn splashing blood on the white mulberry
leaves. It is Pyramus' blood that stains the white
mulberry fruits, turning them dark. Thisbe
returned, eager to tell Pyramus what had
happened to her, but she found Pyramus' dead
body under the shade of the mulberry tree. Thisbe,
after a brief period of mourning, stabbed herself
with the same sword. In the end, the gods listen to
Thisbe's lament, and forever change the color of
the mulberry fruits into the stained color to honor
the forbidden love.

SETTING:
Mulberry tree
Babylon, city of Queen Semiramis
Tomb of Ninus

CHARACTERS:
PYRAMUS- most beautiful youth
Thisbe- loveliest maiden of all the East
Lioness

Message:

The story of Pyramus and Thisbe was very interesting. I

enjoyed reading how these two people fell in love and
without the blessing of their parents ran away. It shows
devotion to someone else, than yourself. The thought
than young people are so in love that they would kill
themselves for each other is amazing. My favorite part of
the story is in the ending. Although, it is sad that they kill
themselves for each other, it is amazing that they would
do it for love at such a young age. It definitely brings
depth to the story. The fact of the matter is, this story is
really good and I don’t think any part of needs to be
changed.

Conflict:
Forbidden love
CUPID & PSYCHE
Events:
A stunningly beautiful girl, Psyche, is born after two older
sisters. People throughout the land worship her beauty so
deeply that they forget about the goddess Venus. Venus
becomes angry that her temples are falling to ruin, so she
plots to ruin Psyche. She instructs her son, Cupid, to
pierce the girl with an arrow and make her fall in love
with the most vile, hideous man alive. But when Cupid
sees Psyche in her radiant glory, he shoots himself with
the arrow instead.
Meanwhile, Psyche and her family become worried that
she will never find a husband, for although men admire
her beauty, they always seem content to marry someone
else. Psyche's father prays to Apollo for help, and Apollo
instructs her to go to the top of a hill, where she will
marry not a man but a serpent. Psyche bravely follows
the instructions and falls asleep on the hill. When she
wakes up, she discovers a stunning mansion. Going
inside, she relaxes and enjoys fine food and luxurious
treatment. At night, in the dark, she meets and falls in
love with her husband.

She lives happily with him, never seeing him, until one day he tells her
that her sisters have been crying for her. She begs to see them, but her
husband replies that it would not be wise to do so. Psyche insists that
they visit, and when they do, they become extremely jealous of Psyche's
beautiful mansion and lush quarters. They deduce that Psyche has never
seen her husband, and they convince her that she must sneak a look.
Confused and conflicted, Psyche turns on a lamp one night as her
husband lies next to her.

When she sees the beautiful Cupid asleep on her bed, she weeps for her
lack of faith. Cupid awakens and deserts her because Love cannot live
where there is no trust. Cupid returns to his mother, Venus, who again
decides to enact revenge on the beautiful girl.

Psyche, meanwhile, journeys all over the land to find Cupid. She decides
to go to Venus herself in a plea for love and forgiveness, and when she
finally sees Venus, the great goddess laughs aloud. Venus shows her a
heap of seeds and tells her that she must sort them all in one night's time
if she wants to see Cupid again. This task is impossible for one person
alone, but ants pity Psyche and sort the seeds for her. Shocked, Venus
then orders Psyche to sleep on the cold ground and eat only a piece of
bread for dinner. But Psyche survives the night easily. Finally, Venus
commands her to retrieve a golden fleece from the river. She almost
drowns herself in the river because of her sorrow, but a reed speaks to
her and suggests that she collect the golden pieces of fleece from the
thorny briar that catches it. Psyche follows these instructions and returns
a sizable quantity to Venus. The amazed goddess, still at it, now orders
Psyche to fill a flask from the mouth of the River Styx. When Psyche
reaches the head of the river, she realizes that this task seems impossible
because the rocks are so dangerous. This time, an eagle helps her and
fills the flask. Venus still does not give in. She challenges Psyche to go
into the underworld and have Persephone put some of her beauty in a
box. Miraculously, Psyche succeeds.

On her way toward giving the box to Venus, she becomes curious, opens
the box, and instantly falls asleep. Meanwhile, Cupid looks for Psyche
and finds her sleeping. He awakens her, puts the sleeping spell back in
the box, and takes her to Zeus to request her immortality. Zeus grants the
request and makes Psyche an immortal goddess. She and Cupid are
married. Venus now supports the marriage because her son has married
a goddess—and because Psyche will no longer distract the men on earth
from Venus.

Characters:
Cupid: The God of Love, son of Venus
Psyche- goddess of soul, a princess, also Cupid's
wife.
Aprodithe- goddess of love and beauty. She is a
jealous goddess. She is engaged to Hephaestus,
the god of forge. Cupid’s mother.

Ares: The God Of War

Apollo: God of the Sun

Demeter: The Goddess of Agriculture

Persephone: Queen of the Underworld

Hermes:The God of Commerce

Zeus:The King of the Gods

Iris:Goddess of the Rainbow

Zephyr- sweetest and mildest of winds

Setting:

Hill top

Mansion

River bank

Conflict: to accomplish the test in order to bring back cupid to her

Message:

Love cannot live without trust