Anemone

In the days when the gods walked upon earth, Venus the goddess of Love and Beauty was at play with her son Cupid, when she was slightly wounded by one of his arrows. 

As they returned from their games on the outskirts of the forest, the hunt passed them by, for in those days all brave men were such great hunters. The bravest of these was the handsome Adonis, and when Venus, smitten by the shaft of Cupid saw the fine young god, she straightway fell ardently in love with him. 

Knowing Adonis' reckless passion for hunting, the goddess councilled him to beware of the wild beasts of the forest; but he was far too keen a hunter to heed such a warning.

One day in the heat of the chase, he pensrated deep into the forest, far ahead of his companions, and was attacked and killed by a wild boar before they could come to his aid and rescue him.

Venus, hearing of his death, mounted her chariot drawn by doves, and hurried to the forest. Kneeling by the dead body of her beloved, her golden tresses unbound, her matchless countenance buried in her white hands she was lost in grief. 

Beyond lay the grizzly bulk of the dead boar, his terrible tusks glittering white in the dusk as evening drew on. 

At last Venus roused herself and cried out: "Oh! Adonis, each year you shall return to the earth, that all mankind may delight in you and remember your prowess."

Where Adonis had fallen there sprang up drifts of anemones, nodding in the evening breeze, carpeting the woodlands in remembrance of the fearless young hunter. 

A Wreath Of Flower Legends

Anemones all from the Deans Court garden. 

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A Wreath Of Flower Legends

"Legend appeals to something in us, something we want and have a right to...which appeals to the sense of the lovely which exists in nearly everybody."
Archdeacon Holmes

As promised, here is my Midsummer blog post offering.
Combining my love for Mythology and Flowers this book is just so special. Written in the 1950's by Rose Sydenham Dugdale it includes flower legends from all over the world and beautiful 'Flower Wreaths' illustrated by L Anne Ellis.

 

  

Far away in the dawn of time, Cupid, the god of Love, was wandering over the earth sad and disillusioned, for he so rarely found that true love which the gods gave to the children of men as their choicest blessing. 

Determined to find only the highest ideal in a union for himself, he flew to his mother, Venus the goddess of Beauty, for advice. His mother gave him a magic mantle which belonged to Jupiter. "Wrap yourself in this mantle,' said she, "and you will have power to find the pure soul you seek so earnestly."

Taking heart, Cupid quickly descended to earth. After many wanderings he found the desire of his heart: she was Psyche, who lived between the earth and sky unseen by mortal eyes: great was her beauty, her goodness, and she possessed rare mental gifts. 

Cupid took Psyche by the hand and together they floated far and wide in the upper air, for they knew that they had found that true love which always brings fresh joys and renewed happiness. 

Wearying at last, they descended to rest on an Alpine meadow, fragrant with breath of thyme. When they had rested and were about to continue their flight, they heard a soft voice like the murmuring of bees calling to them: it was the voice of the meadow pleading for the stars to decorate the greensward in perpetual remeberance of the lovely pair who had rested there. 

"Your wish shall be fufilled," cried Psyche; "henceforth stars shall shine all over your flowered mantle."

From that day the meadows have been spangled with daisies, and wherever the feet of those true lovers touch star-like blossoms, their petals are tipped with crimson.

I wanted to share them all with you but there are just too many! The Daisy legend is one of my favourites, and ever since reading it I can't help but think of them as crimson tipped stars. 

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