Discovering the Real Cupid

The mention of Cupid typically evokes images of an angel-like infant wielding a bow and arrow, but this wasn’t always the case. Long before the Romans adopted and renamed him, Cupid was known to the Greeks as Eros, the god of love.

Eros struck at the hearts of gods and mortals and played with their emotions. Eros would make as much mischief as he possibly could by wounding the hearts of all. Depending on his mood, he would use the gold arrow to make someone fall in love, or his iron arrow to make people fall out of love and suffer the misery of heartbreak. In ancient Greece, he was considered to be the young son of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty.

The Romans borrowed Eros from the Greeks and named him Cupid, which comes from the Latin word cupido, meaning desire. The Romans believed that Cupid was the son of Venus.

In both mythologies, the story follows a similar path, but there are slight differences. With the Romans, he gained a chubby, childlike appearance, while the Greeks had earlier portrayed him as irresistibly handsome and youthful.

His appearance has changed over the years, but his bow and arrow have remained the same, signaling that this is what creates his character and where his strength lies.

The Power of a Steel Arrow

Cupid’s ability to compel love and hate plays an instigating role in several myths and scenarios. Yet, in each story, Cupid’s control lies in his arrows. With these small but powerful instruments, he can decide who to target and how to make them feel. With the ability to control emotions also comes the capacity to control the mind, and as such, Cupid can ultimately rule all. This was demonstrated in his battle with the Greek god Apollo.

Greek legend says that the god Apollo saw Cupid—or Eros as the Greeks called him—playing with his gold and iron arrows. Apollo broke into a fit of laughter and said that Eros looked like a weak young boy pretending to be a warrior. In a fit of anger, Eros hit Apollo with a golden arrow, sending him into a state of love. With this arrow Apollo was doomed to fall in love with the first woman he saw. A young woman named Daphne walked by and gained Apollo’s undying love. To show how powerful he could be, Eros pierced Daphne with an iron arrow to make her detest Apollo.

Apollo was besotted with Daphne and drove her crazy trying to win her affection. To escape his unwanted attention and desire, Daphne turned herself into a tree. Apollo was still in love with her and claimed that the tree was sacred. This tale shows that Eros, or Cupid as he is more fondly known, won this fight hands down and, as you can imagine, probably enjoyed watching Apollo act like a lovesick puppy.

In Roman mythology, Cupid’s arrows were considered even more influential. The steel arrow that Cupid possessed produced a love wound incapable of healing. Once pierced with this instrument, the pain of heartbreak and longing also pierced the heart—an agony that was said to last forever. This is the power of steel.

From Myth to Reality

In different legends we hear of Cupid employing either a steel or iron arrow, and although there are no records referring to how Cupid made these tools, it can be assumed that the arrows would have been made with ferrous steel. (That is, if Cupid were real.)

Ferrous comes from, or contains iron, which is mined from the earth and is unrefined in its raw form. Steel is the most refined metal that can be made from iron. Most of the impurities are removed from the iron, resulting in a much stronger metal.

For this reason, steel and iron play a role in classical mythology to demonstrate the strength and power of these almighty gods. Even to this day, steel and iron remain prominent in folklore to demonstrate an otherworldly, almost magical power.

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In the North Pacific, there is an entire area the size of Texas that is made up primarily of garbage. This floating island of waste, not-so-affectionately referred to as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, swirls around slowly with the ocean currents, imprisoning ill-fated sea creatures and marine life, while trapping non-biodegradable debris, breaking it down into tiny toxic bits and dispersing it throughout the ocean’s waters.

Of these marine wastes, plastics are perhaps the most common and the most harmful, as they tend to act as a chemical sponge, concentrating the most damaging pollutants found in the world’s oceans. In fact, for every pound of natural plankton in this area, there are six pounds of plastic.

This gyre, or system of circular ocean current formed by the Earth’s wind patterns and rotational forces, spans waters from North America’s West Coast to Japan, where it meets other gyres. Here, the marine waste is further circulated along oceanic highways.

The continuously circulating pollution, along with warming water temperatures, has severely affected marine ecosystems throughout the world. South Korea, for one, began to encounter the ill effects of this problematic situation in the early 1970s with the first occurrence of reef degradation, or “the whitening phenomenon,” off the peninsula’s southern coasts. “Stressed” coral, unable to photosynthesize due to decreasing algae, quickly began to perish.

As industrialization in these areas continued to increase and tourism began to flourish, damages expanded across the eastern and southern coasts, as well as Jeju Island. The seawater’s self-purification capability steadily weakened and the accumulating amount of marine wastes and toxic substances permeating Korea’s waters kept sunlight from reaching the ocean floor. Without sufficient sunlight, and thus nutrition and oxygenation, the number of algae and sealife dwindled significantly, causing distress to both the ecosystem and the nation’s fishing economy.

Triton Saves the Day

In an effort to rehabilitate Korea’s valuable marine ecosystem, POSCO, a world leading steel company, teamed up with the Research Institute of Science and Technology (RIST) and the Korean government to lead an unprecedented environmental initiative. In 2000, after extensive research, POSCO and RIST developed Triton to promote marine forestation in the damaged areas.

Named after a sea-god of Greek mythology, Triton is structure made of steel slag, an eco-friendly by-product of steel making that contains a high proportion of iron and calcium, elements that just so happen to provide ideal conditions for the growth of seaweed and algae spores, and the purification of contaminated sediment.

It didn’t take long—a year and a half, to be precise—for the forestation efforts to be effective. With steel reefs providing a more habitable, biodiverse environment, abalone and sea cucumber, creatures that had all but died out, prospered. Additionally, the restoration of the marine ecosystem contributed to the increase of fish productivity and therefore the local economies of coastal towns and villages.

That year, close to 200 Triton reefs were installed in eight fisheries along the coastal area of Geomun Island. Since then, POSCO has used steel slag to implement numerous other sea slag forests, and has played an active role in the nation’s marine afforestation projects to help the ecosystem adapt to climate change and demonstrate how by-products from the steel industry can be used in a way that yields positive outcomes for the environment and for communities.

Volunteering to Make a Difference

Unlike other sea-gods, Triton possessed a twisted conch shell, on which he blew like a horn to placate or raise the ocean waters. Legend has it that its sound was so jarring that it could put the giants, who imagined it to be the roar of a dark wild beast, to flight. Like Triton’s conch, POSCO hopes to make a lot of noise about the issues plaguing the world’s oceanic ecosystems.

As such, some 600 of the company’s employees who are passionate about making a difference have joined together to create POSCO Clean Ocean Volunteers. The group, which is dispersed throughout Korea, plays a leading role in marine conservation and educating the public about the importance of the marine environment. The group’s past efforts, in conjunction with local governments, maritime police and the coast guard, have included activities such as water purification, beach clean ups and the salvaging of sunken ships. The Clean Ocean Volunteers have also been proactive in the removal of , which in recent years have increased exponentially and have had a negative impact on the local fishing industry.

The blades wielded by the Game of Thrones characters have become synonymous with the show itself, and hardcore fans across the world pay a lot of money to get their hands on replicas of the iconic swords, which each have their own special characteristics and names, like Blackfyre, Dark Sister and Longclaw. But, what makes these weapons so extraordinary?

A Mythical, Magical Metal  

The secret behind the swords’ superiority is the material of which they were forged: Valyrian steel. This mythical alloy, manufactured in the ancient empire of the Valyrians, is noted to be exceptionally sharp and tremendously strong, yet lightweight, making it an ideal metal for a sword. Its rippled patterns make it distinctive from other metals, and because of these properties, the steel is quite scarce and very expensive. Yet what makes Valyrian steel swords most unique and powerful is the fact that they are forged with magic spells and dragonfire in a sword making process that was all but lost over the ages.

While the fictitious alloy was more than likely the result of imaginative thinking than the consultation of chemistry books, George R. R. Martin, author of the A Song of Ice and Fire novel series on which the show is based, drew inspiration from real-life ancient weaponry, more specifically Damascus steel, to dream up the material.

Real-life Inspiration

Similar to its imaginary predecessor, Damascus steel, which originated in South India before the Common Era, was primarily used to make long-bladed weapons which were reputed to be tough, shatter-resistant and able to be honed to a sharp, resilient edge.

Additionally, the blades possessed the distinctive rippled patterns which resembled flowing water. It is said that Islamic knights would look at these patterns before a battle to be reminded of the flowing waters of the rivers of paradise, and be reassured that should they fall, their place in paradise would be secured.

Of course, there were no fire-breathing dragons or wizardry involved in the forgery of these blades, and the metal’s properties weren’t as ideal as those of Valyrian steel. The material did give rise to a number of legends, however.

It was believed that a blade made of Damascus steel could effortlessly cut through a rifle barrel, or cut in half a silk scarf falling across the blade. Some even say that Damascus steel swords were the strongest blades used in the Crusades. Whether there is any truth to these legends or not, the swords were undoubtedly extraordinary for their time.

Also like Valyrian steel, the original method of production of Damascus steel was eventually lost, and the manufacturing of the patterned swords ceased around 1750.

Although Damascus steel blades may be long gone, these intricate swords have been reincarnated, albeit fictitiously, and can continue to be admired, thanks to the Game of Thrones series, which airs on Sundays at 9PM Eastern Standard Time on HBO.

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