Cupid

Cupid, the God of Love, is the son of Aphrodite. His job was to spread love to mortal beings with his arrows. Once someone is shot by one of his arrows, he or she will fall instantly in love with the first person they see. By then, only Cupid himself will have the power to reverse the effects. He and his mother often disagreed on things. Aphrodite was technically his boss as well as his mother, and Cupid disliked having to obey her orders about which mortals to make fall in love.

As an infant, Hera cursed Cupid so that if he ever felt unrequited love for a mortal, he would turn into a Green-Eyed Monster. Later, when Cupid fell in love with the beautiful Psyche, the curse took hold. Aphrodite, trying to spare her son from the curse, asked Hercules to help her keep Psyche away from Cupid; Aphrodite felt Cupid would listen as he considered Hercules his favorite uncle. She accidentally shot Hercules with one of Cupid's Arrows making the hero fall in love with Psyche. When Cupid saw this, he was filled with jealousy and transformed into the Green-Eyed Monster. Hercules was finally able to overcome the power of the arrow and convinced Aphrodite to turn Psyche into an Immortal so Cupid's curse would no longer affect him (HTLJ "The Green-Eyed Monster").

Later, Cupid and Psyche marry and have a son, Baby Bliss, who causes chaos for Xena and Gabrielle when he takes his father's arrows and shoots people with love arrows in "Comedy of Eros." Xena sends Joxer to find Cupid and then reverse the effects and clean up the damage.

Mythology
The producers of Hercules and Xena drew upon the Roman myth of Cupid and Psyche in which Cupid falls in love with a mortal whom Venus despises because, as a princess her beauty makes her subjects pay more attention to her than to the worship of Venus. She orders her son, Cupid, to make Psyche fall in love with the most vile thing in the world. Instead he accidentally scratches himself with his arrow and falls in love with her instead. When Psyche finally learns of Cupid's love, Jupiter makes her immortal. They have a daughter, Voluptas, or "pleasure".

Cupid's Greek name is Eros. Some sources list Ares as his father, though others say it is Hephaestus or that he is a primal force who predates the Titans. His father in the Xenaverse is never revealed, though it is more likely to be Hephaestus than Ares.

Background

 * Cupid was played by Karl Urban who also played as Julius Caesar, Mael and Kor.

Appearances and Mentions

 * HTLJ: "The Green-Eyed Monster"
 * XWP: "For Him the Bell Tolls"
 * XWP: "Comedy of Eros"