ADONIS: The deified toy boy…

Dying Adonis by Vincenzo di Raffaello de’ Rossi. Photo Yiorgos Nimkiteas

The cult of Adonis seems to have been imported in Greece from Cyprus and even there it was not a native one. The island had received strong influences from its Middle Eastern neighbors, especially the Syro- Canaanites who were commercial partners but it had also been subjected to the power of the Assyrians during the 8^th century BC. It also had a number of Phoenician settlements whose population seemed not to have been hellenized until the 3^rd century BC. There is no wonder that the middle-eastern religions influenced the Cypriots who in their turn influenced the people of mainland Greece. The name Adonis is believed to be from the shemitic root “adon” meaning “lord” Adonis himself is being identified with the Babylonian god Tammuz It also appears that the cult of Adonis seem to have spread in mainland city stated during the Hellenistic-Roman period. Our major literary sources about Adonis and his cult come from the roman period.

Adonis was the product of the incestuous love of Smyrna with her father Cinyras, king of Paphos who committed suicide when he discovered the abominable act. (Hygin. Fab. 58, 242; Antonin. Lib. 34; Ov. Met. x. 310, &c.). But according to the cyclic poet Panyasis Smyrna was the daughter of Theias, king of the Assyrians who tricked her father into incestuous union with the aid of her nurse. On discovering this Theias attempted to kill her but the god transformed her into a plant. (ap. Apollod. l. c.) Both versions of the myth take a story, which might have been inspired by events that might have taken place in an Assyrian or Phoenician Iron Age harem. Both possible fathers of Adonis are described as having Asiatic origins so this testifies to the introduction of a foreign cult into the Greek world.

Adonis was famed for nothing more than his external appearance, which got him into trouble. He survived birth only because Aphrodite, for the sake of his beauty, hid him in a box and entrusted it to Persephone, queen of the Underworld. When the boy grew up in a very handsome and Aphrodite wanted him back but Persephone who had become infatuated with him refused to let him go. To avoid the calamities of the two goddesses conflict Zeus decreed that the lad should spent a third of a year with Persephone, a third with Aphrodite and a third to do as he pleases. (Hygin. Poet. Astron. ii. 7.) But the goddess of love being who she was, made him spent that time also with her. Aphrodite and Adonis spent many hours together, as lovers do, hunting and telling tales. Aphrodite also told Adonis not to hunt wild beasts but to hunt only those, which are safe to hunt meaning birds and herbivores. Adonis though took advantage of his good looks and had relations also with Apollo “being like a woman to him”. (Ptolemy Hephaestion, New History Book 5 summary from Photius, Myriobiblon 190) Another story has it that Dionysus, inflamed with lust carried off Adonis. (Phanocles ap. Plut. Sumpos. iv. 5.)

Adonis & Dionysos from Getty Images

But Aphrodite surprisingly was not jealous of Adonis and the couple spent many hours together, as lovers do, hunting and telling tales. Aphrodite again was cautioning Adonis not to hunt carnivores. Her toy boy though was not much of a hunter either for the goddess of love had the Cupid assisting him with his bow when Adonis missed his shots, and also to ward of any dangerous animals in his path. (Nonnus, Dionysiaca 48. 264 ff) So the lover boy thought he was a great hunter and in his arrogance offended Artemis by boasting of superior hunting prowess compared to her. (Ovid, Metamorphoses 10. 522 & 705 ff ) Artemis who was never hesitant to punish those who offended her reminded her brother Apollo that Aphrodite was the cause of his son Erymanthus blindness. She also informed the god of war Ares that his paramour was not only cheating on her husband Hephaestus but also on him with a mortal! (Apollodorus 3.14.4,)

Venus and Adonis Abraham Bloemaert National Gallery of Denmark

Angered the gods put a wild boar in Adonis path when he was hunting in the Lebanon forests. Throwing his lover’s cautions away as toy-boys always do, Adonis cast a javelin and wounded the boar This served only to get the beast enraged so it attacked the wannabe great hunter who promptly fled. (Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae 2. 69b-d) But the boar managed to reach him and mauled him badly. Adonis died in Aphrodite’s arms, which came to him, having heard his screams of pain.

Sebastiano del Piombo Death of Adonis La Spezia, Museo Civico „Amedeo Lia. Source: wikimedia

The cult of Adonis was popular among women for some legends said that he had come back to life. It has also been linked to shemitic a god of vegetation. This seems to be the only divine element in his cult for Adonis was just a mortal plaything of gods and most importantly goddesses and according to his legend he had done nothing important to be elevated to god status unlike Hercules or other heroes who had protected people by standing their ground in the line of combat.

Sources

Ioannou, Christina, “Cypriotes and Phoenicians”, in the website: Kyprios Character. History, Archaeology & Numismatics of Ancient Cyprus:

Karel van der Toorn, Bob Becking & Pieter Willem van der Horst, Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible, 1999, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing,.

Richard Watson, A Biblical and Theological Dictionary: Explanatory of the History, Manners, 1832, B. Waugh and T. Mason Publisher.

Stephanie Dalley, The Legacy of Mesopotamia, 1998, Oxford University Press.

H. Roscher: Ausfürliches Lexikon der griechischen un römischen Mytologie.Leipzig 1890 Teubner