The Amaryllis myth
Longing for spring, I am posting the following:
Greek mythology tells the story of a very sensitive girl called Amaryllis. One day when she was on a mountainside picking flowers, she met the shepherd Alteo and fell in love on the spot. But Alteo was not interested in girls, he only loved flowers. He had often said that: "Only the girl who can bring me a new flower will receive my love."
Amaryllis despaired and turned to the Oracle at Delphi for advice. There she was told to take an arrow from the temple and to wound herself with it in front of Alteo’s house, whereby she must declare her love for him. If necessary she should repeat this action on the subsequent evenings. Amaryllis did what the oracle had told her and when the clock struck midnight on the first evening, she resolutely stabbed her breast and her heart. It was as if her life was streaming out of her as she stood in front of Alteo’s hut calling his name loudly and declaring that their lives were tied together. Unfortunately her actions had no effect.
She repeated the scene the next evening. And again the evening after that. For thirty nights blood dripped before Alteo's door, until a miracle happened. On the spot where the blood had fallen, there was a large red flower with a wide open calyx. "Alteo, Alteo, here is the flower," called Amaryllis excitedly. Alteo saw the fragile girl with the thick and heavy stem in her hands, bearing the unfamiliar bright red flower of love. The rugged shepherd knelt before her and wept, and as they kissed for the first time, the larks sung high in the air.
Of course the new flower was named Amaryllis.
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