DESCRIPTION:

Adonis was born from the secret union of Smyrna with her father Kinyras, the mythical king of Cyprus. When Kinyras eventually discovered the truth, he began to seek his daughter so as to slay her for this grievous act. When she heard Smyrna’s pleas for mercy, Aphrodite relented and transformed her into a smyrna tree. The fruit of the union between Kinyras and Smyrna was Adonis, who was born out of the trunk of the tree.

Adonis was so handsome that when Aphrodite saw the newborn baby, she fell in love with him. She gave the baby to be raised by Persephone, Goddess of the Underworld. When Adonis grew up to be a handsome youth, Persephone refused to hand him over to Aphrodite. The two goddesses finally reached a compromise, whereby Adonis would spend part of the year in the Underworld and the remainder above with Aphrodite. One day, when Adonis was out hunting, he was slain by a boar. His blood fell on white roses, which, since then, have been red.