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Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0 · Hover to magnify, click for fullscreen
Original fileThe scene depicts a grand celestial banquet set among the clouds on Mount Olympus, featuring the major deities of the Roman pantheon. At the center, Cupid embraces the winged Psyche, while Ganymede serves nectar to Jupiter and Juno; to the left, Venus dances gracefully to the music of Apollo's lyre. Hovering above the assembly, the Hours and Graces scatter flowers and perfumes over the celebratory feast.
Based on the myth from Apuleius' 'The Golden Ass', this scene was interpreted by Renaissance Neoplatonists like Marsilio Ficino as an allegory for the human soul's (Psyche) purification and ultimate ascent to divine union with Love (Cupid/Eros). It represents the 'apotheosis' or deification of the soul, a central theme in the Western esoteric understanding of spiritual evolution.
CVPIDINIS ET PSYCHES NVPTIALIS CÆNA Nuptialis Cena exhibetur. Accumbit summum torum 1 Cupido maritus Psychen gremio complexus; sic et cum sua Iunone 2 Iupiter, ac deinde per ordinem tori ceteri Dij. Tunc poculum nectaris, quod uinum Deorum est, Ioui quidem suus Pocillator 3 Ganimedes; reliquis uerò 4 Liber ministrabat 5 Vulca: nus cenam coquebat 6 Horę rosis, et ceteris floribus purpurabant omnia. 7 Gratię spargebant balsama. 8 Musę uoce canora personabant. 9 Apollo can: tabat ad citharam. 10 Venus suaui musicę suppari greffu formosa saltabat, tibias inflabat 11 Satyrus. Raphael Sanctus Vrbinas inuentor. Typis ac Sumptibus Dominici de Rubeis Io: Iacobi filij ac Heredis Romae ad Templum Stae Mae de Pace cum Priuil. Summi Pontificis Anno 1693. Nicolaus Dorigny Gall' delin. et inc. 11
Translation
THE WEDDING FEAST OF CUPID AND PSYCHE The wedding feast is shown. Reclining at the head of the couch is 1 Cupid, the husband, embracing Psyche in his lap; likewise 2 Jupiter with his Juno, and then the other gods in order of the couch. Then 3 Ganymede, his cupbearer, served Jupiter a cup of nectar, which is the wine of the gods; but 4 Liber [Bacchus] served the others. 5 Vulcan cooked the meal. 6 The Hours made everything purple with roses and other flowers. 7 The Graces scattered balsams. 8 The Muses resounded with melodious voices. 9 Apollo sang to the lyre. 10 Venus, beautiful, danced with a step matching the sweet music, while 11 a Satyr played the pipes.
Apuleius
Author of 'The Golden Ass' (Metamorphoses), the primary literary source for the tale of Cupid and Psyche.
Marsilio Ficino
His Neoplatonic commentaries established the philosophical framework for viewing Psyche as an allegory for the soul's journey.
Object
Oil on panel
mythological
Digital Source
Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0
https://wellcomeimages.org/indexplus/obf_images/3d/20/29f0710b4cfc1daebd5ddc6c626f.jpg Gallery: https://wellcomeimages.org/indexplus/image/V0036100.html Wellcome Collection gallery (2018-04-05): https://wellcomecollection.org/works/rgzcsjs4 CC-BY-4.0
3656 × 2255 px
Linked Data
AI AI-cataloged fields generated by gemini-3-flash-preview on April 2, 2026. Getty identifiers are AI-inferred and may require verification.