Cyparissus

Common card · No. 454643

In ancient Greek and Roman mythology, Cyparissus (Ancient Greek: Κυπάρισσος, romanized: Kupárissos, lit. 'cypress') was a boy beloved by Apollo, or, in some versions, by other deities. In the best-known version of the story, the favorite companion of Cyparissus was a tamed stag, which he accidentally killed with his hunting javelin as it lay sleeping in the woods. The boy's grief was such that it transformed him into a cypress tree, a classical symbol of mourning. The myth is thus an aetiological tale explaining the relation of the tree to its ancient cultural significance. The subject is mainly known from Greek-inspired Latin literature and frescoes from Pompeii. No Greek hero cult devoted to Cyparissus has been identified.

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