Adonis
The name Adonis comes from a Canaanite word meaning lord. This single term connects the Greek god to ancient Near Eastern traditions stretching back centuries before classical Greece formed. Scholars trace this linguistic root to the Hebrew title Adonai, still used in Judaism today. The worship of Aphrodite and Adonis likely continued an older Sumerian tradition involving Inanna and Dumuzid. Walter Burkert notes that the special function of the Adonis legend offered women unbridled emotional expression within strict social boundaries. This cultural shift occurred during the eighth century BC when archaic Greece faced Neo-Assyrian influence. Ezekiel 8 mentions Adonis under his earlier East Semitic name Tammuz near Jerusalem's north gate. A group of women mourned Tammuz while sitting there during King Manasseh's reign. The exact date when Adonis integrated into Greek culture remains disputed among historians.
Greek women planted gardens inside small baskets or broken pottery during midsummer celebrations every year. These quick-growing plants included lettuce, fennel, wheat, and barley. Participants climbed ladders to place these gardens on rooftops exposed to intense summer heat. The plants sprouted rapidly but withered quickly under the sun's glare. While waiting for growth and decay, women burned incense to honor Adonis. Once the vegetation died, they mourned loudly by tearing clothes and beating their breasts publicly. A statuette of Adonis lay out on a bier before being carried to the sea. The festival concluded with women throwing both the effigy and withered plants into ocean waters. W. Atallah suggests this ritual represented conflation of two independent traditions over time. An Attic red-figure wedding vase from 430, 420 BC shows women climbing ladders carrying these gardens upward.
Aphrodite cursed Myrrha with insatiable lust for her own father King Cinyras after his wife bragged about beauty. Myrrha revealed her shameful passion only to her nurse who found Cinyras half-passed out with wine. The nurse described a girl truly loving him without revealing names while Cinyras agreed to meet. After several couplings, Cinyras discovered his lover's identity and drew his sword to kill her. Driven out while pregnant, Myrrha transformed into a myrrh tree yet still gave birth to Adonis. Ovid describes how the story falls within conventional classical ideas about sex and gender roles. Greeks believed women like Myrrha were less capable controlling primal wants than men. The transformation occurred during a festival honoring Demeter when Myrrha's mother was absent. This narrative detail appears in Metamorphoses written between 43 BC and AD 17/18 by Roman poet Ovid.
Aphrodite found baby Adonis and took him to underworld where Persephone fostered him until grown. Both goddesses found Adonis strikingly handsome and wanted to keep him forever. Zeus decreed he would spend one third of year with Aphrodite, another third with Persephone, final third wherever chosen. Adonis selected Aphrodite remaining constantly together according to most versions. Another account states both goddesses kept him half-year each at Muse Calliope suggestion. Lucian features Aphrodite complaining to moon goddess Selene that Eros made Persephone fall for Adonis. One day hunting trip ended when wild boar wounded him fatally. Different versions claim boar sent by Ares jealous of time spent with Adonis or Artemis seeking revenge for Hippolytus death. Apollo also punished Aphrodite for blinding son Erymanthus according to some accounts. Nonnus Dionysiaca 42.1f records these variations alongside Servius commentary on Virgil Eclogues x.18. Orphic Hymn lv.10 mentions divine involvement in the fatal wounding event.
Sir James George Frazer wrote extensively about Adonis in The Golden Bough first published 1890. He claimed Adonis exemplified dying-and-rising god archetype found across cultures worldwide. Mid-twentieth century scholars began criticizing this designation arguing deities better termed separately as dying gods and disappearing gods. Gods who died did not return while those returning never truly died according to critics. Biblical scholars Eddy and Boyd applied rationale based on Underworld portion being living person stay rather than resurrection. They argued no extant Classical Greek writings explicitly describe rising from dead though Late Antiquity authors attest belief existence. Origen discusses Adonis associating Tammuz in Selecta in Ezechielem noting rites conducted where people weep then rejoice because risen from dead. Some scholars continue citing Adonis/Tammuz as example suggesting underworld descent functional analogue even without physical cause depicted. Pseudo-Apollodorus Bibliotheke 3.14.4 provides alternative version involving Erinoma rape leading to cave hiding from Zeus.
Medieval French poet Jean de Meun retold story around 1275 moralizing how men should heed women warnings. Pierre de Ronsard poem Adonis 1563 features Venus lamenting failure yet blaming herself for death quickly finding another shepherd lover. Tapestries depicting Adonis decorated Castle Joyous walls in Edmund Spenser Faerie Queene 1590. Venus took character Amoretta raising her in Garden of Adonis within epic narrative structure. Shakespeare's erotic narrative poem Venus and Adonis published 1593 became most popular work during lifetime. Six editions appeared before Shakespeare's death exceeding any other publication count. Richard Barnfield lauded poem placing name in fames immortall Booke 1605 despite mixed modern reception. Samuel Taylor Coleridge defended while Samuel Butler complained boredom C.S.Lewis described reading attempt suffocating. Giambattista Marino wrote mythological epic L'Adone 1623 outselling Shakespeare First Folio. Rachilde novel Monsieur Vénus 1884 featured noblewoman Raoule pursuing effeminate Jacques flower shop worker ultimately shot killed following tragic model.
Common questions
What is the origin of the name Adonis?
The name Adonis comes from a Canaanite word meaning lord. This term connects the Greek god to ancient Near Eastern traditions stretching back centuries before classical Greece formed. Scholars trace this linguistic root to the Hebrew title Adonai, still used in Judaism today.
How did Greek women celebrate festivals honoring Adonis during midsummer?
Greek women planted gardens inside small baskets or broken pottery containing lettuce, fennel, wheat, and barley on rooftops exposed to intense summer heat. Participants climbed ladders to place these gardens upward where plants sprouted rapidly but withered quickly under the sun's glare. Once vegetation died, they mourned loudly by tearing clothes and beating their breasts publicly before throwing the effigy and withered plants into ocean waters.
Who were the parents of Adonis according to Ovid Metamorphoses written between 43 BC and AD 17/18?
Adonis was born to Myrrha who transformed into a myrrh tree after being cursed with insatiable lust for her own father King Cinyras. The transformation occurred during a festival honoring Demeter when Myrrha's mother was absent. Ovid describes how the story falls within conventional classical ideas about sex and gender roles.
What decree did Zeus make regarding Adonis time spent with goddesses Aphrodite and Persephone?
Zeus decreed that Adonis would spend one third of year with Aphrodite, another third with Persephone, and final third wherever chosen. Adonis selected Aphrodite remaining constantly together according to most versions. Another account states both goddesses kept him half-year each at Muse Calliope suggestion.
How did Sir James George Frazer describe Adonis in The Golden Bough first published 1890?
Sir James George Frazer wrote extensively about Adonis claiming he exemplified dying-and-rising god archetype found across cultures worldwide. Mid-twentieth century scholars began criticizing this designation arguing deities better termed separately as dying gods and disappearing gods. Gods who died did not return while those returning never truly died according to critics.
All sources
14 references cited across the entry
- 4inlineOvid, Metamorphoses 10.503
- 10inlineHyginus, Astronomica 2.7.4
- 11inlineAelian, On Animals 9.36