Adonis was the god of beauty and desire that originally was a god worshipped in Phoenicia and was adopted by Greek culture.
The god of beauty and desire was born out of an incestuous affair between Theias, the king of Syria, and Myrrha, his daughter. Legend says that when Theias found out that Myrrha had tricked him into having intercourse, he sought to kill her. In response, Myrrha pleaded with the gods to change her form, to which they obliged and changed her into a myrrh tree. It was in this form that she conceived Adonis, with whom the goddess Aphrodite fell in love.
Adonis and Aphrodite
Aphrodite protected him from Theias and appointed Persephone to raise him. When he reached a mature age, Aphrodite requested him to be returned to her, to which Persephone refused. The two goddesses had to have their dispute judged and solved by Zeus. Zeus declared that he would spend a third of a year with each goddess and one-third with whoever he wanted. He chose to spend two-thirds with Aphrodite.
There are two different versions that describe the death of Adonis.
- He died of an attack by a wild boar that was sent by Artemis, who was jealous of the exceptional hunting skills that the god of beauty had acquired.
- Ares, the lover of Aphrodite, sent the boar over his jealousy of Aphrodite and Adonis' relationship.
Aphrodite mourned his death and poured nectar over his blood, giving birth to the flower anemone.