flowers

i love to draw flowers <333

flowers are so pretty and deep, every single one means something different and beautiful 🪻

the hyacinth is a flower found in the mediterranean areas of europe, coming in lots of different colours (such as blue or pink)

the most well known is the purple hyacinth, for the story behind it’s name 🪻☀️

in greek mythology, a prince of sparta by the name hyacinthus fell in love with the god of the sun, apollo

he wasn’t alone with his feelings

apollo taught him hunting, gifted him a swan chariot, and gave up his temple at delphi just to spend all his time with him

but apollo wasn’t the only one who loved hyacinthus

thamyris (a mortal man) had fallen in love with him, but committed a blasphemy that apollo snitched on him to the gods, and his eyes were ripped out – he was sent to tartarus

zephyrus, god of the west wind, also fell in love with him. he was jealous of apollo and hyacinthus together, so when they played discus, he used the wind to send the disc into hyacinthus’ head, killing him

apollo turned hyacinthus’ blood into beautiful purple flowers, the same colour as hyacinthus’ eyes, which he named hyacinth after his poor lover – which he couldn’t save from death </333

in modern times, the purple hyacinth is used as a symbol of seeking an apology, deep regret, or sorrow

apollo vowed to always remember hyacinthus through his songs, which he played on the lyre

i wanna be a silk flower,
like im never gonna die

the tears of aphrodite

anemones (also called windflowers) are a common relative to the buttercup, found in every region but new zealand, australia and antartica 🥀

red anemones are associated with aphrodite, for when she cries, her tears turn into them

adonis and aphrodite were lovers, and one day while adonis was out hunting, a wild boar killed him

then, aphrodite found him dead, and she cried – once her tears hit the ground they blossomed into red anemones

as it turns out, the boar was not actually an animal – it was ares, one of aphrodite’s many lovers, who was probably angered over adonis being her favourite lover, and killed him for that

aphrodite pleaded to zeus for adonis’ life, and he allowed adonis to spend half a year with her and the rest in the underworld

the myth represents the decay of nature every winter, and it’s revival in spring ❤

Narcissus

the daffodil (also called narcissus) is a popular yellow flower that is planted in september, and blooms between february and may

the story behind it’s name, is after a hunter from greek mythology, who was named narcissus

narcissus was a very handsome man, and one day when he looked into the water, he saw his own reflection and fell in love with it

he couldn’t look away from it, he spent all his time staring into the water – not even the nymph, echo, could avert his gaze

all the while he spent there, he didn’t eat or sleep and eventually time caught up to him – he fell into the water and drowned

his last breath was spent with the one he loved so much, but could never have (because it’s a reflection)

the daffodil is named after him, because of the flowers beauty, and the fact that most daffodils droop – representing him leaning over the water to view his reflection

Lotus

the lotus is a pink and white flower, sometimes called a water lily, indian lotus, or sacred lotus

the lotus flower is often found in places with warm temperatures, and inside of the water (usually ponds, lakes, swamps etc)

in the odysessy, there was an island dominated by the lotus plant, full of lotophagi – a race of people who eat the fruit of the lotus, “sweet as honey”

the lotus fruits and flowers were the main source of food on the island – the lotus is a narcotic (drug) though, and made the people who ate it fall asleep peacefully unaware

after you ate it, you would forget about everything else off the island and remain there for the rest of your life

figuratively, ‘lotus-eaters’ denotes “people who spend their time indulging in pleasure and luxury rather than dealing with practical concerns”

Violet

the violet holds a place in ancient greece for its scent (suggesting sex), and became very popular as the symbol of athens

they were also associated with death, and could be commonly seen at funerals scattered around tombs

aphrodite is associated with them too (for the sex thing) – and her son priapus (deity of gardens and generation)

it is also associated with iamus, a son of the god apollo and the nymph evadne – who abandoned him in the arcadian wilds on a bed of violets where serpents fed him honey

he was later discovered by shepards who named him iamus, after the bed of violets

there is another story for it though, which represents the modesty

in greek mythology, one of artemis’ nymphs (who had sworn to stay a maiden) was being perused by apollo – to protect her, artemis turned her into a violet