Hyacinth (mythology)

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For other uses, see Hyacinthus (disambiguation).

The Death of Hyacinthos, by Jean Broc

Hyacinth 'ha??s?n? or Hyacinthus (Greek ???????? Hukinthos) is a divine hero from
Greek mythology. His cult at Amykles southwest of Sparta dates from the Mycenaean
era. A temenos or sanctuary grew up around what was alleged to be his burial mound,
which was located in the Classical period at the feet of Apollo's statue.[1] The
literary myths serve to link him to local cults, and to identify him with Apollo.

Contents [hide]
1 Mythology
2 Interpretation
3 See also
3.1 Modern sources
4 Spoken-word myths - audio files
5 Notes
6 External links
Mythology[edit]

Hyacinthus and the West Wind on a red-figure vase

In Greek mythology, Hyacinth was given various parentage, providing local links, as
the son of Clio and Pierus, or of king Oebalus of Sparta, or of king Amyclas of
Sparta,[2] progenitor of the people of Amyclae, dwellers about Sparta. His cult at
Amykles dates from Mycenaean Greece.

In the literary myth, Hyacinth was a beautiful youth and lover of the god Apollo,
though he was also admired by Zephyrus, the West Wind. Apollo and Hyacinth took
turns throwing the discus. Hyacinth ran to catch it to impress Apollo, was struck
by the discus as it fell to the ground, and died.[3] A twist in the tale makes
Zephyrus responsible for the death of Hyacinth.[4] His beauty caused a feud between
Zephyrus and Apollo. Jealous that Hyacinth preferred the radiant Apollo, Zephyrus
blew Apollo's discus off course to kill Hyacinth.

When Hyacinth died, Apollo did not allow Hades to claim the youth; rather, he made
a flower, the hyacinth, from his spilled blood. According to Ovid's account, the
tears of Apollo stained the newly formed flower's petals with the sign of his
grief.

The flower of the mythological Hyacinth has been identified with a number of plants
other than the true hyacinth, such as the iris.[5] According to a local Spartan
version of the myth, Hyacinth and his sister Polyboea were taken to Elysium by
Aphrodite, Athena and Artemis.[6]

The Bibliotheca said Thamyris was Hyacinth's lover and the first man to have loved
another man.[7]

Hyacinth was the tutelary deity of one of the principal Spartan festivals, the
Hyacinthia, held every summer. The festival lasted three days, one day of mourning
for the death of Hyacinth, and the last two celebrating his rebirth as Apollo
Hyakinthios, though the division of honours is a subject for scholarly controversy.
[8]

Interpretation[edit]

The Death of Hyacinth by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo

The name of Hyacinth is of pre-Hellenic origin, as indicated by the suffix -nth.[9]
According to classical interpretations, his myth, where Apollo is a Dorian god, is
a classical metaphor of the death and rebirth of nature, much as in the myth of
Adonis. It has likewise been suggested that Hyacinthus was a pre-Hellenic divinity
supplanted by Apollo through the accident of his death, to whom he remains
associated in the epithet of Apollon Hyakinthios.[10]

See also[edit]
Apollo et Hyacinthus, the Mozart opera.
The House of Hades, a young adult novel in the Heroes of Olympus series by Rick
Riordan.
The Hidden Oracle, another young adult novel in the Trials of Apollo series of the
Camp Half-Blood chronicles by Rick Riordan.
Modern sources[edit]
Gantz, Timothy (1993). Early Greek Myth. Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press.