Adonis And Aphrodite: A Myth About Beauty And Love

The first myth of Aphrodite and Adonis involves the man’s parents and is a story about beauty, love and jealousy. Adonis’ mother was the beautiful Myrrha or Smyrna and his father, King Cinyrus of Cyprus, who was actually the father of Myrrha.

This strange parentage of Adonis came about because Goddess Aphrodite was jealous of Myrrha’s beauty and caused the girl to unite with her own father.

When Cinyrus found out that he had been tricked, he chased Myrrha with a sword, intending to kill both her and her unborn child. Aphrodite, repenting of her deed, quickly turned the girl into a myrrh tree.