Often portrayed as a cherubic baby who flies around and shoots people with his magical arrows on Valentine’s Day, Cupid’s backstory is much different from what is represented today. According to Times.com, Cupid actually began as a mythological “man who had more power than any god.”

 

Around 700 BCE in Ancient Greece, the Cupid we all know was referred to as “Eros,” the Greek word for “desire.” He was commonly depicted as a man in his late teens who would use his power to make people fall in love; however, he often abused his abilities for nefarious deeds, according to Schumm from History.com. Typically, it was believed that he would make the wrong people fall in love with each other, instilling a sense of fear surrounding the concept of love in Greek citizens.

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Around 400 BCE, the status of women in Athens was falling drastically. Because Greek literature and mythology was controlled heavily by women, they began to rebel against social customs by reshaping Greek mythology, starting with Eros. According to them, Eros only acted under Aphrodite (his mother), and therefore was not as powerful as he had been depicted. Over the years, his image slowly changed from a powerful, fear-inducing young man to a loving, nonthreatening baby.

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Valentine's Day was introduced in the 18th century and quickly gained popularity. By the start of the 19th century, “Cupid had become linked to the holiday for his love-creating abilities,” Greenspan reported.

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Industry boomed in the 1850s after Congress voted to decrease postage rates, making it much easier for Americans to send and receive mail. Following the advent of the postal service, Hallmark (then, a small corporation) decided to include Renaissance imagery of Cupid on their cards; when their manufacturing picked up in 1916, Cupid’s imagery only continued to grow, now becoming associated solely with Valentine's Day  (Greenspan).

 

 

Works Cited

Greenspan, R. E. (2019, February 13). Here’s Cupid’s history, and why he’s part of Valentine’s
Day. Time. https://time.com/5516579/history-cupid-valentines-day/ 

Schumm, L. (2023, February 6). Who is Cupid?. History.com.
https://www.history.com/news/who-is-cupid