The Adonis Flower

according to Bion, is the rose; Pliny (i. 23) says it is the anemone; others say it is the field poppy, certainly the prince of weeds; but what we now generally mean by the Adonis flower is pheasant's eye, called in French goute-de-sang, because in fable it sprang from the blood of the gored hunter.

“Blood brings forth roses, tears anemone.”

—Bion: Elegy on Adonis.

See also Ovid: Metamorphoses, Bk. x., Fable 15.

Related Content Allusions Foreign Words and Phrases Latin and Greek Word Elements Names: Their Origins and Meanings Old Testament Names Mythology Ancient Greek Literature & Mythology The Bible (King James version) The Koran (translation by J. M. Rodwell) Shakespeare's Plays Tales from Shakespeare (Charles and Mary Lamb) Frequently Misspelled Words Frequently Mispronounced Words Easily Confused Words Writing & Language