Hyacinthus
In Greek mythology, Hyacinthus was a Spartan prince of remarkable beauty and a lover of the god of prophecy Apollo. Apollo was so fiercely in love with Hyacinthus that he abandoned his sanctuary in Delphi to enjoy Hyacinthus' company by the river Eurotas. Apollo created a flower from Hyacinthus' spilled blood, the hyacinth, and inscribed on its petals the words of lamentation, "AI AI" – "alas".
↻ synthesized from 2 sources
When
- First attested
- 800 BCE
- Attested period
- -800 – 2020
- Historical notes
- Attested in Greek mythology.
Relationships
- allied with
- Apollo, Polyboea, Aphrodite, Artemis (Diana)
- enemy of
- Zephyrus
- student of
- Apollo
- syncretized with
- Apollo Hyacinthus
- child of
- Amyclas
Mentioned by
Sources
Source passages
“Various scholars agree that Hyacinthus was a pre-Hellenic nature god, and certain aspects of his own cult suggest that he was a chthonic vegetation deity whose cults were merged with Apollo's. Nilsson says that Hyacinthus is a Cretan word, and its pre-Hellenic origin is indicated by the suffix -nth”
#37817 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001
“It is said to have been founded by the Lacedaemonian king Amyclas, the father of Hyacinthus, and to have been the abode of Tyndarus, and of Castor and Pollux, who are hence called Amyclaei Fratres.”
#45216 · extracted by openai/gpt-oss-20b:free