![]() ![]() King Aegeas fortunately, recognized a sword he had given Theseus as a mark of his parentage, and knocked the cup out of his hand in time.Trees are some of the most potent symbols in the natural world. Medea, the famous witch, tried to poison her husband’s son, Theseus, with the plant. The spittle of Kerberos dripped on the ground and sprang forth the first aconite plant. As part of one of his labors, he was sent to fetch the beast Kerberos from the Underworld. It got its name in the myth of the twelve labors of Heracles. Often used by a poison in ancient times, the plant was called akoniton (without soil) because it grows on rocky ground. Apollo named it after his lover and ordered a three-day festival in his honor.Īconite (Wolf’s Bane)- The Weapon of the Witch. While Apollo was grieving the loss of Hyacinthus, a flower sprang up from where his blood had soaked the ground. However, the god the wind, Zephyrus, was jealous of them, and during a discus throwing contest, Zephyr caused the wind to make the disc strike Hyacinthus in the head. ![]() Here again we see the god Apollo falling in love with a young man this time, his name was Hyacinthus. Where drops of Adonis’s blood fell, red anemones sprang forth. One day, Adonis wounded a fierce boar, which stabbed him with his tusks. This flower is associated with the death of Adonis, who was loved by both Persephone and Aphrodite. Perhaps the opium dens of the Victorians might tell us why! Milk of the poppy was a common medicine for pain relief in the ancient world, but sometimes a dose too large had adverse effects. This particular plant with its lurid history was associated with Morpheus (where the word morphine comes from), the god of sleep, and was also a symbol of death in that culture. ![]() I personally just like to pick them in the spring when they flower. There waiting, was Hades, who kidnapped her and took her to the Underworld. The second involves Persephone, who was lured away from her companion while picking flowers by a patch of Narcissus flowers. The first is the more well known, that of a youth named Narcissus who fell in love with his own reflection in a pool of water and died there. There are two myths associated with this plant. Typically, the Fields of Asphodel were thought to be a peaceful place of rest for the dead, although, as much as I love flowers, after a few centuries, I’d get very bored. No doubt its white color made strong associations with death over the years and is said to have been planted at tombs. Comprising of about 16 different subspecies, the Asphodelus genus is most known for its white variety, Asphodelus Albus. Though we may only know the Fields of Asphodel as the place in the Underworld where most souls who were not heroes or villains went in death, there is actually a real species called Asphodelus, identified in the 1700s. Mourners would carry cypress branches as a sign of grief and respect. Bodies of the honored were also placed upon a bed of cypress branches before burial. This honor was usually reserved for heroes. If one was buried in a coffin made of cypress, it signified everlasting life. Cypresses were planted near graves or vestibules to signify hallowed ground and to warn against entering. His grief was so great that he laid beside the creature and transformed into a tree. One day, Cyparassisus accidentally struck the stag and killed it. Cyparassisus had a stag with whom he was very attached to and was his favorite companion. This story centers on a youth named Cyparassisus was a youth whom Apollo was in love with. Some even say it grows in the Underworld! As Persephone is both a goddess of life and death, so the pomegranate came to symbolize both life and death. Thus, the pomegranate has great symbolism for the Ancient Greeks. This was how the Greeks explained the changing of the seasons, meaning that right now Persephone has made her way to Hades. However, Zeus intervened, and Persephone was permitted to leave the underworld for part of the year. She was going to be rescued, but Hades had tricked her into eating some pomegranate seeds, which according to the laws of the Fates, meant that she had to stay there. As it goes, Hades kidnapped Persephone and carried her to the underworld. Often referred to as the symbol of death and fertility, pomegranates feature strongly in the mythology of Ancient Greece, specifically in the story of Persephone. ![]()
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