Greek Flower Myths Exaltation of the Flower Echo

Greek Flower Myths “Exaltation of the Flower”

Echo & Narcissus

"So may he himself love, and not gain the thing he loves!" (Ovid, Metamorphoses 3. 405). The gods may have changed Narcissus to a flower, due to fear that he would starve to death with his obsession. The center of the daffodil cup is said to contain the tears of Narcissus. 1

Narcissus (the daffodil)

The "drooping" of the daffodil symbolizes Narcissus admiring himself. In medieval Europe, it was believed that if a daffodil drooped when you looked at it, it was an omen of death. 2

The beautiful, but self-obsessed Narcissus not only gave his name to a genus of lovely flowers, but also to a psychological condition, narcissism (narcissistic personality disorder) which includes excessive self-admiration, a lack of empathy, and grandiose fantasies among other 3 characteristics. In the Victorian floriographs (flower dictionaries), daffodils meant vanity and unrequited love. 4 (Others say daffodils can mean contentment. 5)

Narcissus actually stems from the Greek word narkao (numbness), referring to the narcotic properties of the plant. Socrates said that it could be applied to open wounds and bring about numbness to the nervous system and 6 paralysis of the heart. Roman soldiers carried daffodil bulbs to bring about painless death if severely wounded, and they may have brought them to England to help with healing. (Daffodils actually inflame the skin, rather than help, though. 1)

n n n In Wales finding the first daffodil of spring is expected to bring more gold than silver to your life and home during the following 12 months. Never give a single daffodil, as bringing a single daffodil into the house will bring misfortune. Plant lore tells us that daffodils bring good fortune to the person who avoids trampling on them. English folklore also discourages from bringing daffodils into the house when poultry are sitting on eggs. The people believed it would stop their hens and geese from 1 laying eggs or the eggs from hatching. The daffodil is the national flower for Wales (partly due to a mix-up with the leek). Daffodil comes from “asphodel, ” meaning king’s spear. 7

The daffodil is a symbol of rebirth, the new beginning of spring. Daffodils are the birthday flower of March, the same month as the spring equinox that heralds the beginning of a new season. The daffodil is known as the “Lenten Lily” in England. A legend says that the daffodil first appeared in the Garden of Gethsemane to 1 comfort Jesus in his sorrow.

Persephone & the Narcissus Some say Persephone, in the Underworld, wore a crown of daffodils. The flower is symbolic of new life. In reality, the daffodil is often the first bulb flower (beside the snow crocus) to come back to life in the spring. The flower increases its roots while appearing dead in winter. The narcissus/daffodil is also the flower Hades used to ensnare Persephone. The daffodil may have also symbolized death to the Greeks. According to Homer, it is in asphodelcovered meadows that the souls of the dead wander. 1

Liriope was the name of Narcissus’s mother, and it’s a plant today.

Hyacinth

The modern discus weighs 2 kg (4 lbs 7 oz). The ancient discus (originally made of stone, later of bronze, iron, or lead) weighed anywhere from 1. 3 to 6. 6 kg. You have to believe that Apollo wasn't throwing the small one, right? So he's probably throwing the big one at 14 pounds or so. Wow. Keep in mind that Nelson's fleet fired round-shot that was smaller than this (some of it) at the battle of Trafalgar a couple of thousand 8 years later.

Zephry

“Behold the blood which had flowed on the ground and stained the herbage, ceased to be blood; but a flower of hue more beautiful than the Tyrian sprang up, resembling the lily, if it were not that this is purple and that silvery white. . And this was not enough for Phoebus; but to confer still greater honor, he marked the petals with his sorrow, and inscribed ‘Ah! Ah!’ upon them, as we see to this day. ” (Bulfinch)

“According to classical interpretations, this myth, . . . 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. . ” (wikipedia)

Hyacinth

Hyacinth n n During the 17 th and 18 th centuries, like the tulip, the hyacinth was to be found only in the collections of very rich flower collectors. Because of the hyacinth's pervasive perfume, the bulbs were exorbitantly expensive. 9 The purple hyacinth stands as a symbol of sorrow, a request forgiveness. 10 The blue hyacinth represents sincerity. The 11 hyacinth in general represents constancy.

Iris

Larkspur

Pansy

Adonis

Adonis

Adonis’s Death (3 versions) n n n Jealous, Ares turned self to boar and killed Artemis killed as revenge against Aphrodite for Hippolytus’s death Or accident—Adonis warned but brave and tried to hunt boar.

Anemone

Anemone (Adonis) The anemone name comes from Greek and roughly translates into "windflower. " The name "windflower" signifies that the wind that blows the petal open will also, eventually, blow the dead petals away. 12 Flower sprang up due to Adonis’s blood or due to Aphrodite’s tears over Adonis’s death.

“Adonis” is sometimes used today to refer to an extremely good-looking man.

Anemone Thought to bring luck and protect against evil, legend has it that when the anemone closes its petals, it’s a signal that rain is approaching. Still other mythology connects the anemone to magical fairies, who were believed to sleep under the petals after they closed at sunset. Perhaps it’s because of this magical and prophetic tales that today in the language of flowers, anemones represent anticipation. 2

“While yet alive, before their tints had faded, they glistened like the fairest flowers. . I could understand better for this, the truth of mythology, the fables of Proteus. . . ” -- Henry David Thoreau

Works Cited n n n n n http: //images. google. com/imgres? imgurl=http: //www. geocities. com/thedaffodilga rden/g-echonarcissus. jpg&imgrefurl=http: //www. geocities. com/thedaffodilgarden/lore. htm&h =350&w=364&sz=39&hl=en&start=58&um=1&usg=__yrf. C 2 Nj. N 2 vsqd. KMr. OYIVSQ DW 2 P 8=&tbnid=m. LAd. YHBa. Gkfuz. M: &tbnh=116&tbnw=121&prev=/images%3 Fq %3 Dnarcissus%2 Band%2 Becho%26 start%3 D 40%26 ndsp%3 D 20%26 um%3 D 1% 26 hl%3 Den%26 safe%3 Dactive%26 sa%3 DN Ibid. http: //fireflyforest. net/firefly/2006/01/01/narcissus/ http: //www. bbc. co. uk/dna/h 2 g 2/A 21989901 http: //blog. serenataflowers. com/2006/08/daffodil_the_da. html http: //images. google. com/imgres? imgurl=http: //lakecounty. typepad. com/life_in_l ake_county/images/600 pxdiscus_thrower_copenhagen. jpg&imgrefurl=http: //lakec ounty. typepad. com/life_in_lake_county/2006/10/hyacinthus_orie. html&usg=__8 G Hl 6 q 5 l. Zi. J 0 ue. UBZ 9 m. LFVRr. Epk=&h=200&w=200&sz=23&hl=en&start=71&tbnid= Wb. IKUir 3 t. KLMt. M: &tbnh=104&tbnw=104&prev=/images%3 Fq%3 Dhyacinth%2 By outh%2 Bgreek%26 start%3 D 60%26 gbv%3 D 2%26 ndsp%3 D 20%26 hl%3 Den%26 s afe%3 Dactive%26 sa%3 DN http: //www. flowers. org. uk/flowers/facts/e-j/hyacinth. htm

Works Cited (Cont’d) 10. http: //www. arenaflowers. com/facts/flower_meanings/hyacinths_flowers 11. http: //www. teleflora. com/about-flowers/hyacinth. asp 12. http: //www. plantingflowerbulbs. com/anemone-flowers. htm 13. http: //www. teleflora. com/about-flowers/anemone. asp Additionally, uncredited photos from various sources (google images and wikipedia).