Hyacinthus

Dictionary: Hy·a·cin·thus (hī'ə-sĭn'thəs) pronunciation

n. Greek Mythology
A beautiful youth, loved but accidentally killed by Apollo, from whose blood Apollo caused the hyacinth to grow.

Search unanswered questions...

Browse: Unanswered questions | Most-recent questions | Reference library

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Hyacinthus

Top

In Greek mythology, a young man of great beauty who attracted the love of Apollo. The god killed him accidentally in discus throwing, and from his blood grew the flower hyacinthos (not the modern hyacinth), whose petals were marked with the words AI, AI ("Alas"). His death was celebrated at Amyclae, his native town in Sparta, with an early summer festival known as the Hyacinthia. The festival marked the transition from spring to summer.

For more information on Hyacinthus, visit Britannica.com.

Classical Literature Companion: Hyacinthus

Top

Hyacinthus in Greek myth, a beautiful youth of Amyclae (an ancient city near Sparta). He was loved both by the god Apollo and by Zephyrus (the west wind), and preferred Apollo. Zephyrus, out of jealousy, blew a discus thrown by Apollo so that it struck and killed Hyacinthus. From his blood sprang a flower bearing his name, perhaps a kind of iris, with markings interpreted as reading aiai, ‘alas, alas’.

Columbia Encyclopedia: Hyacinth

Top

Hyacinth (hī'əsĭnth) or Hyacinthus (hīəsĭn'thəs), in Greek mythology, beautiful youth loved by Apollo. He was killed accidentally by a discus thrown by the god. According to another legend, the wind god Zephyr, out of jealousy, blew the discus to kill Hyacinth. From his blood sprang a flower which was named for him.

Best of the Web: Hyacinthus

Top

Some good "Hyacinthus" pages on the web:

Greek Mythology
www.pantheon.org

Gardening
hcs.osu.edu

Learn More

	jacinth
	hyacinth
	Zephyrus

Who is Hyacinthus? Read answer...

Help us answer these

Who was the first homosexual man Hyacinthus Thamyris Cyparissus or Ganymede?

Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:

Copyrights:

		Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more
		Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more
		Classical Literature Companion. The Concise Oxford Companion to Classical Literature. Copyright © 1993, 2003 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. Read more
		Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/. Read more