Читать книгу Flower legends - Виктория Зонова - Страница 4

The young son of the king of Sparta named Hyacinth was so beautiful that he could compare his beauty with the Olympian gods. He was patronized by the gods of the south wind Zephyr and Apollo.

They often visited their friend on the banks of the Eurotus in Sparta, hunted in the densely overgrown forests, entertained themselves with sports in which the Spartans were extremely skilled.

Once Apollo and Hyacinth competed in the discus throw. It was impossible to give preference to any of the athletes, because Hyacinth performed no worse than God. Exerting his last strength, Apollo threw the disk under the very clouds, and Zephyr, who was eager for his friend's victory, blew so hard that the disk hit Hyacinth in the face and mortally wounded him.

Apollo, saddened by the death of the young man, turned the drops of his blood into wonderful flowers, so that the memory of him would live among people.