The Cupid Connection
Some writers have commented on the parallel between the love darts of snails and the love darts fired by the mythological being Cupid, known as Eros in Greek mythology. It is even possible that there is a connection between the behavior of the snails and the myth. Malacologist (mollusk expert) Ronald Chase of McGill University said about the garden snail Helix aspersa, "I believe the myth of Cupid and his arrows has its basis in this snail species, which is native to Greece". He added, "The Greeks probably knew about this behavior because they were pretty good naturalists and observers."
In some languages, the dart that these snails use before mating is known as an "arrow". For example, in the German language it is called a Liebespfeil or "love arrow", and in the Czech language it is šíp lásky (which means "arrow of love").
Read more about this topic: Love Dart
Famous quotes containing the words cupid and/or connection:
“Things base and vile, holding no quantity,
Love can transpose to form and dignity.
Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind,
And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“One must always maintain one’s connection to the past and yet ceaselessly pull away from it. To remain in touch with the past requires a love of memory. To remain in touch with the past requires a constant imaginative effort.”
—Gaston Bachelard (1884–1962)