eonia (greek mythology)

03. some love stories that just didn't end well

01. adonis and aphrodite

Adonis was the deity of plants and rebirth. And he was forever youthful, so he would die and then be reborn. This cycle was repeated. The worshippers of Adonis were women, as clearly seen from the 2,600 year old remains on the island of Lesvos.

Athenian women planted flowers in the 'gardens of Adonis', that would die and be reborn months later. 

Adonis was actually a product of incest. He was born of King Theias of Smyrna and his daughter Myrrha. This was because the King did not make an offering to Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty, and so she made his daughter have sexual attraction to him, and he was successful in keeping her away until one night, she lured him outside and lay with him in the darkness. 

When it was morning, Theias found out what she had done, and he chased her with his sword as she ran, frightened. Aphrodite took pity on her and transformed her into a tree; the myrrh tree. But, Theias was still angry, so he shot an arrow into the tree, which opened and Adonis was born. 

Baby Adonis was adorable, but he did not have anyone to take care of him, so Aphrodite took him in, but because of her caring for him, she began neglecting her godly duties, so she sent him to Persephone, Queen of the Underworld. 

But, Persephone fell in love with the child, and she refused to give him up when Aphrodite came from him, and so Zeus had to come up with a solution. That was to spend 4 months of the year with Persephone, another 4 with Aphrodite, and the last 4 alone, learning to care for himself. 

Adonis loved the outdoors and hunting. Once, when Aphrodite had to go away for a while, she warned the boy not to stray too far into the forest, and to not approach animals that did not run from him. But the boy was curious and he disobeyed her requests, plunging deep into the forest. 

He found a wild, and he tried to scare it away, but it would not budge. The boar got angry and pierced Adonis with its tusk. Some stories say that the boar was actually Ares (who was Aphrodite's love) in the form a boar, and attacked Adonis out of jealousy. 

Aphrodite heard his screams and found him taking his last breaths. She put nectar over the wound and eased his pain by singing. He passed after that into the Realm of the Dead. 

The nectar had turned drops of his blood into red anemones, and the rest of his blood became the river Adonis, or as it is known nowadays as Nahr (means river in arabic) Ibrahim in coastal Lebanon.

Persephone greeted Adonis when he entered the underworld. But, Aphrodite knew Adonis would be with Persephone, so she hurried to the underworld to bring him back. Again, Zeus had to stop the women from fighting over the human. 

He told them that Adonis would spend half the year with Aphrodite, and the other half with Persephone. He told them that Adonis would spend half of the year with Persephone and the other half with Aphrodite, symbolising the life of a man, spending half his life with his mother, and the other half with his wife. 

02. apollo and daphne

This story is simply the consequences of Apollo opening his mouth and saying something he shouldn't have, and that lead to him suffering a loss. He had just slain the Python, and told Eros to leave the war-like weapons for 'mighty gods like himself' and to simply stick with making people fall in love. 

Eros, of course, was pissed. I mean, I would be too. So, he climbed onto a rock on Mount Parnassus, and sent off two arrows. One of them sharp and golden-tipped, and the other one blunt and tipped with lead. The sharp one landed in Apollo, striking love in his heart for a beautiful nymph, Daphne. The other one landed in her heart, causing her to avert all love in her heart. 

This meant that she rejected him over and over again, despite all his begging. But, it was not only him, it was every other man that claimed he loved her. There was a man, a handsome one, named Leucippus, who wanted her so bad, that he pretended to be a girl, and joined her company, but the nymphs found out and killed him.

Daphne, to get away from Apollo, pleaded her father, Peneus, for help. Her prayers were answered, and she was transformed into a plant with a very nice smell. 

This plant was called the 'laurel', and it called 'daphne' in Greek, after the nymph. Apollo was so heart-broken at the loss of Daphne, and to remember her, he made the laurel the symbol of poets, and one of his symbols. He usually wore laurels. 

03. pygmalion and galatea

Pygmalion was a sculptor. An excellent one, and each of his statues looked real. Because he was so devoted to his art, he had no time to admire women, and the only beauty he knew, were his sculptures. The man despised women, and he vowed to never marry. 

One day, he carved a statue. It was of a beautiful woman, and she looked so real and divine, he could not take his eyes off her. He was so enchanted, that he felt joy and desire towards the figure, and named her 'Galatea' meaning 'she who is white like milk'.

He dressed her in the finest of clothes, adorned her with the prettiest of ornaments, and designed her hair with the best flowers, gave her gifts and kissed her. He was obsessed with her, and he wanted her as his wife, spending days and nights gazing at her. 

The festival of the Aphrodite was approaching, and one the day of the festival, Pygmalion prayed and made offerings to her, begging her to make his statue into a real woman, so he could marry her. Aphrodite was intrigued, so she went to see the statue, and was amazed by it's beauty, she found it looked like her, and so she granted him his wish. 

Pygmalion returned home to Galatea, and when he saw her ivory cheeks flushed, he realised that the goddess had fulfilled his prayers, and so he held Galatea in his arms. Her cold ivory skin turned soft and warm, and she smiled and spoke. 

Their love grew, and soon they were getting married, Aphrodite blessing them. They later had a son named Paphos, who founded the city of Paphos in Cyprus.