学文网Cupid was the ancient Roman god of love. Son of Mars, the handsome war god, and Venus, the goddess of beauty and love. He was usually depicted（描述） as a winged chubby （圆胖丰满的） boy carrying a bow and a quiver （箭囊） of arrows, whose wounds inspired1 love and passion（激情） in his every victim.
Cupid was generally viewed as careless and mischievous2 in his match-making. This mischief（恶作剧） was often directed by his mother Venus. There's a famous tale about the mother and son. Venus, out of jealousy（妒忌）, enjoined（吩咐） Cupid to mismatch Psyche, the most beautiful mortal3 woman, with a hideous monster（丑恶的怪物）. However Cupid wounded himself accidentally（偶然地） with his own arrow while doing his mission（任务） in a rush4. He fell in love with her and carried her to a magnificent cave, and visited her in darkness every night. Psyche was so curious about the mysterious night visitor' s true identity（身份） that one night she lightened an oil lamp to see who he was, which was quite against his warning. The god of love was woken up by the lamplight（灯光）, and flew out of the cave. Psyche repented5 of her folly （愚行） and followed him desperately（不顾一切地）. Finally he forgave her and married her. Psyche was later recognized as personification （化身，象征） of the soul.
It was said that Cupid's arrows were of two different types: the one to excite6 love was of gold and sharp pointed; the one to repel7 love was of lead and blunt（钝的）. The victim of Cupid's shot would have either fortunate or unfortunate love.
The idiom （成语） "Cupid' s arrow" signifies8 the magic power of love.
丘比特是古罗马神话中的爱神，他是英俊的战神马尔斯和爱与美之神维纳斯的儿子。他通常被描绘成携带弓箭、身长翼翅的胖嘟嘟的男孩，被他的弓箭射中者会坠入爱河。
丘比特常常在母亲维纳斯的授意下做出错配鸳鸯的荒唐事。母子间曾发生过这样一桩趣闻轶事：维纳斯因嫉妒凡间美女普赛克的绝伦姿色，遂令儿子把她配给一只容貌丑陋的怪兽。可是，在执行这一任务时，匆忙间丘比特被自己的神箭误伤，他爱上了这个女孩并把她带到一个金碧辉煌的洞穴，并且每晚都来洞中在黑暗中与她相会。普赛克对神秘的夜访者的身份颇为好奇，于是一天晚上她不顾他的警告，点亮油灯想看个究竟。爱神被灯光惊醒，飞出洞穴，普赛克懊悔自己的鲁莽，急忙不顾一切地追了出去。最后爱神终于原谅了她并娶她为妻。普赛克后来被认为是人类灵魂的象征。
据说丘比特的箭分为两种：一种是“生爱之箭”，它是金制的尖头箭；另一种是“拒爱之箭”，它是铅制的钝头箭。因此被爱神射中者或爱情美满，或爱情不幸。
俗语“丘比特之箭”就是爱情魔力的代名词。
注释：
1．inspire vt．（在…心中）激起，唤起（某种思想、感情）
2．mischievous adj．恶作剧的，好捣乱的
3．mortal adj．凡人的，普通人的
4．in a rush 急速地，急急忙忙地
5．repent vi.后悔，忏悔
6．excite vt．引起，激起
7．repel vt．排斥，拒绝
8．signify vt．表示…的意思