The Blood of Adonis

Many a time in ancient lore did a mortal fall afoul of the gods, for offences slight or grievous. Often did the Olympians strike back with overwhelming vengeance, so as to discourage insubordination in the future, and preserve the pristine honour of Heaven. But just sometimes, that vengeance rebounded upon its creator, and gods would know the pain of mortals. The story of Adonis is one such example.

The Birth of Adonis
Painting by Marcantonio Franceschini

There was once Cinyras on the throne of Assyria, with his adoring Queen Cenchreis. The family had just one heir, their young daughter, Princess Myrrha. As they watched their daughter grew, the Royal Family and the Assyrians marvelled at her beauty. Some called it Heaven bestowed. Others good fortune. But when the time came when Myrrha came of age, Queen Cenchreis proudly boasted that her daughter's beauty surpassed even that of Venus herself. A glowing compliment for a daughter. A blasphemous offence to a goddess. High on Mount Olympus, the goddess heard her. Never had so terrible a wrath been wrought upon so innocent a crime. Such fury behind the fair face of Heaven's most beloved daughter. The goddess' righteous fury sped down from Olympus as a flash of lightning, delivering forbidden passion into the mind of the Princess. Venus condemned her, rebounding her natural passion upon her own family, and thereafter she would forever have eyes for only her father. Overcome with frenzied passion, disguised by her loyal maids, Myrrha pursued her father with all her energy, employing every trick of deception to fool him of her true identity. Dark was the hour of man when at last she caught her quarry. The following day, when King Cinyras discovered the identity of his seducer, he tore the sword from his scabbard and pursued her, devastated and outraged by her perverse corruption.

Maddened by grief and the affliction that cursed her mind, Myrrha resolved to end her life. She had just prepared the rope from which she would swing when her handmaiden stayed her hand. High on Olympus, Vengeful Venus at last knew pity, and decided to end her suffering. At the goddess' command, the Princess shifted and became a beautiful tree. Ever after mortals would call it the fairest in the grove, the most beautifully scented, the myrrh tree.

The Birth of Venus
Painting by  Nicolas Poussin

Eight months passed, and the world it seemed, lay in peace. Then, on the ninth, the tree burst asunder, revealing a baby boy who would be the envy of all men - Adonis. Pity still afflicted Venus, but when she cast her godly eye over the myrrh tree, all was forgotten when she saw the boy. Knowing immediately that he would grow to become the most handsome man who ever lived, she was at once obsessed with the boy. Fearing for harm that may come to the boy, she bound him in an adamant casket and entrusted it to Persephone, Queen of the Underworld, for there was no safer place than the Underworld, where all the bounty of the Earth ultimately hails. For many a year, young Adonis grew up and grew strong away from the light, but safe.

Adonis in glory
Painting by Benjamin West

Time soon passed, and a boy he was no more. Venus made the journey to reclaim the boy, but found trouble lay ahead. For Persephone fell immediately for Adonis' astonishing beauty, and had no intention of relinquishing her charge. But when Venus saw Adonis, man at last, she was stunned. The goddess of love felt her own power take hold of her, as Cupid's arrow struck her with irresistible force - a thing never to happen before. Profane love indeed, for Adonis was a cursed man. Conceived through incest, a violation of nature, the Fates had spun a finite thread for the fairest of all men. Both goddesses quarrelled intensively over him, until Jupiter the Thunderer, lord of Heaven and Earth, was forced to intercede. The King of the Gods ruled that for Adonis, the year would be divided three ways. Four months he would spend in the Underworld with Persephone, four with Venus, and four were to be given to him to do as he will. Both goddesses bowed at this compromise and eagerly prepared for their turn.

Venus and Adonis
Painting by Francois Lemoyne

Over time, however, it became apparent to which goddess Adonis himself preferred. Having grown up neverknowing the feel of the sun, the touch of grass nor the sound of birds singing, he could not wait to escape the world of Underland. The four precious months of his very own he therefore decided to spend with Venus too. Persephone fumed in Hades, Venus rejoiced on Earth. Many an hour did man and goddess spend together walking the pastures and forests of the Earth. A naturally athletic man, Adonis took to hunting, a noble pastime for men of the age. Soon both men and gods began to envy him. Mortal men longed for his looks and his muscles. Gods resented the affections of a goddess directed at a mortal. Jealous of Venus, Persephone revealed the affair to Mars, god of war and deeply smitten with Venus. Furious, the lord of battles and bloodshed plotted his vengeance on this upstart mortal. But far down on the Earth, Venus and Adonis were oblivious to all others, each perfect in all ways. Venus liked to watch Adonis hunt, but feared for him as his quarries grew mightier and mightier in stature. Eventually, fearing for his safety, she begged him not to hunt the wildest and most dangerous beasts. "Thus cautious Venus school'd her fav'rite boy; but youthful heat all cautions will destroy... his sprightly soul beyond grave counsels flies..."

The Death of Adonis
Painting by Luca Giordano

One hot summer's morning, Adonis awoke bright and early for the day's hunt. As the Sun rose higher in the day, the dogs caught a strange new scent, barking loudly. Adonis, eagerness peaked by the sound, seized his spear and set off on the chase into the scrub. The smell of sweat drew the hounds near, and there the object of his hunt lay. A mighty boar, powerfully built and sharply tusked, stood defiantly in the forest clearing. As soon as Adonis looked upon it, he was overcome with an urge to hunt it, claim it as the trophy of his prizes. No finer a beast had ever he seen, let alone caught. Some magic or other ill was at work that day, as thirst for glory drove the warnings of his beloved far from his mind. With a heart of valour, Adonis lifted his faithful spear, and with the strength of a hunter of prodigious skill, he hurled the metalled barb at the beast. A strange boar this war, for boar it was not. Shadow covered the glade, and in that moment the deception was laid bare. It was no common boar, nor any other beast of game, for there lay the war god himself in disguise. Terror chill gripped Adonis. Too late did he recall the words of Venus, and he turned to run. But one does not attack a god without consequence:


            " The trembling boy by flight his safety sought,
              and now recall'd the lore, which Venus taught;
              but now too late to fly the boar he strove,
              who in the groin his tusks impetuous drove,
              On the discolour'd grass Adonis lay,
              The monster trampling o'er his beauteous prey... "
                   - MARS' REVENGE

The Adonis River
Photograph taken by Adrien Valentine

A piercing scream rent the air apart and echoed through the valleys. To the godly bone it chilled Venus. Knowing all too well the voice, her heart froze. Fear gripped her fair body, an emotion few gods could say they knew, a terrible sensation at all times, yet worse when it is new. Immediately she sped to his side, as quietly Mars triumphantly stole away into the forest. Blood leaked from the tusk wound in the boy's side, and deathly was his pallor. Gentle groans emanated from his lips, tears from the eyes of Venus. The blood of Adonis ran through the nectar of the flowers, and where the droplets fell upon the earth, the anemone burst into life, brimming with colour. The river near where he lay ran red for many ages after, and to this day bears his name. So the curse of Adonis' family came to pass, and the ultimate revenge of Myrrha upon her tormentor. Ever after was Venus broken, though nine months later, she too gave birth, this time to daughter, Beroe. It is after this daughter that the city of Beirut is named...

United Kingdom

Penguin Classics
Metamorphoses: A New Verse Translation (Penguin Classics)
(A version which favours ease of understanding than high poetry)

Oxford World's Classics
Metamorphoses (Oxford World's Classics)
(A version which favours ease of understanding than high poetry)

United States

Penguin Classics
Metamorphoses (Penguin Classics)
(A version which favours ease of understanding than high poetry)

Oxford World's Classics
Metamorphoses (Oxford World's Classics)
(A version which favours ease of understanding than high poetry)

Coriolanus

For the people of Rome, the earliest days of the Republic were to be a dramatic struggle for their very survival. From the moment of the downfall of Tarquin the Proud, last of the Seven Kings of Rome, the Eternal City was plunged headfirst into ruinous war. But, at their hour of greatest need, came forth their greatest heroes (for this story, please click here). The might of Etruria had been humbled by Roman valour and steel, and for a time, all was good. But soon Rome would find that the greatest foe lies within...

The Secession of the Plebs
Engraving by Barloccini

Two hundred and fifty nine years after the Foundation of Rome, the great city was torn in two. Fourteen years had passed since the heroism of Horatius, Scaevola and Cloelia had stood proud in the face of towering adversity, and all Romans, rich and poor alike, stood together. In 494 BC, however, such times seemed as far away as ever they could be. For now, with no King to rule the city, the rich squabbled and the poor suffered. Such was the way of the Republic. One day, however, the people of Rome could bear their plight no more. Setting up camp upon the Sacred Mount, they refused to move until the Senate heard their call. War loomed. The Senate grew fearful. If there were no people, no armies could be raised. So the hands of the rich were forced, and the people could now appoint their own representatives in the Republic, the Tribunes of the Plebs. But whilst Rome tore itself apart, greater forces were on the move. Seizing their chance, the Volscian nation, a warlike people on the southern borders, pounced. Roman lands were ransacked, towns pillaged and people slaughtered. Rome could ill afford to fight itself now.

The Heroism of Gaius Marcius
Engraving by Augustyn Mirys

Heeding the call of duty, the Consuls summoned the people, and Rome marched to war. Even in their weakened state, and in the days before the Empire, the Roman legions were a mighty force indeed. Several Roman victories were gained, and the Volscians were thrown back to the city of Corioli, a place of towering walls. The legions began their siege, but one day, to their horror, they realised that all was a deception. A horde of Volscians fell upon the Roman rear, and the sons of Mars were in disarray. All, that was, except for one man. A young aristocrat serving in the army, Gaius Marcius, thought back to the glory days of Horatius at the Bridge (for this story, please click here), and stood firm. Calling to the Romans, he held his blade high, and with a powerful shout, raised his battle cry. Storming the gates, Marcius threw himself upon the stunned Volscians, fighting as though Mars himself had taken the field. Hope rippled through the Roman ranks, and morale soared. Her hour of splendour had returned at last. Shattered by the ferocity of this onslaught, the Volscians fled in terror, and Corioli fell to the renewed Romans. Marcius raised his sword high, and the roar of triumph shook the city to its very foundations, as the gods smiled once more upon Rome. For his valour, Marcius was granted the new name, Coriolanus, in honour of his victory. He returned a hero, like the Kings of old, and tears of admiration were to be found on many a face. For a time, all seemed well...

Gaius Marcius Coriolanus
Engraving by James Caldwell

But the winds of fortune are fickle indeed, as terrible famine struck the hallowed plains of Latium. Death stalked the fields of the city, and soon the animals fell to the earth, never again to rise. The poor began to starve, and threw themselves upon the mercy of the rich. Old wounds threatened to reopen. Coriolanus, a man of noble blood, soon found himself at the heart of Rome once again, but this time, desperation found itself the master of admiration. Rich though he may be, there was little he could do to find the much needed food. Rumours began to spread among the people of Rome, rumours started by the demagogues in the Senate - the Tribunes. Poisonous stories that Rome's new hero dined well whilst the people starved. When word reached the ears of the conqueror of Corioli, he was roused to terrible fury. Railing against the upstarts in the Senate, Coriolanus condemned the Tribunes for their malicious deceit and slanders. But it was too late. The man who had only days before been the most admired man in Rome soon became the most hated, or pitied. The further the stories spread, the greater his anger grew, and the more violent his words on the floor of the Senate. But then, when all hope had seemed lost, ships arrived, full to bursting with badly needed grain, generously gifted to Rome by the ruler of Syracuse. But pride and injustice can have a powerful effect on the minds of men. Coriolanus, blinded with fury, decreed that the food should only be released to the people if they surrender their rights and the Tribunes be abolished once and for all. When word of this reached the crowds in the Forum, the populace rose in rage, and would have stormed the Senate house itself had not a few loyal friends hurled themselves in front of their hero.

Seizing their chance, the Tribunes ordered the arrest of Coriolanus, demanding he stand trial for treason. Coriolanus, however, could stand things no longer. Nobles everywhere, torn between their loyalty to one of their own and fear of the mob, abandoned him. The man who had laid low the greatest threat to Rome for a generation was condemned to exile. Outraged at this betrayal, and the treachery of his own nation, Coriolanus at once marched forth from the city, with hideous vengeance on his mind. Little did the people of Rome know the horror they had unleashed...

Coriolanus before the Walls of Rome
Painting by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo

Cast out by his own countrymen, Coriolanus found the doors of all Roman towns barred to him, the lips of all allies closed. Friends old and new alike abandoned him in his evil plight, and soon he found himself alone, hated and cursed by his motherland. But the old fighting spirit was within him still. Coriolanus dared the passage to the southern borderlands, and marched without hesitation into the Volscian city, coming before the leader of their warlike nation, Attius Tullius. Both men, wronged at the hands of Rome, schemed together, one driven by malicious betrayal, the other by innate hostility. The conquered Volscian people, roused by the charismatic words of their former foe, were gripped by revolution. Generations of hatred against Rome boiled over into a torrent of retribution. Thousands rode to war under the banners of Tullius and Coriolanus, as nation after nation launched one titanic effort to destroy the Roman menace once and for all. City after city fell before Coriolanus' implacable advance. First to fall was Circeii, whose Roman settlers were hurled out of the city. Then came Satricum, then Longula, then Polusca, then Lavinium, and then Corbio, Vitellia, Trebium, Labici and Pedum. The horde soon found itself before the walls of Corioli once more, and not for the first time did Coriolanus storm its lofty ramparts. The city fell once more into his hands, and chaos reigned in Rome, as one by one all her conquests over the centuries fell like the heads of maize in the harvest. But no spoil of war could cool the fire of Coriolanus. Soon the exile was only five miles from the Eternal City itself. As his eyes caught sight of the city which had wronged him so, his thoughts were of fire and blood and the evils of revenge.


Within the city, the people of Rome were beside themselves. Were it not for the common threat of invasion, the people may well have collapsed into absolute anarchy, so unstoppable did their new foe appear. The Senate called at once for the Consuls to rally the legions, but the men of Rome had no heart for war this time. Furious at their politicians, the people demanded an embassy be sent for one last attempt at peace. Overruled, the Senate dispatched its envoys with all haste. The ambassadors entered the Volscian camp and came before Coriolanus, and to their shock, saw that exile "far from crushing his spirit, had strengthened his determination". Their mission futile, they made their swift escape. Trying one last time, the city sent forth an embassy of priests, who found the Volscian lines barred to them. All hope appeared lost, and Rome might become nothing more than a footnote in the pages in history.

But then, the women of Rome rushed to the house of Coriolanus' family in Rome. In their desperate passion, they called for Veturia, the mother of their one time hero, to help. Her face lined with age, she resolutely set forth, the wife and two sons of Coriolanus in tow. Stunned by the sight before them, the Volscians stood transfixed as Veturia, her son's mother, marched with unbridled determination. Coriolanus, about to give the command to storm the city, could not believe his eyes. Rising from his seat with a start, he made to embrace his mother, but his nerve was cowed by the face he saw before him now. Every inch of her aged face was lined with fury, as she began to speak the words which since entered legend:

Coriolanus and his Mother
Painting by Poussin

"I would know... before I accept your kiss, whether I have come to an enemy or to a son, whether I am here as your mother or as a prisoner of war. Have my long life and unhappy old age brought me to this, that I should see you first an exile, then the enemy of your country? Had you the heart to ravage the earth which bore and bred you? When you set foot upon it, did not your anger fall away, however fierce your hatred and lust for revenge? When Rome was before your eyes, did not the thought come to you, 'within those walls is my home, with the gods that watch over it - and my mother and my wife and my children?' Ah, had I never borne a child, Rome would not now be menaced; if I had no son, I could have died free in a free country! But now there is nothing left for me to endure, nothing which can bring to me more pain, and to you a deeper dishonour, than this. I am indeed an unhappy woman - but it will not be for long; think of these others who, if you cannot relent, must hope for nothing but an untimely death or life-long slavery."

At this, his wife and two young sons flung their arms around Coriolanus' neck, and at last, he could bear it no more. Tears flowed from his eyes as he saw the ruin he had brought upon Rome, and the burden of anger was borne away from his wrathful mind. Even the most savage of the Volscian men were turned to pity and compassion by the sight before their eyes, their hatred ebbing away. Coriolanus bade the Volscians stand down, and declared peace between the two nations, but, his honour of old still shining through, declared he could never set foot in Rome again, and of his own accord marched forth into exile. In Rome, meanwhile, where once there was violence and discord, euphoria now took its golden throne. The doors of the temples were thrown open, the people sang and danced in the streets, and rich and poor alike shouted their triumph to the stars...

United Kingdom

The Early History of Rome:
The Early History of Rome: Bks. 1-5 (Penguin Classics)
(The story of the Rise of Rome, written by her greatest historian, which contains the accounts of many of Rome's heroes, including Coriolanus)

United States

The Early History of Rome:
Livy: The Early History of Rome, Books I-V (Penguin Classics) (Bks. 1-5)
(The story of the Rise of Rome, written by her greatest historian, which contains the accounts of many of Rome's heroes, including Coriolanus)