Adonis

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In Greek mythology, Adonis (Ancient Greek: Ἄδωνις, romanized: Adōnis; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤃𐤍, romanized: ʾAdón, ['a.dɔː.nis]) was the mortal lover of the goddesses Aphrodite and Persephone. He was considered to be the ideal of male beauty in classical antiquity. According to mythical tradition, Adonis was gored by a wild boar during a hunting trip and died in Aphrodite's arms as she wept; his blood mingled with her tears and became the anemone flower. The Adonia festival commemorated his tragic death, celebrated by women every year in midsummer. During this festival, Greek women would plant "gardens of Adonis", small pots containing fast-growing plants, which they would set on top of their houses in the hot sun. The plants would sprout but soon wither and die. Then, the women would mourn the death of Adonis, tearing their clothes and beating their breasts in a public display of grief. The Greeks considered Adonis's cult to be of Near Eastern origin. Adonis's name comes from a Canaanite word meaning...

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