(West Asian mythology)

Derived from the Canaanite title, adon meaning lord. The Greeks adopted the fertility cult associated with Adonis, who was killed by a wild boar–for the Syrians a sacred animal. His most important temples were at Byblos and Paphos. According to the Greeks the god was loved by Aphrodite and Persephone, the goddess of the land of the dead. In Byblos the temple of Astarte celebrated the annual death and resurrection of Adonis. His reappearance on earth was marked by the blooming of the red anemone.

A Dictionary of World Mythology. Copyright © Arthur Cotterell 1979, 1986, 2003. All rights reserved.