What is the hyacinth flower meaning? Let us take you through the story and legends behind it

Hyacinthus was the son of the Muse Clio and Pierus, king of Macedonia. He was a beautiful youth beloved by the god Apollo. In Greek mythology, Hyacinthus was accidentally struck and killed by a discus thrown by Apollo. According to the legend, from Hyacinthus' pool of blood grew a beautiful flower named after him, called the hyacinth. Now let us take a look at the story and legend behind the hyacinth flower meaning!

Legend has it that the handsome young man Hyacinthus and the sun god Apollo were good friends, while the west wind god Zephyrus also liked Hyacinthus very much and was often jealous because of it. But Hyacinthus always preferred Apollo and often played together with him. One day, when they were happily throwing the discus on the grassland, Zephyrus, hiding in the bushes, happened to spot them. He felt very unhappy and wanted to play a trick on them.

When Apollo threw the discus toward Hyacinthus, the jealous west wind god secretly blew hard from the side, and the heavy discus struck Hyacinthus on the forehead. In an instant blood gushed like a pillar, and the handsome youth thus breathed his last. In his alarm, Apollo, heartbroken, lifted his lifeless friend in his arms and sighed, “Alas! Alas!” He saw blood continuously pouring from Hyacinthus' wound, falling to the ground and flowing into the grass.

Before long, clusters of purple flowers unexpectedly bloomed among the grass. To express his apology, Apollo took the name of the beautiful youth as the flower's name, which we translate literally as “hyacinth.” Ever since, the purple hyacinth has been regarded by later generations as the spokesperson for “jealousy”; in Greek, Ai and Aei (meaning “forever”) are synonymous, so the hyacinth also symbolizes “everlasting remembrance.” People in Europe and America often carve the hyacinth pattern on the tombstones of their loved ones to show “eternal remembrance.”