#Adonis myth

[brimo5]

Yes, I basically agree. Adonis is a tragic bottom to me cause almost everyone treats him badly in myth (even though some of them love him). I can't seriously think that Persephone had special feelings for Adonis in the Library by Pseudo-Apollodorus, refusing to free him is just what she would do with other mortals. More ironic is that Adonis is essentially loyal to Aphrodite, even my dear jerk-maker Nonnus doesn't describe him bad. 😫

Personaly, I prefer the version that the boar kills him out of a desire to kiss him.

To which the beast “I swear to thee, Cytherean,” answered he, “by thyself and by thy husband, and by these my bonds and these thy huntsmen, never would I have smitten thy pretty husband but that I saw him there beautiful as a statue, and could not withstand the burning mad desire to give his naked thigh a kiss. (The Dead Adonis, line 21-38)

How can Adonis be a jerk? I remember there are only two sources that imply Persephone raised Adonis, and there is no evidence suggesting that Adonis loved Persephone. Pseudo-Apollodorus doesn't mention that Persephone fell in love with Adonis, he simply states that she saw him when he was a baby. In the Orphic hymn, Adonis is basically Persephone's natural son (also referred to as Orphic Dionysus). Combining and twisting different mythology sources can be a total nightmare sometime. Last time I read a retelling that Persephone was in love with Adonis and abused her own daughter, I just about threw up.

This is the most common version of the myth of Adonis:

Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 3. 183 (trans. Aldrich) (Greek mythographer C2nd A.D.) : "Kinyras took some people with him to Kypros and founded Paphos there; he married Metharme, a child of King Pygmalion of Kypros, and they had Oxyporos and Adonis . . . While Adonis was still a boy, because of Artemis' anger he was wounded by a boar during a hunt and died. Hesiodos says the he was the son of Phoinix and Alphesiboia; but Panyassis calls him the son of Theias, king of the Assyrians, whose daughter was Smyrna. Because of Aphrodite's wrath (for she did not honour Aphrodite), Smyrna developed a lust for her father, and with the help of her nurse slept with him for twelve nights without his knowing it. When he found out he drew his sword and started after her, and as he was about to overtake her, she prayed to the gods to become invisible. The gods took pity on her and changed her into the tree called the Smyrna. Nine months later the tree split open and the baby named Adonis was born. Because of his beauty, Aphrodite secreted him away in a chest, keeping it from the gods, and left him with Persephone. But when Persephone got a glimpse of Adonis, she refused to return him. When the matter was brought to Zeus for arbitration, he divided the year into three parts and decreed that Adonis would spent one third of the year by himself, one third with Persephone, and the rest with Aphrodite. But Adonis added his own portion to Aphrodite's. Later on, while hunting, he was attacked by a boar and died."

While Pseudo-Apollodorus doesn’t mention that she loved him, the fact that she refused to return him implies the fact that she developed some sort of attachment towards him.

And yes, nowhere it is mentioned that Adonis loved her, and the fact that his portrayals in fanfics and retellings vary from "jerk" to straight-up a villain is completely disturbing.

[be-it-so]

[0rphicachilles]

Whenever you see a boy in greek mythology being described as beautiful and young, you know some crazy shit is going to happen to them

[gotstabbedbyapen]

[milkdromeda-d]

If Adonis was included in Hades II

[h0bg0blin-meat]

"Have you ever met someone that was sunshine in human form?"

Cyrene: I mean.... :)

Adonis: Literally? Figuratively? Both? Yes :3

Hyacinthus: Welp- :3

Daphne: Yes, and I'm not very proud of it-

Bolina: I don't wanna talk about it.

Admetus: Erm-...

Nerites: Can we PLEASE change the topic?

Icarus: I mean... I wanted to-

[brimo5]

According to Sin. Ar. Nf 66, new fragments from the Orphic Rhapsodies, Aphrodite appears to have fostered Dionysus before Persephone and entered the underworld in search of him.(x) Dionysus here is apparently the same as Adonis. (I'm not sure if this has been discussed, whether the notion of Dionysus as the son of Zeus and his daughter originates from the Myrrh myth or if the Myrrh myth developed later from this idea.)

This opens up more possibilities for the timeline of the Orphic myth. Why did Aphrodite lose Dionysus? Is it possible that Dionysus became Persephone's son only after he was killed by the Titans?

[ophii]

could you draw Adonis?

by the way here is a warning DO NOT look up Adonis for reference on tumblr you will see things you do not want to.

yes!! LMAO and thank u for the warning but i did it anyway and. you were right. i made sure to specify 'greek mythology' after that

[paradisechid800]

Au where Dite and Perse raised Adonis together

Hestia: Adonis bit a kid at school today.

Persephone: *gasp*

Aphrodite: What!?

Hestia: I know this is hard to hear, bu-

Persephone: How dare you!?!?

Aphrodite: Our son is a saint!

Hestia:???

Baby Adonis: *running with a flame thrower burning everything he sees*

Hestia:!?!?

Hestia: Are you seeing this!

Aphrodite: Of course we are.

Persephone: Who do you think gave that to him!?

*

Baby Adonis: *holding a giant battleaxe*

Demeter: Little boy, where do you think you're going with that?

Baby Adonis: Um...

Demeter: Give it too me.

Baby Adonis: *Hands to her*

Demeter: Thank you. *hands him a bigger, sharper one* this cuts much more proficiently.

Baby Adonis: Thank u, uwu *starts chasing people*

Aphrodite: That's my boy.

*

Zeus: *Bouncing baby Adonis on his knee* What an adorable little scamp.

Hera: Careful, we don't want him developing a bad vocabulary.

Zeus: Don't be silly. Perse's the one raising him, this is the most innocent thing in the world.

Baby Adonis: *Points at Zeus* Slut!

Zeus: ...

Zeus: Well he isn't wrong.

[sorayume24]

Adonis!!

He's a bit more mature after years of being shared by two goddesses and being killed by a boar.. and dur to him being a human once.. he sympathizes with humans more and has more common sense.. he's probably the one of the normal ones out of all the gods lol

Anyway, have adonis and apollo, yes they are also lovers, look it up, it's a shame I don't see adonis x apollo fanart ever..

I have a headcannon that apollo was jealous of adonis for being more beautiful than him and also being an archer and lover of aphrodite (apollo's crush) and also because apollo is the god of beauty.. so apollo kinda tries to show off and prove him wrong (being competitive and proving he's better while also trying to win aphrodite's love), but adonis just admires him.. (and all he wants to do is do archery and hunt, i know in the myths artemis kinda sent a boar to kill him but i think they'd actually be archer buddies) and through out the time they have apollo kinda gets why aphrodite fell inlove with him and apollo just grants him the title of the god of beauty because apollo ended up falling inlove as well

They'd do archer stuff together, adonis also enjoys apollo's music, which catches apollo off guard, which apollo doesn't expect someone who he sees as a rival to listen to him play

[gingermintpepper]

This morning at like 4 am I said I'd post about Hyapollo when I woke up and I'm awake now so:

Here is a list of very specific headcanons about how Hyacinthus and Apollo's first meeting goes (this is, in fact, specific to the retelling that is living rent-free in my mind)

Apollo goes to Amyclae because he's looking for Clio. She's been missing for quite some time and the other Muses have done a wonderful job covering for her (read: hiding the reason she's MIA so Apollo doesn't get into a tiff with Aphrodite when he's already very stressed) but Apollo's gotten suspicious and none of his girls will give him a straight answer so fine, he'll find her himself.

Slips into mortal guise as a huntsman named Agreus (He's very stressed okay, don't critique his naming sense) and makes an exchange with Hermes for some information so he at least has a lead on where to start looking.

Hears from Hermes that she may or may not be in Lapith which is great, actually, Apollo hasn't checked in on how those particular descendants have been doing in quite some time so really, it's all working out.

Decides to make something of a trip out of it - he hasn't assumed mortal guise in a long time and it'll be longer still before he gets to wear it again. Goes to Amyclae so he can take the ship from there to Lapith, gets stopped by some men returning from a hunt of their own.

"Foreigner, what business do you have in our fair city?" "Merely passing through, to Lapith." "To Lapith? Where is your pass?" "My what?"

Gets arrested :(

His case gets processed fairly quickly actually - he only spends a few hours in merchant jail before he's taken to plea his case with one of the princes of Amyclae

The prince is actually one of the hunters that had him arrested. Lovely. His hair keeps catching Apollo's eyes though, thick and bright red. Almost familiarly so...

"Pardon me - " "No" "- but I can't help but notice your hair milord. Is the current queen Thracian?" "You claim to want passage to Lapith but know nothing of its affairs? The current queen is the lady of Lapith, Diomede."

Apollo hasn't been keeping much of an eye on Lapith, but as far as he knows, there hasn't been a prominent Diomede since the days of Lapithes. And she was his daughter.

It kind of clicks then - Aphrodite punishing Clio with the same fate she scolded her for, to fall in love with a mortal and experience the pain she felt for Adonis. Diomede is the kind of clever, obscure name Clio would pick, which makes this very grumpy prince in front of him both her son and a part of that punishment. Wonderful.

(The prince's name is apparently Hyacinthus. Apollo manages to convince him to let him free since he's clearly not been to Lapith in quite some time and has not kept up to date with its legislation. He pays his fine and is out of the holding cells by nightfall.)

[mythical-art]

Adonis, a white stallion by James Ward

Private Collection

[sarafangirlart]

I like how everyone ignores the fact that Persephone (and also kinda Aphrodite) groomed Adonis. Let’s keep it that way.

[hadesfan50]

This but with Persephone with Adonis (btw I found this image on Pinterest and I don’t know who made it)

[brimo5]

Aphrodite mourned him and was seized by unctrollable grief. Not being able to bear her love, she descends to Hades to seek for her beloved. She besought Pluton to honour her with him, but his wife Persephone hindered this request, being much taken by Adonis. But, Aphrodite persisting in her request, it was settled that between the two of them his company should be divided, and with the one he should be during a year above on earth, but with the other during a year in Hades. (Five unedited Greek Scholia of Ps.-Nonnos, 38)

I guess Plouton was once again moved by love rather than having a problem with his wife owning a dead man. Think of Persephone getting very angry and announcing that she won't help Hades take away any more dead and asks Dionysus or Herakles to take her property back. Just my headcanon.🤣Anyway, we do have a textual record of Plouton's intervening in arbitration of Aphrodite and Persephone from the 6th century.

[hyac1nthus]

Idk Hyacinthus is so >::3 and Ganymede is so ::/ and Adonis is so ::)