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The Conversation USA

What the mythical Cupid can teach us about the meaning of love and desire

  • Written by Joel Christensen, Professor of Classical Studies, Brandeis University
imageA part of the fresco "Triumph of Galatea," created by Raphael around 1512 for the Villa Farnesina in Rome.Art Images via Getty Images

Each Valentine’s Day, when I see images of the chubby winged god Cupid taking aim with his bow and arrow at his unsuspecting victims, I take refuge in my training as a scholar of early Greek poetry and myth to...

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