HYACINTHUS
Apollo holding the dead Hyacinthus
Like his father, Apollo was also attracted to members of his own gender. Being the norm of the day, it was not out of the ordinary for grown men to fight over the affections of younger men. This was the case of Hyacinthus who was desired by both Apollo and Zephyrus.
Hyacinthus was a handsome, young and athletic prince from Sparta. He was said to be Apollo's favorite companion. One day, while playing discus together, Zephyrus, the god of the west wind, noticed the two of them and became jealous. Hyacinthus went to catch the discus, when it suddenly was caught in a gust of wind and went directly into his young forehead. From loss of blood, Hyacinthus died before Apollo could reach him -- the blood still dripping from his head onto the ground. Apollo was so distraught over this that he made a hyacinth plant grow from the ground where the blood had fallen to immortalize his beautiful Hyacinthus. To this day, the hyacinth grows in memory of him. Click here to see an interesting site on Apollo and Hyacinth (at the bottom).
