►Greek Mythology: “Aphrodite and Adonis”:
“Venus and Adonis” by Francois Lemyone. (1729).
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Aphrodite was the Greek goddess of beauty and love. She was born from the sea foam which was created from Uranus’ severed genitalia being thrown into the sea by Cronus.
She was married to Hephaestus (Greek God of Fire and Metalworking) so that the other gods would not fight over her. Still, she had several other lovers of which Ares, the god of war, and Adonis were the most relevant.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
“Mars (Ares) and Venus (Aphrodite) United by Love” by Paolo Veronese. (1570).
“Venus and Mars” by Luca Giordano (1760).
“Venus (Aphrodite), Mars (Ares), and Vulcan (Hephaestus)” by Jacopo Tintoretto (1551).
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Adonis’s mother was Myrrha, the very beautiful daughter of king Cinyras.
Myrrha’s mother would say that she was even more beautiful than Aphrodite which angered the goddess who cursed Myrrha to fall in love and lust after her father.
She tricked him into sleeping with her and she became pregnant. When her father found out he had been tricked he was so angry that he tried to kill her but the gods took pity on her and turned her into a myrrh tree.
Even so, the goddess finally gave birth to her son. Aphrodite found the baby by a myrrh tree and she gave him to Persephone, the wife of Hades, who was the God of the Underworld.
When the child grew he became a very beautiful young man. He was named Adonis.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
“Birth of Adonis” by Marcantonio Franceschini (1690).
“Adonis” by Benjamin West (1800).
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Persephone was also taken by Adonis’ beauty and refused to give him back to Aphrodite.
The dispute between the two goddesses was settled by Zeus, the king of the gods: Adonis was to spend one-third of every year with each goddess and the last third wherever he chose. He chose to spend two-thirds of the year with Aphrodite.
Ares, the god of war, grew jealous because Aphrodite spent so much time with Adonis that she had forgotten about him. As a result, Ares turned into a gigantic wild boar and attacked Adonis. Adonis, having forgotten Aphrodite’s warning, attacked the boar but soon found himself being chased by it.
On different versions of the myth, the boar is said to have been sent by Apollo, to punish Aphrodite for blinding his son, Erymanthus who was blinded by Aphrodite because he spied on her making love to Adonis. Or by Artemis, goddess of the haunt, who was jealous of Adonis’ hunting skills.
The boar did catch up to Adonis and castrated him.
Adonis died in Aphrodite’s arms, and she sprinkled his blood with nectar from the anemone. It is said to be Adonis’ blood that turns the Adonis River, or Abraham River, red each spring.
Aphrodite was so distraught that Zeus made Adonis immortal, allowing him to leave Hades, the underworld of the dead, for part of the year to be with Aphrodite.
He always, however, had to return to Hades, where he was Persephone’s lover.
This cycle of death and rebirth was linked with the regeneration of vegetation and the crop seasons in ancient Greece.
In essence the myth is about the perennial nature of beauty, as Adonis died only to be reborn in the underworld.
Originating in the Near East, the cult of Adonis was introduced to Athens in about 440 B.C.
Only women celebrated “Adonia”, a festival to mourn the death and resurrection of Adonis.
The festival was supposed to last two days. On the first day, Greek women observed all the rites customary at funerals. The second day was spent in merriment and feasting; because Adonis was allowed to return to life, and spend eight months of the year with Aphrodite (the other four with Persephone Queen of the Underworld).
The Greek women would also make “Adonis Gardens” by sowing quick-growing seeds into shallow trays or pots.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
“The blood of the dead Adonis turns into an anemone” (Ovid, Met. X 735) by Hendrick Goltzius (1609).
“Venus and Cupid Lamenting the Dead Adonis’, by Cornelis Holsteyn. (1647).
“The Awakening of Adonis” by John William Waterhouse. (1900).
“The Gardens of Adonis” by John Reinhard Weguelin (1888).
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
►Links Post:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphrodite
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adonia
https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Adonis
http://ancienthistory.about.com/cs/grecoromanmyth1/a/adonisaphrodite.htm
http://paganroots.com/information/gods/greek-gods-goddesses/adonis/
http://www.greekmyths-greekmythology.com/myth-aphrodite-adonis/
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
⚡️La Audacia de Aquiles⚡️ 
I think you could write a book – no, not a book, an encyclopedy about mythology. A world best seller, without fail 🙂 thank you -wondeful illustrating paintings!
Wow that is certainly a beautiful praise, dear Frédéric… And even more coming from you!.
Thanks a lot, best wishes to you, Aquileana 😛
Thanks @wordsinthelight for sharing this post at Twitter,
Aquileana 😛
I agree with F.G.M !
That is a certainly compliment, coming from you dear Passion Dew.
Thank you very much for dropping by!.
Best wishes, Aquileana 😛
Another well-written post. You rock!!
Jeff
Thanks a bunch dear Jeff!!!…
All my best wishes to you, Aquileana 🙂
This was great, really informative, I love learning more about mythology.
Though I kind of feel a bit sorry Aphrodite, I mean, what a way to be born! 😀
Hi Mishka…
Oh yes, you are right, Aphrodite’s birth was quite “odd” …
According to Hesiod’s “Theogony”, she was created from the foam of the waters of the sea.
This is certainly the most well known and accepted version…
And, as I held in my previous post, Hesiod’s reference to Aphrodite’s having been born from the sea inspired the Renaissance artist Botticelli’s famous painting of the goddess on a giant scallop shell.
Best wishes and thanks a lot for your comment, Aquileana 😛
a wonderful re-telling,thank you Aquileana,xx Rachel
Thank you very much for the kind words, Rachel. Happy friday and weekend ahead to you, yours and Speedy!
Best wishes, Aquileana 😛
You have done it again, a masterly resume of the myth so well illustrated.
Hi dear Susan!,
Thanks for taking time to read and comment …I truly appreciate your comment and I am glad to know that you enjoyed the post.
All my very best wishes to you… And happy almost weekend ahead too,
Aquileana 😀
Reblogged this on Library of Erana and commented:
A bit of Greek Mythology.
Thanks for reblogging this post, Eranamage.
Best wishes, Aquileana 😀
Thou art a sensation —
A great lesson in History, and art appreciation.
Glorious paintings; unbelievably drenched
in deep mythology. Every nook and cranny filled
with mystery and wonderment. Fine work! 🙂
Why, Keith… I am lost in admiration as I read your words…
I am truly happy to know that you enjoyed this greek myth and that you liked the feature.
Thank you very much for your blogger friendship and support.
Love and best wishes, Aquileana 😛
Very interesting! I had no idea that the myth of Adonis has similarities to that of Persephone, who was also forced to spend part of the year in the underworld. And it sounds like the gods’ decision to marry Aphrodite off to Hephaestus didn’t solve any problems. I love reading your posts because I always learn something new, Aquileana!
Hi dear Miranda.
Thanks a lot for such a beautiful comment…
You are right as regard to Adonis and Persephone…
There are similarities between the myth of Demeter, Hades and Persephone and the myth of Adonis,Aphrodite and Persephone…
The idea of cycles in nature is the common background!… Very clever of you to highlight that point, Miranda.
I really appreciate your words here!.
Thanks and all my best wishes to you,
Aquileana 🙂
You left me thinking, Miranda… Maybe I will be writing on the similarities between these two myths in the future… Sounds truly interesting!. Thanks again for being such an intelligent reader!, Aquileana 😀
I’d love to read that post! And thank you for writing such fascinating posts regarding mythology. Have a great weekend! 🙂
Thanks dear Miranda…I am looking forward to writing that post too and plan to highlight the importance of natural cycles for ancient cultures too… Hope to find useful information with regard to that point!!!.
All the very best to you, Have a great weekend!, Aquileana 😀
Mi querida A.:
No tenía dudas que cumplirías tu promesa. 😉
Más allá de la escasamente reprimida vida sexual (hay un dejo de envidia en mi comentario) destaco el afán de encontrar una explicación a los sucesos de la naturaleza:
– el color rojo del río
– el ciclo de las estaciones
Y, nuevamente, una muerte y resurrección que, traducido en su festival Adonia, me recuerdan los rituales cristianos de Semana Santa.
Excelente, una vez más estoy en presencia de una entrada brillante. 🙂
Te dejo besos y abrazos junto a mi admiración.
Tu amiga V. 😛
Hola querida V…
Muchas gracias por tu genial comentario…
Me ha encantado que destaques los puntos que el mito ha intentado explicar…
Tu lectura felizmente excede el marco narrativo del mito propiamente dicho,para pasar a la hermenéutica en torno a los símbolos y su significado.
Como seguro recuerdas el punto del ciclo de las estaciones es considerado asimismo en el mito de Demeter y Perséfone.
Concretamente con el rapto de la hija que luego pasa mitad del tiempo en el submundo con su marido Hades e igual parte del tiempo anual en la Tierra.
(Enlace:https://aquileana.wordpress.com/2014/07/24/greek-mythology-demeter-goddess-of-the-harvest-persephone-queen-of-the-underworld/ )
El tema de la resurección de Adonis, indudablemente guarda grandes similtudes con la tradición cristiana y la Fiesta de Semana Santa es un perfecto punto de consonancia. Muy bien destacado, querida amiga.
Te mando un abrazo grande y te deseo un muy buen viernes y fin de semana. Aquileana 😀
Thanks @MarinaKanavaki for sharing this post at Twitter,
Aquileana 😀
Thanks for another enlightening post and look how early I am in commenting this week! Statues of Adonis were all over the place when I visited various museums in Greece. The tour guides probably made more references to Adonis than anyone else, since he seemed to get around, if you know what I mean 😉
Hi Jeri,
Thank you very much for dropping by and sharing your thoughts and little bit of your personal experiences when you visisted Greece.. I bet they still celebrate Adonia (Feasts to Adonis) over there, in a more “modern”way of course!.
Have a great friday and weekend ahead. Best wishes.
Aquileana 😛
Thanks @JeriWB for sharing this post at Twitter,
Aquileana 😛
I cannot believe how much jealousy plays a part in all these myths. They resemble almost our soaps of today. Yet I learn something new every time I read your posts.
… Thank you very much for your comment here… You are so right!. Jealousy, greed and even lust are main forces in this greek myth!.
All the very best to you, Aquileana 😀
Thanks @SylvesterPoetry for sharing this post at Twitter,
Aquileana 😛
Excellent pictures and study. I love Greek mythology. I’ve even written some fictional short stories about a made up Greek Goddess.
Thanks a lot for dropping by and for your thoughtful comment!!!… I wonder if there is a link available to those short stories on your blog… I’d love to take a peak!. Best wishes, Aquileana 😛
Thanks @HernandoDelaRos for sharing this post at Twitter,
Aquileana 😛
Another wonderful, detailed post with info I didn’t know Aquileana. Thank you.
Thanks a lot Shehanne…I am really grateful to read your comment and pleased to know that you found new details and information over here.
Best wishes to you!, Aquileana 😀
Thanks @ShehanneMoore for sharing this post at Twitter,
Aquileana 😛
My dear Aquileana, your post is always interesting and intriguing with the stories about the tribulations in the lives of the Greek gods. Your work is edited in impeccable way. Thanks for your post! 🙂
Hi dear HJ…
I am really happy to know that you enjoyed this myth … I much appreciate your support and words over here!. All the very best to you, always,
Aquileana 😀
Wow, how do you pack so much interesting info into each post? I did not know about Adonis and Persephone. Very intriguing stuff.
Hi Kourt,
Well, it was an intensive research but I enjoyed doing it and I think it was worthwhile at the end!. I love greek myths!.
I hope all is fine in Kout Land ❤
Thank you very much for dropping by and for your comment,
Best wishes, Aquileana 😛
Thanks @isabelherrera34 for sharing this post at Twitter,
Aquileana 😀
As ever, wonderfully enlightening text and i like that you choose artwork from several schools and different periods. Aquileana, kudos!
Thanks a lot for dropping by, dear John…
I am truly glad to know that you enjoyed the post and the images on it…
Have a great friday and weekend ahead.
Best wishes, Aquileana 😀
Thanks @Agustinayalad for sharing this post at Twitter,
Aquileana 😀
Thanks @linneatanner for sharing this post at Twitter,
Aquileana 😀
Well, to tell frankly I am loving being here. The way you share so much great Greek mythology information, I am addicted to it. Thursday Dose. Nothing to point out this time too. I enjoyed spend time reading and learning those myths. Keep rocking and posting!!
Regards,
Swetank!! XO 😀
Swetank,!!!,
Your comment is lovely… I really appreciate your words here and feel really happy to know that you are becoming addict (in the good sense of it) to these myths… Thank you very much. Best wishes and hope you have a wonderful friday and weekend ahead, Aquileana 😛
Haha.. addict in the good sense! The reason is currently I am reading Dan’s Inferno. The story is very much related with Greek culture and its mythology. So, what will be a good way to read your blog along side with the book for greater experience. I really liked those paintings!! 😛 Haha.. frankly the texts and images are really helpful to remembering things along!! 🙂 I enjoy learning cultures around the world.
Happy Friday! Be Bettr, Stay Bettr!!
Excellent to know that you enjoy greek myths… Classic authors have been clearly influenced by them and also artists…
It is wonderful to share stuff and learn new things, I give you that!…
Thanks for your support and blogger friendship, Swetank…
Best wishes! , Aquileana 😛
Same here!! for the support, and friendship since my start-up. All I can say all the very best!! Don’t forget I love what you write!! 🙂
Regards,
Swetank! 😀
I won’t forget that and I am super glad to read your words above, Swetank…
Best wishes, always,
Aquileana 😀
I love your blog so much. I had Latin and Greek in school and I was fortunate and could see some of the pictures later on in real in Museums. I am glad we met…and look forward to many more of your posts!
Thank you very much Lady Bug.
I am truly pleased to know that you enjoyed the post and liked the blog. I wish you the very best and hope you have a great almost weekend ahead,
Aquileana 😀
Qué terribles son los celos en la mitología griega! Tras el amor, parecen la pasión más primaria.
Gracias por el post.
Muchas gracias por leer y comentar Chestersoc… Los celos exactamente, en este caso de Perséfone, de Afrodita y de Artemisa.
Un abrazo y buen fin de semana para vos, Aquileana 😀
Pues eso, media ‘divinidad’ está celosa. Los dioses griegos se empeñan en poseer en los defectos humanos en grado superlativo!
Es cierto, es un efecto macro de reconocimiento de errores el que empleaban los dioses griegos… Y eso por llamarlo de alguna manera.
Abrazo, Chestersoc, Aquileana 😀
Thank you for this read– The part about the cult of Adonia was especially interesting !!!!
Thanks a lot for dropping by dear Chris. Great to know that you enjoyed the post particularly the Feasts to Adonis. Happy friday my friend. Best wishes, Aquileana 😛
Thanks @JosepGarcife for sharing this post at Twitter,
Aquileana 😀
Have a groovy weekend, Aquileana !!!! 🙂
Same to you dear Chris… I ‘ll check out your updates very soon, hugs, Aquileana 😀
It seems that beauty and love, jealousy and trickery, cruelty but also compassion are at play in all Greek myths, with mortality and immortality or death and resurrection as the underlying theme. The lives of Greek gods and goddesses seem so improbable to my modern mind that it’s fascinating to imagine ancient Greeks believing those stories. However, whereas the birth of Adonis is fairy tale stuff, his horrible death could almost happen in reality.
“It is said to be Adonis’ blood that turns the Adonis River, or Abraham River, red each spring.” Where is this river, Aquileana?
I like the idea of “Adonis Gardens”! I might try it out this spring and summer. 🙂
Again a great selection of paintings. This one is my favourite:
“Venus and Cupid Lamenting the Dead Adonis’, by Cornelis Holsteyn. (1647).
Very enjoyable and educational post, as usual. Many thanks. Have a lovely weekend, Aquileana!
Cheers 🙂 Irina
Irina,
You are such an intelligent woman !!!… I loved the way you dissected the myth and highlighted the main topics on it…
You are right about the passions behind the actions and the behaviours of the Gods/Goddesses.
Mortality and Immortality is clearly an underlying theme…Someone held above that Adonis ‘ death and resurrection might be linked to Christian Easter, which I found correct.
If I wonder about Adonis’s death (the way he died) I would say it was a sort of punishment for having sexual relationships with the woman who had raised him up (Aphrodite). If I asked myself about his resurrection I would say that maybe he wasn’t completely his fault, because at the end Aphrodite wasn’t his mother and as she was the Goddess of Love and Beauty she seduced him, making him hard to resist to her will and his own desires…
Greek myths might seem improbable… But not fully though… Lust and jealousy, rivalry, power… The topics seem universal and their practical corollaries might be similar nowadays, despite the difference.
Finally, I think that your choice as regard to the paintings here is certainly a good one!.
Thank you very much for reading in depth and commenting consequently, dear Irina.
Love, hugs and best wishes to you, Aquileana 😀
Thanks for elaborating, dear Aquileana. I quite agree with the resurrection of Adonis being linked to the resurrection of Jesus, the quest of our immortality present, I believe, in all cultures.
Yes, you’re right, his love affair with Aphrodite wasn’t his fault. He was only a young man, seduced by a beautiful older woman, which often happens in reality.
Btw, I looked up Adonis River on Google. It does look reddish.
Hugs 🙂 Irina
Thanks @kookadim for sharing this post at Twitter,
Aquileana 😀
Thanks Irina for your comment in reply to mine…I totally agree with you as regard to Aphrodite and Adonis’ affaire… And tend to think that Aphrodite was a sort of trouble maker if I also think in the Judgement of Paris, when he promised the trojan Prince the most beautiful mortal woman on earth ( i.e Helen) in exchange for that golden famous golden apple!…
we tend to know more about the minds and behaviours of the Gods and Goddesses as we begin to understand them better through the different myths… don’t you think?
Good to know about Adonis River (not so reddish at the end).
Thanks a lot for dropping by my friend. Hugs and happy weekend ahead to you,
Aquileana 😀
Great post Aquileana. I learned a lot and find the journey of love fascinating. Have a lovely weekend my talented friend. 🙂
Thank you very much
I am truly pleased to know that you enjoyed the post and found that the journey of love was wothwhile at the end ❤
Have a great weekend, dear Jane,
Aquileana 😀
Another inspiring post on the essence of beauty and love. What was highlighted showed the mythological characters and their characteristics, which gives them their individual identities. This is profound and interesting knowledge. Thank you for sharing Aquileana, 🙂 Love and best wishes, Iris.
Hi dear Iris,
Thank you very much for your wonderful comment…
You have perfectly highlighted the main topics on this myth and how they show up through the particular behaviour of the mythological characters.
I am glad to know that you found this post interesting and pleased to read your words today.
Best wishes and happy weekend ahead. Love, Aquileana 🙂
oh those Greek gods were not very noble!! Their passions ran rampant. Another lovely tale Aquileana!! I love the old paintings too.
Thanks a lot for dropping by dear Cybele… I couldn’t agree more with you as regard to those Greek Gods and Goddesses!… They seemed to act mainly guided by passions and not by their rational side.
Best wishes to you, always, Aquileana 😀
Hi Aqui,
I am seeing a theme here – are you wanting to do a sort of ‘biography’ on each of the Greek characters? That would be a neat idea and then you would have a good reference source!
The lines between the families in Greek mythology certainly can be complex but you are good at explaining them in ways I understand – thank you for doing that! I enjoyed learning more about Aphrodite and Adonis. I think the name Aphrodite is one most people are familiar with, but not necessarily knowing some of the details you explain here.
Thanks for a wonderful, quality post!!
Wishing you a nice Friday, and sending hugs,
Christy
Hi Christy,
Thanks for the suggestion.. A genealogy would be interesting…I noticed that there were many Gods and Goddesses involved here and that I had never written about some of them previously!.
I am glad that you enjoyed this second part of Aphrodite’s myth as we both well know she was the Greek Goddess involved with the Judgement of Paris and that she gave Helen of Troy to Paris after she chose Aphrodite as the fairest one, giving her the Golden Apple.
Happy friday to you and many hugs,
Aquileana 😀
The gods’ family tree in the opening pages of the D’Aulaires’ was one of my favorite illustrations. The web and its drill-down features would allow an amazing and helpful tree of the interrelationships among the gods, wouldn’t it?
Very interesting post, and site. Learned a detail here I hadn’t known, and loved all the art. Thank you (and thank you so much for the Follow! 🙂
(My site has a totally tacky take on Medusa, BTW–would have included a link, but I never self-link on a first visit, plus it would have dragged your lovely site down into the muck where mine resides 😉 )
Thanks for your thoughtful words. I appreciate them as they mean a lot to me..
I would love to take a peak on your post/s so if you get to read this comment, please feel free to add the link here.
All my best wishes to you, Aquileana 😀
Thanks @christybis for sharing this post at Twitter (twice),
Aquileana 😛
I agree with Christy, I like the idea of biographies, profiling all aspects of the Greek characters, since they all seem to have different aspects to them!
I agree with you both 🙂
Best wishes dear Maria. Aquileana 😀
A really interesting and beautiful post. Thank-you for all your hard work.
Thanks a lot for dropping by, dear clare…
I am truly glad to know that you enjoyed the post!.
Have a great weekend ahead.
Best wishes, Aquileana 😀
great post my friend…
Thank you very much dear Leyla!.
Happy weekend ahead to you!!!, Aquileana 😛
Detras de cada leyenda se esconde una manera de pensar de un pueblo, una cultura, en ´si de la filosofía de la vida. La resurrección, el cambio, y el volver volver al inicio, pues la vida es un ciclo, no hay prinicipio, ni final. como siempre destaco sobremanera los frescos relacionados a la leyenda de Adonis… besos y rosas para ti querida amiga.
Hola querido Rub,
Coincido en tus valoraciones respecto a las trastiendas culturales y sociales de los mitos. Creo que por eso son ciertamente reveladores (del individuo y de su contexto).
Tus palabras respecto a los ciclos vitales y naturales son muy acertadas y, creo, uno de los puntos principales de este mito de Adonis y Afrodita.
Gracias por leer y comentar amigo. Buen fin de semana para vos,
Aquileana 😀
Aquileana, I also agree with F.G.M.
Blessings ~ Wendy ❀
Thank you Wendy… I much appreciate that you think that way too.
It is an honor! ❤
Hugs, Aquileana 😀
So well written! So much jealousy! I agree with one of the earlier comments like a modern day soap opera.
Hi Sue,
That is certainly a good point… This myth has certainly drama and too many passions… So yes, it would be a sort of ancient version of our actual soap operas. I agree with you!.
Thanks a lot for dropping by. Best wishes and happy weekend ahead to you,
Aquileana 😛
Thanks so much for explaining this myth so clearly, I always heard of Adonis but didn’t know all the details.
The flowers in some of the paintings I believe are called “Anemones”, a flower genus which has some species that are native to the Mediterranean. You can see them here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anemone
“According to the Oxford English Dictionary, Greek anemōnē means “daughter of the wind”, from ánemos “wind” + feminine patronymic suffix -ōnē. The Metamorphoses of Ovid tells that the plant was created by the goddess Venus when she sprinkled nectar on the blood of her dead lover Adonis. The name “windflower” is used for the whole genus as well as the wood anemone A. nemorosa.”-Wiki
Thank you very much for the information…
It is interesting that my post and your newest one are linked somehow here through winds …
Particularly considering Adonis’ anemones after he died… Where anemōnē means “daughter of the wind”…
And Zephyranthes citrina (your post :http://thetropicalfloweringzone.com/2014/08/29/zephyranthes-citrina-yellow-zephir/ ) , being Zephyr “a gentle wind of the west, the father of the spring flowers, and besides “the wind that guided Aphrodite to the sea of Paphos when she was born”.
How amazing is that our posts crossed paths this time!!!.
Best wishes my friend and thanks a bunch!,
Aquileana 😛
You’re welcome!!! 😄
Aquileana, your lesson and graphics are really superb. Thanks so much for this wonderful work, I always learn a lot. 🙂
Thanks a lot for dropping by, dear Jet…
I am pleased to read your words and happy to know that you enjoyed this greek myth here.
Best wishes and happy weekend ahead to you,
Aquileana 😛
Thanks @golcar1 for sharing this post at Twitter,
Aquileana 😛
[…] ►Greek Mythology: "Aphrodite and Adonis": ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Aphrodite was the Greek goddess of beauty and love. Sh… […]
I have always wondered about the mythological stories, whether they are some form of reality passed down through the generations, or stories blaming gods etc. for humanity’s good or bad traits. I have been following sci-fi TV series Stargate SG1, full of “gods” with mythological names who use technological powers for their own ends. One day we may learn the truth one way or the other.
I love your posts Amalia. Keep them coming. Ralph xox ❤
Thanks for such a witty and wonderful comment dear Ralph…
I am really grateful to read your words today. Be blessed!. Happy weekend, Aquileana 😀
Hello Aquileana,
As always, I learned something new of Greek mythology from you today 🙂
Thank you for sharing, and best wishes!
Takami 🙂
Hi Takami, Thanks a bunch for dropping by and for your thoughtful words, my friend.
Wishing you a great weekend!!!. Enjoy it.
Best wishes, Aquileana 😀
[…] ►Greek Mythology: “Aphrodite and Adonis”: “Venus and Adonis” by Francois Lemyone. (1729). ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Aphrodite was the Greek goddess of beauty and love. […]
I like your post! So interesting “story”! I knew that but good to read again… 🙂 bye. Kamila
Thanks a lot for roopping by, dear Kamila… I am glad to know that you liked the post and that you enjoyed the re-reading!!!.
Best wishes, Aquileana 😀
What a great work, dear Aquileana! It is always a pleasure to read about the Gods and their affairs 🙂 Ishtar, Astarte and Aphrodite seem to be the same goddess, and the story about Ishtar and Tammuz was adopted by Ancient Greeks. Beautiful work, as always, beautiful illustrations, and lots to think about 🙂 Thank you again for you research, well done. I have read it twice 🙂
Hugs, Inese
Hi dear Inese,
Thanks a lot for the information and for the praise!.. I am so lucky of having such a clever readers as you are!
You are right … Ishtar, Astarte and Aphrodite are certainly the same Goddess…
I had to do a little research as I didn’t know the first two goddesses you named here. I am adding the findings below here.
Best wishes and happy week ahead to you, Aquileana 😀
______________
►Ishtar is the East Semitic Akkadian, Assyrian and Babylonian goddess of fertility, love, war, and sex.
►Astarte (Ancient Greek: Ἀστάρτη, “Astártē”) is the Greek name of the Mesopotamian (i.e. Assyrian, Akkadian, Babylonian) Semitic goddess Ishtar known throughout the Near East and Eastern Mediterranean from the early Bronze Age to Classical times. It is one of a number of names associated with the chief goddess or female divinity of those peoples
Sources:
►http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishtar
►http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astarte
______________
Thank you for the great explanation, Aquileana! I wouldn’t know them either but I happened to own a book of Myths, and there is some small print about where the Aphrodite – Adonis story came from. I was surprised to learn that it was so ancient…
Have a wonderful Sunday, thank you again for your enjoyable writings!
Inese
Glad that we both know more about Aphrodite’s ancient predecessors… One thing leads to the other, as the saying goes, my friend.
Thanks for your thoughtful comment, dear Inese.
Hugs and happy sunday to you, Aquileana 😀
Happy and successful week to you too!
Inese 🙂
Thanks dear Inese and same to you, my friend.
Hugs, Aquileana 😀
Thanks @Inessa_ie for sharing this post at Twitter,
Aquileana 😛
ES FASCINANTE LA MITOLOGIA GRIEGA, TIENE MAS Y MEJOR INFORMACION QUE LA ROMANA QUE ES MAS ESCUETA ANTE LA HISTORIA DE SUS DIOSES QUE AL FIN Y AL CABO SON LOS MISMOS. UN SALUDO CORDIAL
Muchas gracias por el comentario,querido Lambertus…
Coincido con vos: la mitología griega es mucho más completa y su simbolismo y relatos más profundos que la romana.
Un abrazo, Aquileana 😀
That first portrait is absolutely beautiful. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
I am pleased to know that you liked it, dear Jo…
Thanks for dropping by.
Best wishes to you and happy week ahead!, Aquileana 😛
Love all the great painting you put in this post. So classic,
Thank you very much for dropping by, dear Phil… I am happy to know that you enjoyed this feature.
Happy week ahead to you and best wishes, Aquileana 😀
Thanks @DannieC_Hill for sharing this post at Twitter, Aquileana 😀
I love reading your posts!
These gods’ love lives seem to have been taken right from a soap opera, LOL. They were everything but boring. I loved that part about Adonis turning the river to blood. It’s kind of romantic… Weird, and disgusting, and spooky, but romantic!
Hi there Marsar,
I love your comment… You are right about these greek myths being similar to soap operas… Quite dramatic, eh?
I also found that Adonis’ death and the symbols involved with it are highly metaphorical and beautiful
Thanks you very much for dropping by. All my best wishes to you, Aquileana 😀
Danke wunderschön wünsche dir eine glückliche neue Woche liebe Grüße und Umarmung Gislinde
Eine große Umarmung. glückliche Woche, Gislinde! ❤
Aquileana 😀
An interesting history lesson Aquileana. Thank you.
In the 4th photo,“Venus (Aphrodite), Mars (Ares), and Vulcan (Hephaestus)” by Jacopo Tintoretto, is that Cupid in the background?
Hello Lignum.
That was certainly a wonderful question… I think that Tintoretto’s painting is remarkable.. Aphrodite appears with her two lovers in the same room. The scene is original and realistic.
The baby boy is Cupid indeed… But It could have been Adonis too.
I have found this brief description of Tintoretto’s painting (At: http://www.wga.hu/html_m/t/tintoret/7/2vulcan.html)
“Following various examples in fresco painting and graphic prints, Tintoretto presents a subject from classical mythology as a risque burlesque or farce, a story leaving a bitter aftertaste. Informed of the love affair between his wife Venus and Mars, the god of war, Vulcan, the smith of the gods, limps over from his forge, insultingly examining Venus to see whether, as he fears, adultery has actually been committed. Mars hides under a table – in vain, for Venus’s little lapdog will give him away by barking. Meanwhile the god of love, Amor or Cupid, who is not entirely blameless himself, pretends to be asleep”.
Venus, Mars, and Vulcan
By: Jacopo Tintoretto (b. 1518, Venezia, d. 1594, Venezia)
c. 1551. Oil on canvas, 135 x 198 cm
Alte Pinakothek, Munich
Thank you. Such a wicked web.
You are welcome… Always my pleasure, dear Lignum.
Best wishes, Aquileana 😀
Wonderful pictures and discussion of the myths, thanks! I always found Vulcan the most interesting of the gods (for example, when he fashioned an inescapable net to catch Aphrodite and Ares in flagrante) – so I wonder if you have you discussed myths related to him yet? If so, send me a link and I’ll head over there… 🙂
Hi Blake,
I still didn’t write about him… But I will do it in the future. Thanks a lot for taking time to read in depth and comment consequently.
Best wishes, Aquileana 😀
That’s cool – there’s so much fascinating detail in your posts that I look forward to the next one, whichever subject you happen to choose 😉
Thank you very much… you’ll like the next one (It will be posted on thursday and its title will be ‘Myrrha, Adonis and Persephone”. (Myths and Interpretation)… Fair enough, no spoilers allowed! 🙂
Best wishes, Aquileana 😛
Actually, I think the spoilers were “posted” a couple of thousand years ago 😛
Nice one, dear Blake…
Best wishes, Aquileana 😛
Have you written much about Athena or are Artemis? Or do you have any resources you could recommend?
Thanks for asking… I didn’t write about those Goddesses, but will do in the next future. In the meanwhile you can check out basic information on them here: http://www.greek-gods.info/greek-gods/
Best wishes to you, Aquileana 😀
Thanks @broadblogs for sharing this post at Twitter,
Aquileana 😀
Nicely done. Thinking of Botticelli! Regards
Thanks a lot… Botticelli was a genius, without any doubt.
Best wishes, Aquileana 😀
What a crazy story! The gods are an interesting … soap opera, I love the way it all ties into reality, and makes a world of sense. Thank you again, Aquileana!
Thank you very much, dear Resa.
I loved your comment here 🙂
I am really pleased to know that you are enjoying those ancient greek myths…
Best wishes, Aquileana 😀
Hola querida Aquileana! Espero que todo vaya bien contigo. Tu post me hace pensar en las constelaciones y todas las historias de los carácteres en el cielo. Me encantan todas las historias que compartes aquí – aprendo mucho cada vez que me paro aquí.
Y discuple…estoy ocupadísima con mi maestria y con la enseñanza y con los alumnos que tuteo y escribo mi portfolio para presentar al fin del semestre…ay…no tengo ni una vida en estos días. Pero dentro de tres meses, estaré libre! Yippee!
Así no voy a hacer muchos posts en mi blog mientras, pero colecciono tantas ideas. 🙂
Hola querida Cynthia…
Me alegro mucho de tenerte por el blog… Y de saber que estás ocupada en el buen sentido, estudiando, profundizando y enseñando castellano…
Tambien agradezco enormemente tus palabras y me encanta saber que te gustan mis posts de mitología griega.
Te mando un abrazo grande y deseo lo mejor con tus proyectos, actuales y futuros.
Tu amiga blogger de Argentina, Aquileana 🙂
Thanks @cyndi_calhoun for sharing this post at Twitter,
Aquileana 😛
Aquileana,
Another beautiful post and narrative on, “Aphrodite and Adonis”, enhanced with amazing artwork. Lovely to read, and graced with such wonderful paintings. (I’m so glad that you included, “The Awakening of Adonis” by John William Waterhouse, another one of my favorite artists.) Thank you for sharing your incredible knowledge, which is obviously a passion!
Warm wishes,
Pepper
Hi Pepper,
Thank you very much for dopping by to read and comment…
Your comment is truly thoughtful and I much appreciate it…
You are right, Waterhouse’s painting is amazingly sweet and beautiful. I couldn’t agree more with youy.
Best wishes, Aquileana 😀
[…] « Greek Mythology: “Aphrodite and Adonis”.- […]
Buongiorno cara Aquileana
I felt sorry for Hephaistos, who Aphrodite had not time for whatsoever! Even with her adulterous nature he did love her. Though I do like the story when he entrapped Aphrodite and Ares during one of their many sexual trysts.
Am enjoying your Greek mythology posts.
ciao
Luciana 😀
Tante grazie cara Luciana!…
You are quite right as regard to Hephaistos, Ares and Aphrodite… Which makes me think that I would need to post on this two greek Gods soon as I still haven’t written on them…
It is always a pleasure to have you here as you are an expert on greek mythology and your insights always lead me to new approaches on these myths.
Thank you!, best wishes to you, Aquileana 😛
Not sure about being an expert but certainly do enjoy reading as much as I can on Greek Mythology. Still learning and have done from your posts 😀
Grazie cara Aquileana
Tante grazie, cara Luciana… I have learnt a lot through your posts and still do!.
Best wishes, Aquileana 😀
Thanks @ClucianaLuciana for sharing this post at Twitter,
Aquileana 😛
A beautiful and complicated post about beauty, blood and jealousy. 🙂 Always intriguing Aq. 🙂
Hi dear D.G,
I am pleased to know that you enjoyed the imbricated reading 😉
Thanks for dropping by, happy sunday and week ahead,
Aquileana 😀
Thanks @pokercubster for sharing this post at Twitter,
Aquileana 😛
As expected, another first rate post, Aquileana. I do find Greek mythology so very interesting and entertaining, quite shocking in many instances too. Take care and my best wishes my friend, James 🙂
Hi James, Thanks for dropping by and for your thoughtful words…
I am pleased to read your comment and I much appreciate it!.
All the best to you, Aquileana 😀
¡Qué bien lustraban lo pasional humano los griegos, qué excelente lo legaron!
Embellecieron un inmenso laberinto de tempestades en todo un jardín en color florecido. ¡Magia!
Gracias querida amiga, por un trabajo, además, tan a conciencia ilustrado.
Buen día.
Muchas gracias, querido Al… Me alegro mucho de saber que te ha gustado el post…
Simepre es un gusto tenerte por estas lindes.
Fuerte abrazo para vos, Aquileana 😀
Siempre me gustan; trato de leerlos a todo trance, aunque tarde de su aparición sea.
Un buen abrazo, excelente Aqui..
Muchas gracias querido Al… Un fuerte abrazo y lo mejor para la semana que acaba de comenzar,
Aquileana 😀
[…] love of Aphrodite). Poseidon (Greek God of the Sea. Roman equivalent: Neptune), and the mortal, Adonis, who […]
Hello, Aquileana,
i remembered tonight when I was in my own just-for-fun Medusa post (and updated its font size while there) that I very rudely had not responded to your request that I provide a link. After much delay, here it is.
I did see the Liebster award nomination today–Thank you so much for your kindness! I still have not had time to finish appreciating your current post (although I am up now until midnight)–I will have to return to it on Monday.
And now, for me is is past bedtime. Good night or good morning to you : )
–O. Babe
I am heading off to reda your post, dear Outlier babe!… Thanks for provinding the link here!.
All the very best for a great 2015 ahead. Cheers! ⭐ Aquileana 😀
Interesting, I had thought that Adonis was literally Aphrodite’s son, and that the affection she and Persephone had for him was merely motherly. I’m glad I went back and read this!
Interesting, how Aphrodite was born out of an act of castration, and then her lover Adonis was castrated!
I also saw another interesting parallel. Dionysus and Aphrodite are said to have had a son together named Priapus. Wikipedia says “he pursued the nymph Lotis until the gods took pity on her and turned her into a lotus plant” which is similar to the gods taking pity on Adonis’ mother Myrrha, in their turning her into a myrrh tree, though some sources say the transformation was a punishment, not out of pity.
Those interpretations though, apparently might have been cultural revisions as social commentary on what sounds like was incest in a royal family in the 1600’s or 1700’s, according to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myrrha which makes me think the interpretation of it being out of pity, as you shared, is probably the most reliable original account.
This reminds me of my line in the first Wildflower Love Sonnet I wrote, where I said “Her myrrh lured, murdered my knees nerves”.
The wikipedia page for Myrrh says “When a tree wound penetrates through the bark and into the sapwood, the tree bleeds a resin. Myrrh gum, like frankincense, is such a resin. When people harvest myrrh, they wound the trees repeatedly to bleed them of the gum.” which makes me think a little about how Adonis, born of a Myrrh tree, could have been said at least figuratively, to have bled myrrh resin when he was gored by the god of war bore!
That would certainly add a layer of depth to his blood being mixed with nectar from the Anemone, creating the Crimson Anemone, as sometimes flowers can be cross-pollinated to create new flowers!
Stunning comment dear Ry~
I much enjoyed reading your insights particularly when you highlight that:
1. Aphrodite was born out of an act of castration, and also her lover Adonis was castrated!
In both cases Gods are involved.
In Aphrodite’s birth case Gaia, Uranus’ wife, sent their youngest son Cronus against his father, armed with a sickle. So, as Cronus was throwing his dad out of heaven, he castrated him with the sickle (we are talking some serious bitterness towards daddy). The blood from Uranus’ genitalia fell into the sea, and it was there that Aphrodite was born.
In Adonis’ case, a boar castrated him… But it was Hares, teh God og War, who had transformed into a boar with that purpose! (other versions say it was Apollo)
2. Priapus (Aphrodite and Adonis’ son) pursued a nymph who eventually could become a lotus plant… Pretty much alike to the fact that Adonis’ mother Myrrh was turned into a myrrh tree due to her incestuous relationship with her father.
Also an interesting note here is that Aphrodite raised Adonis, so even when she was not her biological mother, she was her mother somehow… And in that sense we would have here a sort of cultural incestuous relationship… And Myrrha and her father relationship would be also an incestuous relationship, but here Properly said as the bond was biological!
As to the verses of your poem, they are beautiful as always!.
I will be at 21 shades as soon as possible… I am far behind at WP so my apologies!… All the very best to you. Aquileana 😀
[…] some versions of the story of Adonis, Artemis sent a wild boar to kill him because he was a better hunter than she. In another version, […]
[…] first one features Myrrha, who was Adonis biological […]
[…] Adonis’s mother was Myrrha, the beautiful daughter of king Cinyras. […]
[…] the Hellenistic period (336-146 BC), and, as the culture shifts, Aphrodite replaces Athena. Aphrodite, Goddess of Love and Beauty, was born from the white foam produced by […]