Psyche is a goddess from the second century A.D, associated with the soul. She was the youngest of three daughters of an unidentified king of Miletus, and supposedly extremely beautiful - So much so that she was suspected of being an incarnation of Aphrodite. This ticked the goddess off to the extent that she sent her son Eros to cause her to fall in love with some real scum.

Greek mythology often receives the credit for the tale of Psyche, but the recognition rightfully belongs to Apuleius' Golden Ass. Her name literally means "soul", and she is considered its personification. This is somewhat unfortunate as she is of a suicidal bent. She wound up married to an unknown individual who was great in the sack (After various trials and tribulations), never seeing his face. She became pregnant, and he told her that if she kept the pregnancy a secret that the child would be divine. He also admonished her never to try to look upon his face.

Unfortunately, her soul was fickle, and she told her sisters (none of whom are her equal in looks, mind you) that she had become with child. Her sisters advised her to kill her husband, but when she looked him in the face, he turned out to be Eros, a real babe. Then, seeing him, she's tempted to commit suicide. Then, when he wakes up and takes off, she wants to throw herself in the river, and fails to drown. Aphrodite gets ahold of her, sets her some insurmountable tasks which she accomplishes with various assistance, and then sends her to Hades. Eros flies to the rescue, Zeus marries them to one another, Aphrodite is okay with this since it makes Psyche a deity, and they all live happily ever after and have a child named Voluptas, or "Pleasure".


References:

Website: Greek Mythology, Personification (http://www.areopagus.net/persona.htm)

Website: Psyche (http://www.owlsdottir.com/Goddess/air/psyche.html)

(And by extension:)
Apuleius, Metamorphoses (also known as The Golden Ass) 4.28-6.24

Node: The Golden Ass