The present paper takes Apuleius’s tale of “Cupid and Psyche” (2nd century A.D.) as itspoint of departure. Though often taken for granted as one of the oldest literary fairy talesin the Western tradition, the text itself in fact defies such “easy” categorisations. Afterconsidering the ways in which scholars in the past have attempted to bridge the gapbetween this Ancient tale and the actual fairy tale genre, I will suggest an alternativeapproach, based on the notion that fairy tale-like narratives tend to self-consciously participatein the dynamics of their respective literary fields, especially in times of relativecrisis. This approach affords us with the opportunity to study Latin texts like “Cupid andPsyche” in relation to other fairy tale-like narratives, not only as part of a tradition, but asa recurring literary phenomenon in its own right.
