THE MYTH OF APHRODITE AND ADONIS

One of the most well-known Greek tales is that of Aphrodite and Adonis because it is intimately connected to love and Eros. Even gods and other divine beings could not withstand the devastating effects of God Eros' arrows when they fell in love with mortals.

Aphrodite and Adonis are a well-known fable about passion and rejection that is spiced up with interesting information about the Goddess of Love and Lust and the attractive mortal Adonis.

According to Greek mythology, Adonis is the embodiment of manly beauty, to which he owed his fate. Actually, there are two well-known mythology involving Adonis and Aphrodite. Adonis' early years are discussed in the first myth, while his death and Aphrodite's part in it are discussed in the second.

Adonis And Aphrodite: A Myth About Beauty And Love
The original Aphrodite and Adonis myth centres on the man's parents and is a tale of love, beauty, and jealousy. The lovely Myrrha, sometimes known as Smyrna, was Adonis' mother, and his father, King Cinyrus of Cyprus, was actually Myrrha's father.

Because Goddess Aphrodite was envious of Myrrha's beauty, she forced the girl to reunite with her own father, which is how Adonis acquired this peculiar parentage.

Cinyrus chased Myrrha with a sword, intending to kill both her and her unborn child, after realising he had been duped. Aphrodite instantly transformed the girl into a myrrh tree as an act of repentance.

The Conflict Between Persephone And Aphrodite Regarding Adonis

Aphrodite placed the infant Adonis in a chest and gave Persephone, the goddess of the underworld, command over it. Persephone was captivated by the baby's beauty when she opened the chest and refused to give him back to Aphrodite, even though the goddess of love descended to the Underworld to free the infant Adonis from the grip of the dead.

Adonis was ordered to divide his time between Persephone in the underworld and Aphrodite in the upper world after Zeus arbitrated the dispute between the two Goddesses of love and death.
It was winter while he resided in the underworld. The Earth flowered into spring and summer upon his return.
The conflict between love and death is a recurring theme in Greek mythology, as seen in the story of Persephone and Hades, and it is amply reflected in this version of the myth where Aphrodite and Persephone compete for control of Adonis.

Zeus' decision to have Adonis spend some of the year underground and some of it above ground is just a reference to the spring and winter-related Greek myth concerning the idea of the annual disappearance and return.

A Different Interpretation Of The Aphrodite and Adonis Myth

In some versions of the myth of Aphrodite and Adonis, when Ares, the God of War and Aphrodite’s lover, hears that Aphrodite loves the adolescent Adonis, felt immensely jealous and planned to seek revenge.

While Aphrodite pursued Adonis in an effort to seduce him, Adonis was more focused on hunting. Knowing that the young man would suffer a terrible fate, Aphrodite begged Adonis to stop participating in the risky sports he loved. When Adonis disregarded her advice, a wild boar—who was actually God Ares—killed him while he was out hunting.

Aphrodite heard Adonis' screams as he passed away and raced to his side in her swan-drawn chariot. The Fates and Ares who had predetermined his demise were cursed by her. Aphrodite created windflowers (the transient anemone) as a tribute to their love from the blood drips that fell from Adonis' wounds onto the ground while he was still in her arms.

Adonis' blood produced anemones, and his spirit descended into the underworld. Zeus decided that Adonis should only spend the first half of the year in the Underworld in response to the goddess's wailing.

The Aphrodite and Adonis Myth In Art
Book Ten of Ovid's Metamorphoses contains the myth of Aphrodite and Adonis. In this version, Orpheus recounts us the tale while grieving for Eurydice with the trees and the wild animals.

The adolescent Adonis, who is more fascinated with the art of hunting than with Aphrodite (Venus to the Romans), is terribly captivated to her. She makes fruitless attempts to win Adonis's heart. Adonis, however, likes to go hunting, and a boar severely hurts him before killing him. Venus, however, refuses to accept the death of her beloved and instead chooses to transform him into a lovely flower that grows from his blood while continuing to represent her unfulfilled love.

By-
Sriparna Mukherjee
Amity University, Kolkata