Hyacinthus- Greek HeroHero"Prince of Amyclae"

The Beloved of Apollo

Hyacinthus was a prince of Amyclae in Laconia, son of King Amyclas and Diomede — or of Oebalus, or of Pierus, depending on the tradition. Apollo abandoned Delphi to spend his days at the youth's side. On the mountain paths of Laconia he carried Hyacinthus's hunting nets and held back his dogs while his own oracle sat silent. Zephyrus, the west wind, also loved Hyacinthus and had been refused. His jealousy would prove fatal.

Death by Discus

Apollo and Hyacinthus were throwing the discus in the open fields. Apollo hurled it with divine force, and it soared high into the clouds. Hyacinthus ran eagerly to catch it as it fell, but the discus struck the hard ground and bounced — and Zephyrus, furious at being passed over, drove it into the boy's face.

Apollo ran to the dying youth but could not close the wound, god of medicine though he was. He cradled Hyacinthus as the boy's head drooped like a flower broken on its stem. The blood pooled on the ground, and Apollo declared that from it something lasting would grow.

The Hyacinth Flower

From the blood, Apollo raised a new flower: the hyacinth. On its petals he inscribed the letters AI AI (ΑΙ ΑΙ), a cry of grief in Greek. The ancient flower was likely not the modern hyacinth but an iris or larkspur whose petal markings the Greeks read as letters.

At Amyclae, Hyacinthus received a three-day festival each summer. The first day was given to mourning: solemn rites for the dead, no garlands worn, no paeans sung. The second and third days turned to celebration, with feasting and processions honoring Apollo. The base of Apollo's throne at Amyclae depicted Hyacinthus carried to heaven by Aphrodite and Athena, a hero raised beyond death. Spartan soldiers paused their campaigns to observe the Hyacinthia — Thucydides records their doing so during the Peloponnesian War.