Hyacinth

Hyacinth or Hyacinthus (Ancient Greek: , , ) is a gentle and clever divine hero and a lover of Apollo from Greek mythology. His cult at Amyclae 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. The literary myths serve to link him to local cults, and to identify him with Apollo. Family Hyacinth was given various parentage, providing local links, as the son of Clio and Pierus, or King Oebalus of Sparta, or of king Amyclus of Sparta, progenitor of the people of Amyclae, dwellers about Sparta. As the youngest and most beautiful son of Amyclas and Diomede, daughter of Lapithes, Hyacinth was the brother of Cynortus, Argalus, Polyboea, Laodamia (or Leanira), Harpalus, Hegesandra, and in other versions, of Daphne. If he was the son of Clio and Pierus, Hyacinthus's brother was Rhagus. Mythology In Greek mythology, Hyacinthus was a Spartan prince of remarkable beauty and a lover of the sun god Apollo. He was also admired by Zephyrus, the god of the West wind, Boreas, the god of the North wind and a mortal man named Thamyris. Hyacinthus chose Apollo over the others. He visited all of Apollo's sacred lands with the god in a chariot drawn by swans. So fiercely was Apollo in love with Hyacinthus that he abandoned his sanctuary in Delphi to enjoy Hyacinthus' company by the river Eurotas. He taught Hyacinthus the use of the bow and the lyre, the art of prophecy, and exercises in the gymnasium. One day, Apollo was teaching him the game of quoits. They decided to have a friendly competition by taking turns to throw the discus. Apollo threw first, with a strength so great that the discus split the clouds in the sky. Eager to retrieve the discus, Hyacinthus ran behind it to catch it. But as it hit the ground, the discus bounced back, hitting Hyacinthus' head and wounding him fatally. An alternative version of the myth holds Zephyrus responsible for the death of Hyacinthus. Jealous that Hyacinthus preferred the radiant Apollo, Zephyrus blew Apollo's quoit boisterously off course to kill Hyacinthus.