Conceptions of Cupid

[deckardcanine]

Conceptions of Cupid have varied a lot.
A cherub-type angel? Initially not.
As Eros to Greeks, he resembled a teen,
Still youthful for gods, and was gen’rally lean.

So why’d later artists see fit to reduce
His evident age? We suspect an excuse
To fear the god less. He was once seen as cruel,
Until folks decided that romance was cool.

And where did he come from? It used to be said
That he was the third oldest god, never bred.
How odd that he looked like the youngest by far.
Now brace yourself; details get much more bizarre.

The same Greeks declared his a typical birth
By gods, but which ones? Were they Heaven and Earth?
Or Ether and Nyx? Aphrodite and Ares?
The Rainbow and Zephyr? It totally varies.

The Romans said Cupid was Venus’s son,
Unsure of his dad if he even had one.
Yet Cicero spoke of three Cupids all told.
Three Venuses, too—what a sight to behold.

To think that a pagan god shows up in art
For Valentine’s Day! He was never a part
Of Christendom’s dogma; the saint would decline
To honor him. Still, modern use is benign.