# A question about Cupid's arrow

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-cupids-arrow/53682>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 8, 2001, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-cupids-arrow/53682 "2001-02-08T20:37:52Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![kbutcher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/db5fbb/32.png) [@kbutcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kbutcher)\
**Post date:** [February 8, 2001, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-cupids-arrow/53682/1 "2001-02-08T20:37:52Z")

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I need to know which body part cupid’s arrow needs to hit in order to cause it’s victim to fall in love. Anybody hear about a specific body part mentioned with this?

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**Author:** ![Guy\_Propski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/5e9695/32.png) [@Guy\_Propski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guy_Propski)\
**Post date:** [February 8, 2001, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-cupids-arrow/53682/2 "2001-02-08T20:46:34Z")

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To quote the song by ABC, “Shoot that poison arrow through my HEART!”

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**Author:** ![Hokienautic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/73ab20/32.png) [@Hokienautic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hokienautic)\
**Post date:** [February 8, 2001, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-cupids-arrow/53682/3 "2001-02-08T20:50:47Z")

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And for confirmation of that information:

Cupid, draw back your bow  
And let your arrow go  
Straight to my lover’s heart for me, for meeee  
Cupid, please hear my cry  
And let your arrow fly  
Straight through my lover’s heart for meeeeeee.

Sam Cooke, if I’m not mistaken.

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**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\
**Post date:** [February 8, 2001, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-cupids-arrow/53682/4 "2001-02-08T20:57:36Z")

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It wasn’t just the ancient Romans who had the bow-&-arrow symbolism.

The Hindu god **Kâma** shoots love-arrows made of flowers from his flowered bow. This figure, a virtually exact correspondence to Cupid, probably predates Cupid and (who knows) may even be the source of the Greco-Roman figure.

The Bushmen of the Kalahari use actual mini-bow-&-arrows to shoot at their beloved. They’re only two or three inches long. One of these was featured in the film _The Gods Must Be Crazy_. Laurens van der Post’s book _Lost World of the Kalahari_ gives an account of how Bushmen use these miniature bow-&-arrows for romance.