How to go to Hell and Back (2): Psyche
Antonio Salamanca…… Plate 26…….1560
That I feed the hungry – that I forgive an insult – that I love my enemy in the name of Christ – all these are undoubtedly great virtues.
But what if I should discover that the least among them all, the poorest of all the beggars, the most impudent of all the offenders, the very enemy himself — that these are within me, and that I myself stand in need of the alms of my own kindness — that I myself am the enemy who must be loved — what then?
C.G. Jung
Memories, Dreams, Reflections
Psyche Feeds Cerberus Barley Cakes
Apuleius, The Golden Ass 6. 19 ff
Psyche is given instructions for her journey down into the underworld: When you have crossed the river Acheron and have advanced a little further, some aged women weaving at the loom will beg you to lend a hand for a short time.
But you are not permitted to touch that either, for all these and many other distractions are part of the ambush which Venus will set to induce you to release one of the cakes from your hands.
Do not imagine that the loss of a mere barley cake is a trivial matter, for if you relinquish either of them, the daylight of this world above will be totally denied you.
Posted there is Cerberus, a massive hound with a huge, triple-formed head.
This monstrous, fearsome brute confronts the dead with thunderous barking, though his menaces are futile since he can do them no harm.
He keeps constant guard before the very threshold and the dark hall of Persephone, protecting that deserted abode of Hades, you must disarm him by offering him a cake as his spoils.
Then you can easily pass him, and gain immediate access to Persephone herself . . .
When you have obtained what she gives you, you must make your way back, using the remaining cake to neutralize the dog’s savagery.
How to Go to Hell and Back (3): Orpheus Orpheus…
The hero’s main feat is to overcome the monster…
Jean-Léon Gérôme……..Diogenes Sitting in His Tub……1860 Dogs and philosophers do…
Jung’s insightful understanding of his relationship with his own unconscious shadow is redolent of the hero’s journey into the dark interstices of mind. Dragging the triple headed beast of shadow to the light of consciousness implies the banishment of fear and truth of the absent.