THE FLOWER MYTHS
• Narcissus
• Hyacinth
• Adonis
NARCISSUS
 A handsome young man named Narcissus
 He would ignore the advances of beautiful maidens
 Even the fair nymph Echo, who was punished by Hera
never to speak again but to repeat what was said to her,
could not gain his love; hid herself into a cave out of
shame; still lives in enclosed places; so weakened that
only her voice remained
 Narcissus was doomed to love himself after seeing his
own reflection in water
 He could never reach himself; died looking at himself; a
flower bloomed at the side of the pool, Narcissus
HYACINTH
 Hyacinthus was the dearest companion of
Apollo
 During a discus-throwing contest Apollo
accidentaly struck the boy in the forehead
 The youth died immediately
 Where his blood fell there bloomed a wondrous
flower, to be called Hyacinth
 Apollo’s sorrow was inscribed on the petals with
the two letters of the Greek word for “Alas!”
ADONIS
 Even as a baby Adonis was loved by Aphrodite
 Aphrodite took him to Persephone to take charge
 Persephone loved him too, did not want to give him
back; Zeus decided that he should spend autumn and
winter with Persephone and the spring and summer with
Aphrodite
 They liked to play and chase each other in the woods
 One day Adonis wounded a wild boar; boar killed him
 Where his blood fell there bloomed the red anemone
LOVE STORIES
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Pyramus and Thisbe
Orpheus and Eurydice
Pygmalion and Galatea
Daphne
Endymion
PYRAMUS & THISBE
 Pyramus (young boy) and Thisbe (lovely maiden) lived in
Babylon in two houses with a common wall
 Lovers would talk through a hole in tha wall, yet no touch and
kiss possible
 Finally they decided to slip away to meet under the white
mulberry tree
 Thisbe went first, dropped her cloak while escaping from a
lioness
 Pyramus saw the bloodstained cloak and thought Thisbe was
dead, stabbed himself; his blood dyed the mulberries into red
 Thisbe came back, understood what happened and killed
herself
 Their love is commemorated in the red mulberry tree
ORPHEUS & EURYDICE
 Son of one of the Muses and a Thracian prince
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Mother gave him the gift of music which fostered in Thrace
When he played rocks moved, animals followed
He married Eurydice, she died shortly after
Orpheus decided to go to Hades and bring her back
His song touched Hades’s heart and gave Eurydice back, but
upon one condition: he would not look back to be sure that
she followed
 Just as he was out he turned back, Eurydice slipped back
into darkness forever
 Orpheus wandered aimlessly; was killed by bandits; where
he is buried the nightingales sing sweetly
PYGMALION & GALATEA
 Pygmalion, a young sculptor of Cyprus, hated
women for their deficiencies, swore never to
marry
 Yet he made the statue of a perfect woman and
fell deeply in love with what he made
 He did everything to have a response from the
statue, but the statue was a lifeless thing
 Venus (Aphrodite) accepted his prayers and
gave life to the statue, Pygmalion named her
Galatea and married her
DAPHNE
 Daughter of the river-god Peneus
She was a beautiful girl who rejected all who
wooed her, she liked hunting in the woods
 Apollo saw her in the woods; fell in love and
began to pursue her
 While running in fear she saw her father’s river
and asked for help
 Suddenly she was changed into the laurel tree
 Apollo made her his tree and her leaves the
symbol of victory
ENDYMION
 He was a young and handsome shepherd
 The Moon-goddess Selene loved him
 Selene made him immortal and cast a magic on
him so that he would sleep forever while she
caressed and kissed him as she pleased