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About This Work
The 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.