Apollo and Hyacinthus

Apollo once loved a mortal boy called Hyacinthus, and often came down from Olympus to visit him and teach him the arts of war and sport. The boy was strong and clever and was eager to please his friend.

One day they were practising the discus in a field. Apollo demonstrated how to throw the bronze disc, and Hyacinthus ran and retrieved it from the other side of the field. Hyacinthus tried to copy what Apollo had done, but he dropped the discus. Apollo was patient with him and eventually he was able to throw it a modest distance, however Hyacinthus was not satisfied with his performance, and begged Apollo to show him how to throw it again. As Apollo threw the discus, Hyacinthus ran forward to see if this throw outdid the god's previous attempt. At that moment, Zephyrus, the west wind passed by and saw what was happening. He also loved Hyacinthus and was jealous of the boy's friendship with Apollo. He blew a gust of wind which caught the discus and turned it round, causing it to fall on Hyacinthus.

Even though Apollo was the god of medicine, he was unable to save Hyacinthus, as the 'weapon' had come from his own hand. Apollo breathed life of his own on the ground where the boy's blood had fallen and beautiful red-purple flowers grew, known from that day as the Hyacinth.