10A VALENTINE'S DAY
THE UNIVERSITY OF IAIRY KANSAN
Valentine's Day GUIDE
Cupid not always loved
BY CHELSEA MAGRUDER
Everyone knows Cupid as the little guy who shoots people with love arrows, but the man behind the bow and arrows has more to his story.
"When I think of Cupid, I think of a little chubby boy with wings, bow and arrows, and he has rosy cheeks." Ashley Benes, Tulsa, Okla. junior said. "He is a mischievous little guy who shoots people with love arrows."
Cupid has not always been known as a cute childlike cherub, his own story dates back to the Ancient Greeks.
The first account of Cupid, or Eros as the Greeks refer to him, comes from the poem "Theogony" by Hesiod. The poem traces the genealogy of the Greek gods. The first god mentioned is actually Eros.
"Eros was the first God. He came before the universe was organized and then he attracted matter together.
er' said John Younger, professor or
classics.
Later in history, a different story of Cupid emerges from Greek mythology. In this story Cupid is the son of Venus, goddess of love, and the stepson of Ares, god of savage war. Since Cupid comes from love and war, most ancient Greeks did not want him interfering with their lives.
"In ancient Greece people had arranged marriages and people were not in love with their spouse," Younger said. "Love was a bad thing that got in the way of life."
For that reason Greeks viewed Cupid as a destructive god causing pain in people's lives. Today, Cupid is one of the most recognizable symbols of Valentine's Day; along with the heart with his arrow sticking through it.
Before the time of Renaissance art, Cupid was depicted as a young, grown man. He still had a pair of wings and his trusty bow and arrow,
but he was not seen as a child.
Around the time of Renascence art, Cupid became a young, chubby little boy. This is where today's image of Cupid comes from, Younger said.
Cupid's bow and arrows play an important role in his image. He received them from his stepfather, Ares. The ancient Greeks believed that Cupid owned not only love arrows, but also hate arrows.
"Eros' arrows signify the deep physical pain and suffering love can cause." Younger said.
His arrows are a symbol of the physical pain love creates and the two extremes of emotion: love and hate. Cupid's arrows also made people desire or lust after one another. The word "erotic" actually comes from Eros.
Whether Cupid is a good or bad omen on Valentines Day is left up to debate. Just remember to guard your heart when you see a little man flying around with a bow and arrow.
Kansan correspondent Chelsea Magruder can be contacted at editor@kansan.com.
— Edited by Ryan Schneider
Holiday's history outlasts rumored corporate creation
For hundreds of years, citizens of nations around the world have set aside Feb. 14 as Valentine's Day. Although this holiday is celebrated throughout the world, it was derived from a duke in England, despite the suspicion that Valentine's Day was created by the greeting card industry.
The celebration began after the first valentine was sent by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife in 1415. At the time, he was a prisoner in The Tower of London. As time progressed, young men around England copied love poems from books for the girls they were interested in. In the early
Valentine's Day
Wednesday
February 14.2007
1800s, handmade valentines were available for sale for the first time. When the creation of manufacturing paper was introduced in 1843, the celebration of Valentine's Day grew.
The myth about the greeting card industry inventing Valentine's Day is untrue. Rachel Bolton, Hallmark Cards, Inc., spokeswoman, suggested two possibilities of why individuals believe in this myth. She said it could be because of Hallmark's "association with quality and excellence, as well as with celebrating."
The company's profits during this holiday helps explain the derivation of myth that the company invented the holiday.
Another explanation is that "in folklore and myth, cultures always make up stories to 'confirm' beliefs to offer an explanation for something they don't know, don't understand or to fill in for truth," she said.
Jackie McClellan
do you think?
WHAT'S YOUR BEST VALENTINE'S DAY MEMORY?
BY ALISON CUMBOW
NICK TEMPLIN
Wichita freshman
"I went out to the parking lot one year, and found a very heartfelt valentine taped to my windshield. It made my month."
month."
BRIGID O'MALLEY
Omaha, Neb., junior
"Last year, I was freshly single and my Mom, feeling sorry for me, let me go on a shopping spree!"
SARAH PETERSON
Olathe sophomore
"I got a new car"
10
The yearly approach of Cupid's favorite holiday is a bit like Grandmas homemade holiday fruitcake; some eagerly await its arrival, while many gloomily dread it. So what can a single person or burnt-romantic love do to give this unavoidable holiday a twist? Try these 10 ideas to have a unique Valentine's Day.
1. Valentines Day is all about the love, but who says it has to be romantic love?
Try baking cookies for your neighbor, borrowing your friend's car and secretly taking it to a car wash or tying on an apron and serving up food at the Jubilee Café, First United Methodist Church, 946 Vermont St.
3. Take your best (platonic) friend out on a date. You can dress up, drink a little wine and enjoy the special Valentine's Day menus that many restaurants offer — without having to buy flowers or worry if you have a little garlic on your breath at the end of the night.
2. Express your appreciation for old friends by writing and snail-mailing them a handwritten letter.
8. Go through old magazines and make a collage of all the people and things you love and hang it on your wall for a daily smile.
10. Host a wine party, Ask your favorite single friends to each bring a bottle to share.
9. Indulge in some fine art with a tour through the Spencer Museum of Art, west of the Kansas Union.
ALLURING ALTERNATIVES FOR VALENTINE'S DAY
4. Take a tour of the city you've grown to love. Start out with drinks at Free State Brewery, 636 Massachusetts St., dinner on Massachusetts Street and a stroll through campus at night.
5. Better yet, create an everything-Lawrence scavenger hunt for your sweetie with a sweet prize at the end.
6. Rent a tent and camp out at Clinton Lake for the night.
Sure, it's chilly, but that's what campfires and cuddling are for.
7. Make it a night to love
pamper yourself with a bubble bath, some hot chocolate and your favorite movie.
- Lindsay Iqnatowski