The tragic Greek Origin of the red rose.
To get to the Greek origin of the red rose, in a world where only the white rose existed, we have to talk about jealousy, death, patience, and above all, love.
Our story starts with King Chaos of Syria, whom one day forgot to make a sacrifice to the Goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite. To punish him, Aphrodite put a terrible spell on his daughter, Myrrha. The magic would make her lust after her father, the King. One night Myrrha tricked her father into conceiving with her. When King Chaos realized what he and his daughter had done, disgusted, he tried to kill both his daughter and her baby. Aphrodite regretted her curse and tried to help Myrra by turning her into a Myrrh tree. The King shot an arrow into the tree, causing it to split wide open, and it was from there that Adonis was born.
Adonis utterly enamored Aphrodite from the first second she saw him. She quickly began to neglect her duties as a Goddess. As a remedial effort, she sent Adonis to the underworld to be looked after by Persephone. The years passed, and when Adonis was of age, Aphrodite returned to the underworld to retrieve adonis. To her surprise, Persephone was also head over heels for Adonis.
To prevent a catastrophe, Zeus had to get involved. He decided that Adonis would spend four months with Aphrodite, four months with Persephone, and four months doing whatever he wanted. At this point, you may be wondering how two literal Goddesses are fighting for the love and attention of a mere mortal. Well, the thing is that Adonis was not your average Joe. He was said to have god-like beauty and charm that could entice anyone.
One day while Adonis was spending his part of the year with Aphrodite, he came across a wild boar. Seeing as he was a gifted Huntsman, he went after the kill. Unfortunately, the Boar ended up overpowering Adonis, which in the end would result fatally.
When Aphrodite heard the agonizing screams of her lover, she quickly ran over. But, in her haste, she ran over a bush of white roses, cutting herself on the thorns. Her blood would absorb into the flower, the birth of the red rose.
Adonis ended up passing away and returning to Persephone in the underworld. From that moment forward, Aphrodite would carry red roses with her to never forget the love of her life.
Our story starts with King Chaos of Syria, whom one day forgot to make a sacrifice to the Goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite. To punish him, Aphrodite put a terrible spell on his daughter, Myrrha. The magic would make her lust after her father, the King. One night Myrrha tricked her father into conceiving with her. When King Chaos realized what he and his daughter had done, disgusted, he tried to kill both his daughter and her baby. Aphrodite regretted her curse and tried to help Myrra by turning her into a Myrrh tree. The King shot an arrow into the tree, causing it to split wide open, and it was from there that Adonis was born.
Adonis utterly enamored Aphrodite from the first second she saw him. She quickly began to neglect her duties as a Goddess. As a remedial effort, she sent Adonis to the underworld to be looked after by Persephone. The years passed, and when Adonis was of age, Aphrodite returned to the underworld to retrieve adonis. To her surprise, Persephone was also head over heels for Adonis.
To prevent a catastrophe, Zeus had to get involved. He decided that Adonis would spend four months with Aphrodite, four months with Persephone, and four months doing whatever he wanted. At this point, you may be wondering how two literal Goddesses are fighting for the love and attention of a mere mortal. Well, the thing is that Adonis was not your average Joe. He was said to have god-like beauty and charm that could entice anyone.
One day while Adonis was spending his part of the year with Aphrodite, he came across a wild boar. Seeing as he was a gifted Huntsman, he went after the kill. Unfortunately, the Boar ended up overpowering Adonis, which in the end would result fatally.
When Aphrodite heard the agonizing screams of her lover, she quickly ran over. But, in her haste, she ran over a bush of white roses, cutting herself on the thorns. Her blood would absorb into the flower, the birth of the red rose.
Adonis ended up passing away and returning to Persephone in the underworld. From that moment forward, Aphrodite would carry red roses with her to never forget the love of her life.
