Who was the 'real' Hyacinthus?
The strange story behind the name of the hyacinth flower
Content Warnings: violence and death
In my latest short story, the plot revolves around a very unusual transformation happening to someone named Hyacinthus. As any fan of Greek mythology will tell you, this story is based on the ancient Greek myth of the death of Hyacinthus. But just who was he, and why was he such a big deal?
While there is no record of a real person named Hyacinthus getting into supernatural trouble, he is alleged to have been a breathtakingly beautiful prince of Sparta who had quite the ensemble of admirers.
Less remembered but still absolutely iconic was a mortal man named Thamyris. Thamyris, often described as a singer and/or poet of some kind, earns the mythological distinction of being the first man to be in love with another man. The idea of absolutely no man being interested in other men before this guy shows up and sets a precedent is absolutely hilarious to me. I just imagine a group of ancient men listening to him serenade Hyacinthus and going “Wait, we could have been doing that this whole time?”. While it’s unclear if his love was reciprocated or if he was still working up the courage for a dramatic musical number asking him out, the romantic spark was about to be outshone by a much bigger flame: the god of light himself.
Apollo may be known for being the god of a bunch of nice sounding things like sunlight, music, and healing, but he should really be known as the god of red flags. While he’s had a fair few healthy and successful relationships, the amount of times that his mortal love interests get turned into plants (or turn themselves into plants to get away from him) is a too high to be an unfortunate coincidence.
Upon seeing that Hyacinthus already had another potential suitor, Apollo decided to dig up some dirt and found out that Thamyris once proudly proclaimed he could best the Muses in song. For anyone who doesn't know how bad of an idea that was, the Muses are the goddesses of inspiration itself. They’re also all in a casual relationship with Apollo. So, he skipped over to his girlfriends and told them all about what Thamyris had been saying. Before Thamyris knew it, the Muses had robbed him of his sight, his voice, and his memory of harping. A bit extreme, if you ask me.
With his love rival ruthlessly dispatched, Apollo was easily able to sweep Hyacinthus off his feet. By all accounts, their relationship was actually a pretty happy one. The couple loved spending time together, with Apollo teaching Hyacinthus some of his many skills. Sadly, it was during one of their dates that things would come to a swift and tragic end.
Zephyrus, god of the west wind, happened to spy them playing a discus-throwing game one day. He was also romantically interested in Hyacinthus, and was deeply jealous of Apollo for winning his love. Instead of being normal about it and moving on, he used his control over the wind to send the discus smashing down on Hyacinthus’ head. If Zephyrus couldn't have him, neither could Apollo.
Try as he might, even Apollo could not reverse death. The best he could manage was bringing forth a new flower from his fallen lover's blood, the hyacinth.
So, the next time you see a hyacinth, take it as a reminder that Greek mythology is really strange and you should never use a heavy metal object as a frisbee! Thanks for reading.
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