The myrtle, mythological tree

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According to mythology Smyrna, daughter of an Assyrian king, mocked Aphrodite goddess of love, saying that she was prettier. Aphrodite, to get revenge, punished her with a mad love for her father. Smyrna one night, taking advantage of the darkness, entered her father's bed and offered herself to him. When his father discovered the deceitful incest, he was puzzled and enraged, he drew his sword, he pursued her, he only escaped when Afrodita turns it into a myrtle tree. When the moment of childbirth came, the bark burst and a male came out of it who called him Adonis, as Smyrna's mother could not raise him, Aphrodite took pity on the baby and gave him to Persephone to raise.

Persephone fell in love with Adonis and kept him for her, to make him her lover, jealous Aphrodite claims him. The dispute is such that Zeus had to intervene, giving them to the two of them, but the love triangle did not work, and it led to a fit of jealousy, which brought death by knife of Adonis by the hands of the god Ares. Adonis, he was forced to spend confined in hell. But the goddess Aphrodite took it out every six months to enjoy her love.

This story is for many cultures an allegory about agriculture. The seed hides under the earth like Adonis, it is born in spring, when Aphrodite, goddess of fertility, unites with Adonis, when it bears fruit it is summer, it falls under the reaper's sickle.

The wood of the myrtle It is highly sought after by cabinetmakers or turners because it is hard and mottled. To the myrtle They use it to make bonsai, or as an ornamental tree. Pruning can be done in the last weeks of winter, multiplied by seeds or cuttings.


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