ROSE According to Anacreon, the rose was born from the snow-white foam that covered the body of Aphrodite (Venus), when this goddess of love in all her wondrous beauty emerged from the sea after swimming. Seeing this lovely flower on her, the enchanted gods sprinkled it with nectar, which gave it a wonderful smell. However, the nectar that gave immortality, due to the envy of some gods, did not give it to the rose, and it remained as mortal as everything that is born on earth. The white rose, which appeared in all its virgin beauty and purity, was taken to the temple of this goddess by the priestesses of Aphrodite and the altar and the garden surrounding them were decorated with the rose. And the rose remained white until Aphrodite’s heart was struck by terrible news: her beloved Adonis lay wounded to death by a boar. Having forgotten everything, in indescribable grief the goddess rushed to the grove of Python, where her beloved was. She ran, not paying attention to the roses along the way and the thorns covering the roses, which wounded her legs until they bled. A few drops of this divine blood fell on the roses and they turned from white to red.

ROSE According to another legend, a white rose turned red during one of the feasts of the gods on Olympus. Fluttering around in a merry dance. Cupid somehow accidentally knocked over a vessel with nectar with his pink-red wings, which, spilling onto the white roses that were blooming right there, colored them red and gave them a lovely scent. Even more poetic is the legend about the creation of the red rose by the goddess Flora. Having not loved and avoided Cupid for a long time, Flora was nevertheless struck by his arrow and was inflamed with passionate love for him from that moment. But the cunning god, having achieved what he wanted, then began, in turn, to avoid Flora, and it was then, in unsatisfied passion, that she decided to create a flower that both laughs and cries - combines both sadness and joy. Seeing a wonderful flower growing in her hand, the goddess wanted to exclaim in admiration: “Eros” (that’s what the Greeks called Cupid), but, shy by nature, she faltered, blushed and, swallowing the first syllable, shouted only: “grew.” The flowers growing around picked up this word, and from then on this flower began to be called a rose.

ROSE Finally, according to another legend, the rose owes its origin to the goddess of the hunt Diana. In love with Cupid, this goddess became jealous of him for the marvelously beautiful nymph Rosalia. And then one day, in wild anger, she grabbed the unfortunate woman, dragged her into the nearest thorn bush and, wounding her with the terrible thorns of this thorny bush, took her life. Having learned about the bitter fate of his beloved, Cupid hurried to the crime scene and, finding her lifeless, burst into burning tears in inconsolable grief. His tears dripped, dripped from his eyes onto the thorn bushes like dew, and - oh, miracle! - the bush irrigated by them began to be covered with wondrous flowers. These flowers were roses. The Koran says that the rose came from the sweat of the prophet Mohammed. There is also a story about why the rose turned red - it blushed with pleasure when Eve, who was walking in the Garden of Eden, kissed her. Rose thorns are also not of simple origin. Once Cupid, inhaling the scent of a rose, was stung by a bee; Angry, he shot an arrow at the flower, and the arrow turned into a thorn. According to other legends, the origin of rose thorns is associated with Bacchus, who chased a nymph and unexpectedly found himself in front of an insurmountable barrier of thorns. To make the nymph stop, Bacchus turned the thorns into roses. However, the frightened nymph continued to run, not paying attention to their beauty... Then the angry Bacchus endowed the rose with thorns so that the nymph wounded by the thorns would become weak and become the prey of Bacchus. And according to one version, the rose became overgrown with thorns when Bacchus wanted to take possession of the nymph. With its thorns, the rose wanted to say that beauty must be protected.

NARCISSUS This story has come to us from ancient Greece. The river god Cephisus and the nymph Liriona had a son, Narcissus, who grew up beautiful, but cold and narcissistic. Having learned that the arrogant young man pushes away all the girls who are in love with him and rejects even her own gifts, the goddess Aphrodite became angry: “You too, Narcissus, love! And let the person you love not reciprocate your feelings!” One day, leaning over a stream to drink, Narcissus saw his reflection in the water and fell madly in love with it. Days and nights he languished next to the stream, admiring the beautiful appearance, and was unable to move away from the water. Gradually Narcissus lost all his strength and died. And in the place where Narcissus’s head bowed to the ground, a white fragrant flower grew.

LILY They say that the Theban queen, the beautiful Alcmene, the mother of Hercules, fearing the revenge of the jealous Juno, in order to hide Hercules, who was born by her from Jupiter, laid him under a dense bush; but Minerva, who knew the divine origin of the baby, deliberately took Juno to this place and showed her the poor child abandoned by his mother. Juno really liked the healthy, charming little boy, and, as the protector and patroness of all newborns, she agreed to let the thirsty little one suck on her milk. But the boy, instinctively sensing his enemy in her, bit her so hard that she, screaming in pain, roughly pushed him away. The milk splashed and, spilling across the sky, formed the Milky Way, and a few drops of it, falling to the ground, turned into lilies. For this reason, these flowers were also called “Rose of Juno” by the Greeks.

Clove The legend says that one day the goddess Diana, returning very irritated from an unsuccessful hunt, met a handsome shepherd at the edge of the forest, who was cheerfully playing the pipe. In anger, she blamed the shepherdess for her failure and the fact that because of him and his music, all the game ran away and the hunt was ruined. The poor young man made excuses, swore that he was not guilty of anything and begged for mercy. But the goddess, not hearing anything and not remembering herself from rage, attacked the shepherd and tore out his eyes. When she came to her senses, remorse began to torment her, but she was no longer able to correct what she had done. Then, in order to at least a little make amends and perpetuate the memory of the young man, Diana cast her eyes on the path. And at that very moment two carnations grew out of them, reminiscent of innocently shed blood.

VIOLET One of the legends tells us how: the sun god Apollo began to pursue one of the beautiful daughters of Atlas with his burning rays, the poor girl turned to Zeus with a prayer to shelter and protect her. And so the great Thunderer, heeding her pleas, turned her into a wonderful violet and hid her in the shade of his booths, where since then she has bloomed every spring and filled the heavenly forests with her fragrance. But one day Proserpina, the daughter of Zeus and Ceres, having gone into the forest to pick flowers, was kidnapped by Pluto who suddenly appeared just as she was picking violets. In fright, she dropped the flowers from her hands, and they fell from heaven to earth... According to Eastern legend, violets appeared from Adam's tears of gratitude. When he was on the island of Ceylon and the Archangel Gabriel brought him good news about the Lord's forgiveness of his sins.

HYACINTH The solar god Apollo loved no one as much as the beautiful young man Hyacinth, the son of the Spartan king Amycles. After leaving Delphi, he often appeared in the bright valley of the Eurotas River and amused himself there with games and hunting with his young favorite. Once, on a sultry afternoon, they both took off their clothes and, anointing their bodies with olive oil, began to throw the discus. The first to take the copper disk with his mighty hand was the god Apollo and threw it so high that it disappeared from sight. But then the disk falls to the ground; the young man Hyacinth hurries to pick it up to show his skill in throwing, but the disc bounces to the side and hits Hyacinth in the head. And the young man falls to the ground dead. In horror, Apollo hurries to him and picks up the fallen young man from the ground. He warms him, wipes his blood from his face, applies it to the wound healing herbs, but he cannot help him. Just as a lily or violet, picked in the garden, bends its leaves to the ground, so, dying, young Hyacinth bows his head. In deep sadness, Apollo stands in front of his deceased beloved and is sad that he cannot die with him. And so, by the will of Apollo, in memory of the young man, a white, slender flower with blood-red spots grows from the ground, stained with blood. Every spring the beautiful hyacinth flower blooms, and at the beginning of summer a festival is held in honor of Hyacinth and Apollo in Sparta. It begins with sad songs about a young man who died early and ends with a cheerful and cheerful song about his rebirth...

PEONY The generic name is derived from the Greek word "paionios" - healing, healing. The name of this plant is supposedly given by the name of the doctor Pean, a student of the god of medical art himself - Asclepius. Somehow Pean received healing roots from Latona, the mother of Apollo and Artemidi, with which he successfully treated the diseases of gods and people. He also healed Hades, the god of the underworld, from a serious wound. It was not easy to get these roots, since they were guarded by a spotted woodpecker, who would peck out the eyes of anyone who tried to dig them up. Therefore, they went to get roots only at night, when the woodpecker was sleeping. The student’s success haunted Asclepius; out of envy, he ordered Paean to be poisoned. But grateful for his salvation, Hades did not allow his healer to die. He turned it into a plant, the roots of which Pean used so successfully. Since then, the plant has had a slightly modified name: peony. It is believed that the peony is named after the area of ​​Pionia in Greece, where it once grew wild. But the same ancient Greek legend claims that the flower got its name in honor of the young doctor Peon, who cured all kinds of diseases with a decoction and drops of flowers. He also healed the god of the underworld Pluto from the wounds inflicted on him by Hercules. Having learned about this, Peon's teacher Aesculapius became jealous of his student and decided to poison Peon. But Pluto turned the young man into a beautiful flower. This flower is not easy to get. Pliny the Elder claimed that it was carefully protected by a spotted woodpecker, who was ready to peck out the eyes of anyone who tried to pick the plant.

PION And here's another legend. Goddess Flora, getting ready for a trip, decided to choose a deputy during her absence. To do this, I assembled a council, inviting representatives of all colors. The flowers arrived on time, only the rose was late. But when she appeared, those present were amazed by her magnificence and began to persuade her to remain Flora’s rightful deputy. Only one peony objected, because he believed that it surpassed the rose in all its virtues. The peony puffed up and puffed up in order to outdo the rose, if not in beauty and smell, then at least in size. Everyone was amazed by his unspeakable audacity, and the flowers chose the rose as Flora’s substitute. Then the peony began to protest loudly and became so noisy that Flora could not stand it: “Proud, stupid flower!” - she said. - For complacency and emptiness, always remain as fat and pouty as you are today. And let not a single butterfly touch you. with a kiss, not a single bee will take honey from your corolla, not a single girl will pin you to her breast! The fairy tale assured that Flora’s curse had come true: the peony remained fat and awkward, as if personifying emptiness and swagger, and not a single bee would take a bribe from it. But life has refuted the myth. The bees take bribes from the peonies, the girls pin them on their chests.

GLADIOLUS There is a legend about how once a cruel Roman commander captured Thracian warriors and ordered them to be turned into gladiators. The commander ordered the most courageous, dexterous, beautiful and loyal friends Sevt and Teres to fight each other first, promising the winner freedom and the hand of his daughter. A lot of people came to the fight. The signal was given to start the battle, but Sevt and Teres stuck their swords into the ground and rushed to each other with open arms. The spectators made an indignant noise, indignant at the ruined spectacle. The second time the signal for battle sounded, but when the young men again did not satisfy the requests of the bloodthirsty Romans, they were brutally killed. But as soon as the bodies of the young people touched the ground, gladioli blossomed from the hilts of their swords. It is not for nothing that to this day, gladiolus is considered a symbol of friendship, loyalty and nobility.

FORGET-MENT One day Flora descended to earth and began to give names to the flowers. She gave names to all the flowers, didn’t seem to offend anyone and wanted to leave, but suddenly she heard a weak voice behind her: “Don’t forget me, Flora!” Give me some name! Flora looked around - no one was visible. I wanted to leave again, but the voice repeated: “Don’t forget me, Flora!” Give me a name please! and only then did Flora notice a small blue flower among the forbs. “Okay,” said the goddess, “be a forget-me-not.” Together with my name, I endow you with miraculous power - you will restore the memory of those people who begin to forget their loved ones or their homeland.

WATER LILY This story happened in ancient Italy. Once upon a time there lived a beautiful Melinda. And the swamp king was watching her all the time. The king's eyes twinkled as he looked at beautiful girl, and although he was scary as hell, he nevertheless became Melinda’s husband, and the yellow egg capsule, which has long symbolized betrayal and deceit, helped him get the beauty. While walking with her friends near a swampy lake, Melinda admired the golden floating flowers, reached for one of them, stepped on a coastal stump in which the lord of the bog was hiding, and he carried the girl to the bottom. At the site of her death, snow-white flowers with a yellow core emerged. These flowers turned out to be water lilies. They also say that when the first spring drops hit the surface of the water, pearl mussels rise from the depths of the shell in response to this noise, open the doors and catch the raindrops. As soon as they catch at least one, they sink back to the bottom, where they turn the droplets into pearls. But not all shells return to depth. Many of them, upon seeing the sky, are so delighted that they remain afloat, sprout stems and turn into flowers..

Cornflower This is a legend born in Rus'. One day the sky reproached the grain field for ingratitude. Everything that inhabits the earth thanks me. Flowers send me their fragrances, forests send me their mysterious whispers, birds send me their singing, and only you do not express gratitude and remain stubbornly silent, although no one else, namely I fill the roots of cereals with rainwater and make golden ears ripen. I answered you gratefully field. “I decorate the arable land in the spring with undulating greenery, and in the fall I cover it with gold. There is no other way I can express my gratitude to you. I have no way to ascend to you; give it, and I will shower you with caresses and talk about my love for you. Help me. Heaven agreed well: if you cannot ascend to me, then I will descend to you. And he ordered the earth to grow magnificent blue flowers among the ears of corn, pieces of himself. Since then, the ears of cereals, with every breath of the breeze, bend towards the messengers of the sky - cornflowers, and whisper tender words of love to them.

IVAN - TEA Once upon a time a boy Ivan lived in a Russian area. He loved to wear a red shirt and spent most of his time at the edge of the forest among flowers and bushes. And the villagers, who saw the red color among the greenery, said: “Yes, it’s Ivan, tea, walking.” And they got so used to it that, not noticing Ivan’s absence in the village, they began to say: “Yes, it’s Ivan, tea!” - at the scarlet flowers that suddenly appeared near the outskirts. And so the name Ivan-tea stuck to the new plant. And the plant presented another surprise. Residents once gathered for a holiday. They walked until evening, it became cold, and the women decided to boil water. Along with the firewood, tall stems of fireweed also went into the fire, the leaves from which fell into the boiling cauldron. We tried the broth, and the broth was pleasant and refreshing. Since then, the leaves of Ivan tea have been used to prepare a tea drink, and such tea is called Koporye tea, after the name of the village of Koporye near St. Petersburg, where this happened. The word “tea” in the old Russian language meant – perhaps, in all likelihood, most likely, etc.

DASY One little girl, looking at the sky strewn with stars before going to bed, asked: “Stars, stars, please become flowers so that I can play with you.” The stars, hearing the girl’s request, were reflected in the drops of dew, and when the girl woke up, she saw that the entire lawn in front of the house was dotted with white silvery daisies. The sun asked the daisy in the morning: “Are you satisfied and do you want anything else?” - Thank you! - answered the daisy. - I'm happy. Just let me bloom at any time of the year. I love children very much and am happy when they play with me. So may this joy never cease. The sun, in response, touched the daisy with one of its rays and left a yellow circle in the very middle, causing the petals to move apart, like rays from the sunshine." According to Russian legend, pearls from Lyubava’s torn necklace turned into daisies when she rushed to Sadko, to her desired groom. According to another legend, a beautiful girl was pursued for a long time by an old man. Having lost hope of salvation, she asked for protection from the earth, and the earth turned her into a daisy that blooms almost all year round.

LILY OF THE LILY According to ancient Russian legend, the sea princess Volkhova fell in love with the young man Sadko, and he gave his heart to the darling of the fields and forests, Lyubava. The saddened Volkhova went ashore and began to cry. And where the princess’s tears fell, lilies of the valley grew - a symbol of pure and tender love. In other ancient tales, lilies of the valley are sprouted beads from Snow White's scattered necklace. In the following ones - the happy silver laughter of the mermaid Mavka, rolling out like pearls through the forest when she first felt the joy of love. They also say that droplets of sweat that fell from the sultry body of the huntress Diana turned into lily of the valley flowers. Some argue that lilies of the valley are nothing more than sunbeams, which gnomes use as lanterns at night. In the Christian tradition, the lily of the valley grew from the hot tears of the Blessed Virgin Mary mourning her crucified Son. Spring days pass, the lily of the valley fades, and in place of the snow-white flower a bright red berry appears. According to many beliefs, these are the tears of the lily of the valley, which is sad about the departure of the flighty traveler Spring, who caressed and left her small but faithful companion.

PANSIES According to Russian legend, the three-color petals of pansies reflect three periods of the life of the girl Anyuta with a kind heart and trusting, radiant eyes. She lived in a village, believed every word, found an excuse for every action. But to her misfortune, she met an insidious seducer, who, with oaths, awakened her first love in the girl. Anyuta reached out to the young man with all her heart, but the young man was frightened: he hurried on the road for urgent matters, promising to certainly return to his chosen one. Anyuta looked at the road for a long time, waiting for her beloved, and quietly faded away from melancholy. And when she died, flowers appeared at the place of her burial, the tricolor petals of which reflected hope, surprise and sadness. According to another version, Anyuta was overly curious and liked to spy on others. That's why she turned into a flower. The ancient Greeks associated the origin of pansies with the daughter of the Argive king Io, who fell in love with Zeus with all her heart, for which his jealous wife, the goddess Hera, was turned into a cow. In order to somehow brighten up the life of his beloved, Zeus grew pansy flowers, which symbolized a love triangle and, on the one hand, equated a mere mortal with a goddess, and on the other, preserved her belief that Hera’s curse did not last forever. The Romans also had a version of “curiosity.” People spying on Venus bathing turned into flowers. But the gods don't like that. And here is another legend about the origin of these flowers: a brother and sister, separated in infancy, meet already young, and having met, fall in love with each other and marry legally, but after some time the young husband and wife, having learned about their consanguineous, horrified by what happened, they decide to turn into an unusual two-color flower, which in Belarus is called bratki.

MARYANNIK (IVAN-DA-MARYA) Slavic legend reads: “Once upon a time, there lived a brother and sister from Maryannik. From an early age, their fate forced them to wander apart. A lot of time has passed. Ivan met a beautiful girl, wooed her and got married. And only then did he find out that Marya was his sister. Out of grief, Marya turned yellow, and Ivan turned blue. That’s how they turned into grass.”

An ancient Greek legend tells the following story: One inquisitive young man studied all earthly sciences and decided to know heaven. But for this he needed to forge golden keys, walk along the silver-star path to the center of the Galaxy and open its gates with golden keys. This is not at all easy to do, because the path to the gate was guarded by numerous stars. But the young man was persistent. He forged golden keys and walked along the Milky Way. The stars began to persuade the young man to forget why he was going and lose his way. But he stubbornly moved forward. The fight with the stars was difficult. And in the end, the young man could not stand it, trembled and lost his way, and when he woke up, it turned out that he was lying on the ground... And the golden key that he was holding in his hands took root in the ground and turned into a primrose flower. According to another legend, the ancient Greeks called primrose the flower of the twelve gods. According to legend, the gods once gathered in such numbers on Olympus to decide the fate of the young man Paralysos, who was struck down by paralysis. It was decided to turn it into a flower, which began to be considered a remedy for all diseases, including paralysis. The Danish legend tells of the heavenly princess Elf, who descended to earth, where she fell in love with a handsome young man and did not return to heaven. As punishment, the gods turned the rebellious princess into a primrose, and the young man into a spring anemone. The ancient Scandinavians considered primroses to be the keys of Freya's spring. The legend says that Freya’s necklace was a rainbow, and where this necklace touched the ground, golden keys fell out of it, turning into primroses. PRIMROSE

DELPHINIUM The ancient Greeks dedicated this flower to a young sculptor, turned by the gods into a dolphin, because he sculpted his beloved, who had gone into the kingdom of shadows, and breathed life into her. The right to return from Hades is given only to the great gods. Even Asclepius, the famous ancient healer, was punished for this. Every evening the dolphin swam to the shore, and every evening the girl he had revived approached the shore, but they could not meet. One day, when the girl was looking longingly at the sea, a dolphin appeared from the waves. He swam to the shore and carefully laid a plant at her feet, the flowers of which looked like small dolphins, and he disappeared into the depths of the sea. A flower whose color resembles sea ​​waves, gave the name delphinium. In Russia it is called larkspur, or spur, in Ukraine horned cornflowers, in England funny spurs, in France lark's foot. As can be seen from the names, most peoples tend to call delphinium spur because the upper petal of its sepal really looks like a spur. Its species and varieties are amazing in color: blue, blue, azure, violet, lilac, white and lilac; they, in combination with black, gray and cream petals, give the plants irresistible charm and charm. The sun-loving flower does not tolerate shade. However, on hot days it prefers coolness, afraid of getting burned by the sultry summer rays.

DAHLIA There is a legend among the people, according to which this beautiful flower owes its name to the young gardener George. In ancient times, the dahlia was a royal flower and could only grow in the palace garden. And he would have remained a royal prisoner if not for the gardener George... Despite the severe ban, the gardener gave this flower to his bride, and then planted the same flower near her house. Having learned about this, the king ordered the gardener to be thrown into prison, where he died. But the royal flower had already broken free and became popular among the people. In honor of the young gardener George, who gave his life for his freedom, the flower was named dahlia. Now they are known in almost all countries of the world. Pure white is in greatest demand, followed by variegated colors, bright red and purple. Another legend says that dahlias are named after the Russian navigator George, who presented an unknown flower to an overseas king. As a rule, dahlias are presented as a sign of respect and friendship, as well as on special occasions.

CHAMOMILE Once upon a time there lived a girl in the world. Her name has long been forgotten. She was beautiful, modest and gentle. And she had a loved one - Roman. They loved each other very much, their feelings were so sublime and warm that it seemed to them that they were not mere mortals. The lovers spent every day together. Roman loved to give his girlfriend small and beautiful, like the girl herself, gifts that he made for her. One day he brought his beloved a flower - something like this had never been seen before. The girl admired this flower for a very long time. It was modest - white elongated petals settled around the sunny center, but such love and tenderness emanated from the flower that the girl really liked it. She thanked Roman and asked where he got such a miracle? He said that he dreamed about this flower and when he woke up, he saw this flower on his pillow. The girl suggested calling this flower Chamomile, after Roman’s affectionate name, and the young man agreed. The girl said: “And why will only you and I have such a flower? Let you collect a whole bouquet of these flowers in that unknown country, and we will give these flowers to all our beloved!” Roman understood that it was impossible to get flowers from a dream, but he could not refuse his beloved. He set off. He looked for these flowers for a long time. I found the Kingdom of Dreams at the end of the world. The King of Dreams offered him an exchange - Roman would remain forever in his kingdom, and the King would give his girlfriend a field of flowers. And the young man agreed, for the sake of his beloved he was ready to do anything! The girl had been waiting for Roman for a long time. I waited a year, two, but he still didn’t come. She cried, was sad, lamented that she had wished for something impossible... But somehow she woke up, looked out the window and saw an endless field of chamomile. Then the Girl realized that her Romashek was alive, but he was far away and would not be seen again! The girl gave people Chamomile flowers. People fell in love with these flowers for their simple beauty and tenderness, and lovers began to tell fortunes about them. And now we often see how they tear off one petal at a time from a chamomile and say: “Loves it or doesn’t love it?”

PHLOX Translated from Greek, phlok means “flame”. According to legend, they were flaming torches in the hands of sailors and Odysseus, descending into the underground kingdom of Hades. They were secretly followed by the god of love Eros, who constantly guarded Odysseus’s love for Penelope. When the companions got out of the dungeon and threw the torches to the ground, they sprouted and turned into phlox flowers in memory of the brave Odysseus. Eros did not part with the torch, but, tired of the difficult journey, suddenly dozed off. While he was sleeping, the nymph stole the torch and, in order to leave unnoticed, decided to extinguish it in the nearest source. But when she lowered the torch into the water, the source lit up, boiled, and its water became healing. Now weak people go to bathe in healing waters and restore youthful strength to their bodies. Phloxes never cease to amaze us with their varied colors. The lovely flowers captivate not only with their unusual combination of white-pink-green, but also with their enchanting aroma. Thanks to its lush and long-lasting flowering, it is widely used to decorate rocky gardens and to revitalize mini-flower beds. And how good compact phlox are in pots, flowerpots, when decorating balcony boxes, forming real flowering carpets.

SUNFLOWER Greek myth tells how Clytia, daughter of the king of Babylon, was abandoned in love by the sun god Apollo because he turned his attention to her sister Leukotha. Clytia's jealousy caused the death of her sister. She herself, rejected by God, slowly died and turned into a flower that always turns its face to the sun. Marigolds, which also have this ability, were also the flowers of Greek myth. The common sunflower Helianthus annuus is present in Van Dyck's "Self-Portrait with a Sunflower" as a symbol of the artist's unwavering devotion to his patron, King Charles 1. Sun worship symbolism, which was used by Anthony Van Dyck () when he painted himself with a sunflower to gain the favor of the English King Charles 1, whom called "the sun". The sunflower, a plant brought to Europe from North America, is sometimes confused with heliotrope, which became the basis of the Greek myth of a flower in love with the sun. In Chinese symbolism it means longevity and has magical powers. Sunflower is a symbol of gratitude. It is to the sun that he owes his beauty, therefore, expressing his gratitude, he always opens up when he appears, continuously turning in the direction of the sun's rays.

ASTRA A beautiful legend tells about aster, which translated from Greek means “star”. She grew from a speck of dust that fell from a star. And if you hide in a flower garden at night, you can hear the flowers talking to their sister stars. The aster, with its sharp petals-rays, looks like a star. Aster is a symbol of sadness. This flower was considered a gift to man from the gods, his amulet, amulet, a piece of his distant star. Therefore, the sadness it symbolizes is sadness for the lost paradise, for the inability to rise into the sky.

LILAC Lilac got its name from the Greek syrinx - tube. One of the ancient Greek legends tells how Pan, the god of forests and fields, fell in love with the beautiful nymph Syringa. But the god was ugly: bearded, horned, goat-footed, and Syringa, fleeing from his persecution, turned into a beautiful fragrant plant - lilac. Anyone who has ever heard the melodic play of a pipe made of lilac will never forget its enchanting sounds. There is a story about the origin of lilacs. The goddess of spring woke up the Sun and his faithful companion Iris (rainbow), mixed the rays of the sun with the colorful rays of the rainbow, began to generously sprinkle them on fresh furrows, meadows, tree branches - and flowers appeared everywhere, and the earth rejoiced with this grace. So they reached Scandinavia, but the rainbow had only purple paint left. Soon there were so many lilacs here that the Sun decided to mix the colors on the Rainbow’s palette and began to sow white rays - so white joined the purple lilac.

MAC When the Lord created the earth, animals and plants, everyone was happy except Night. No matter how hard she tried to dispel her deep darkness with the help of stars and glowing bugs, she hid too many of the beauties of nature, thereby pushing everyone away from her. Then the Lord created Sleep, dreams and daydreams, and together with the Night they became welcome guests. Over time, passions awoke in people, one of the people even planned to kill his brother. The dream wanted to stop him, but the man's sins prevented him from approaching. Then Sleep, in anger, stuck his magic rod into the ground, and Night breathed life into it. The rod took root, turned green and, retaining its sleep-inducing power, turned into a poppy. There are several legends associated with the appearance of the poppy. The ancient Greeks believed that this flower was created by the god of sleep Hypnos for Demeter when she was so tired in search of her missing daughter Persephone, who was stolen by Hades, the lord of the underworld of the dead, that she could no longer ensure the growth of bread. Then Hypnos gave her poppy seeds so that she could fall asleep and rest. Persephone was sometimes depicted with a poppy - she was imagined entwined with garlands of poppy flowers - as a symbol of peace descending to the earth at this time. According to ancient Roman legend, he grew from the tears of Venus, which she shed upon learning of the death of the beautiful young man Adonis.

CHRYSANTHEMUM On modern language chrysanthemum flowers - an emblem of sadness, a symbol of autumn. White and yellow caps of chrysanthemums fill the soul with peace and tranquility, plunging it into a happy world of dreams... There is a sad legend about their origin. The poor woman's son died. She decorated the grave that was dear to her with wildflowers collected along the way until the cold weather set in. Then she remembered the bouquet of artificial flowers that her mother bequeathed as a guarantee of happiness. She placed this bouquet on the grave, watered it with tears, prayed, and when she raised her head, she saw a miracle: the entire grave was covered with living chrysanthemums. Their bitter smell seemed to indicate that they were dedicated to sadness.

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Myth and mythology. Myth is a unique form of ancient man’s worldview, the desire to understand the world. Myth as an aesthetic phenomenon. Main categories of myths. The emergence of myths. Myth (from the Greek mythos (“mythos”) - legend, legend) is the oldest form of a person’s presentation of his worldview. Mythology 1) A set of myths (stories, narratives about gods, heroes, demons, spirits, etc.) that reflected the fantastic ideas of people in pre-class and early class society about the world, nature and human existence. 2) Science that studies myths (their origin, content, distribution).

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In the process of transferring knowledge and information about ordinary and unusual phenomena from generation to generation, a special form of consolidating the memory of mankind is formed - myth. Myths Ancient man, in the form of myths and legends, tried to answer such global questions as the emergence of the most important phenomena of nature, animals and humans. A significant part of mythology consists of cosmogonic myths dedicated to the origin and structure of the universe as a whole. Much attention in myths is paid to the various stages of people's lives, the mysteries of birth and death, the knowledge of posthumous existence or non-existence, and the various trials that a person undergoes on the path of life. A special place is occupied by myths about the achievements of people: making fire, inventing crafts, developing agriculture, taming wild animals, etc.

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Etiological myths (literally “causal”, i.e. explanatory) are myths that explain the appearance of various natural and cultural features and social objects. Cosmogonic myths tell about the origin of the cosmos as a whole and its parts connected in a single system. Part of the cosmogonic myths are anthropogonic myths - about the origin of man, the first people, or tribal ancestors (the tribe in myths is often identified with “real people”, with humanity). Calendar myths are closely connected with the cycle of calendar rituals, usually with agrarian magic, focused on the regular change of seasons, especially the revival of vegetation in the spring (solar motifs are also intertwined here), and ensuring the harvest.

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Heroic myths are recorded the most important points life cycle, are built around the biography of the hero and may include his miraculous birth, trials from older relatives or hostile demons, the search for a wife and marriage trials, fighting monsters and other feats, and the death of the hero. Eschatological myths about “last” things, about the end of the world, arise relatively late and are based on the models of calendar myths, myths about the change of eras, and cosmogonic myths. In contrast to cosmogonic myths, eschatological myths tell not about the emergence of the world and its elements, but about their destruction - the death of land in the global flood, the chaotization of space, etc.

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Mythological heroes and characters. Heroes (from the Greek ἥρωας, “valiant man, leader”) are the children of a deity or the descendants of a deity and a mortal person. Usually mythological heroes were endowed with great physical strength and cruelty. The main difference between heroes and gods is that heroes are mortal. Most heroes are warriors who destroy ancient monsters and fight among themselves. With the development of ancient culture, heroes, in addition to traditional military prowess, began to be endowed with special wisdom, musical talent or cunning. Heroes-soothsayers (Tiresias, Amphiaraus, Kalkhant, Trophonius, Mopsus (soothsayer), Branchus, Idmon), hero-masters (Daedalus, Zetus and Amphion), hero-musicians (Orpheus, Linus), legislators (Theseus) are distinguished. Odysseus, the cunning hero, occupied a peculiar niche. The hero is called upon to carry out the will of the Olympians on earth among people, ordering life and introducing justice, measure, and laws into it, despite the ancient spontaneity and disharmony. Usually the hero is endowed with exorbitant strength and superhuman capabilities, but he is deprived of immortality, which remains the privilege of a deity. Hence the inconsistency and contradiction between the limited capabilities of a mortal being and the desire of the heroes to establish themselves in immortality.

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Olympus Olympus (O l u m p o z) is a mountain in Thessaly where the gods live. The name Olympus is of pre-Greek origin (a possible connection with the Indo-European root ulu / uelu, “to rotate”, i.e. an indication of the roundness of the peaks) and belongs to a number of mountains of Greece and Asia Minor. On Olympus are the palaces of Zeus and other gods, built and decorated by Hephaestus. The gates of Olympus are opened and closed by the Oras (daughters of Zeus and Themis) as they ride out in golden chariots. Olympus is thought of as a symbol of the supreme power of the new generation of Olympian gods who defeated the Titans.

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Zeus Zeus, Diy (Z e u z) · supreme deity, father of gods and people, head of the Olympian family of gods. Zeus is a native Greek deity; his name is of purely Indo-European origin and means "bright sky". In antiquity, the etymology of the word “Zeus” was associated with the roots of the Greek words “life”, “boiling”, “irrigation”, “that through which everything exists”. Zeus is the son of Kronos (hence the names Zeus Kronid, Kronion) and Rhea, he belongs to the third generation of gods who overthrew the second generation - the Titans.

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The father of Zeus, fearing to be deposed by his children, each time swallowed the child just born to Rhea. Rhea deceived her husband by letting him swallow a wrapped stone instead of the born Zeus, and the baby, secret from his father, was sent to Crete on Mount Dikta. According to another version, Rhea gave birth to Zeus in the cave of Mount Dikta and entrusted his upbringing to the Curetes and Corybantes, who fed him with the milk of the goat Amalthea. It was in Crete that the most ancient fetishistic symbols of the veneration of Zeus of Crete were preserved: a double ax (labrys), a magical weapon that kills and gives life, destructive and creative power.

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Apollo Apollo, in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and the Titanide Leto, twin brother of the virgin goddess of the hunt Artemis. He occupied one of the main places in the Greek and Roman traditions and was considered the arrow god, soothsayer, and luminous patron of the arts.

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Dionysus Dionysus, (Roman Bacchus, Bacchus) in Greek mythology, the eternally young god of the fruitful forces of the earth, vegetation, viticulture and winemaking, known as the “god with bull horns”, because he loved to take the form of this powerful animal, the son of Zeus and the Theban princess Semele. Zeus, who appeared before the princess in a flash of lightning, accidentally incinerated his mortal beloved, but managed to snatch the premature Dionysus from the flames and sewed him into his thigh. In due time, God gave birth to a child and gave it to the nymphs to raise. Having matured, Dionysus, wandering around the candle, met Ariadne, abandoned by Theseus, and married her. Dionysus was famous as a god who frees people from worries and removes the shackles of a measured life, so the procession of Dionysus was of an ecstatic nature; satyrs, bacchantes and maenads took part in it.

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Neptune Neptune is one of the most ancient gods of the Roman pantheon. He was identified with the Greek mythological god Poseidon. In Ancient Rome, on July 23, a holiday was celebrated in honor of the god Neptune, hoping in this way to save the harvest from drought. Almost nothing is known about the origin of this god, but there is no doubt that Neptune has always been associated with water. The god's retinue included such deities as Salacia and Vanilla. The Romans identified Salacia with the Greek goddesses Thetis and Amphitrite. Neptune was mainly revered by people who were in one way or another connected with the sea: sailors, traders, fishermen. This god was also credited with protecting horses. In honor of the equestrian Neptune, festivals and equestrian competitions were organized.

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Jupiter Jupiter, in Roman mythology, the almighty god of the sky, the king of the gods. Jupiter was revered as the supreme deity, the lord of thunder and lightning. One of his nicknames - Lucetius ("light-brightening") - suggests that he was also considered the god of light. The image of Jupiter combined the features of many ancient Italian deities. He was credited with patronage of agriculture and protection of borders; God ensured that the oaths were observed and granted the commanders victory in battle. Roman military leaders, returning in triumph from campaigns, made thanksgiving sacrifices to Jupiter and carried laurel wreaths to his temple.

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Aurora Aurora in ancient Greek mythology is the goddess of the dawn. The word "aurora" comes from the Latin aura, which means "pre-dawn breeze". The ancient Greeks called Aurora the ruddy dawn, the rose-fingered goddess Eos. Aurora was the daughter of the titan Hipperion and Theia (in another version: the sun - Helios and the moon - Selene). From Astraeus and Aurora came all the stars that burn in the dark night sky, and all the winds: the stormy northern Boreas, the eastern Eurus, the humid southern Note and the gentle western wind Zephyr, which brings heavy rains.

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Athena Athena, in Greek mythology, the goddess of wisdom, just war and crafts, daughter of Zeus and the Titanide Metis. Zeus, having learned that his son from Metis would deprive him of power, swallowed his pregnant wife, and then himself gave birth to a completely adult Athena, who, with the help of Hephaestus, emerged from his head in full battle garb. Athena was, as it were, a part of Zeus, the executor of his plans and will. She is the thought of Zeus, realized in action. Her attributes are a snake and an owl, as well as an aegis, a shield made of goatskin, decorated with the head of the snake-haired Medusa, possessing magical power, terrifying gods and people. According to one version, the palladium statue of Athena supposedly fell from heaven; hence her name - Pallas Athena.

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Themis Themis, in ancient Greek mythology, the goddess of justice. The Greeks called the goddess different names, for example Temis, Themis. Themis was the daughter of the sky god Uranus and Gaia, the second wife of Zeus and the mother of numerous offspring. Her daughters were the goddesses of fate - the Moiras. In one of the legends, Themis acts as the mother of the titan Prometheus, who initiated her son into the secret of the fate of Zeus. The Thunderer was supposed to die from one of his children born to Thetis. The myth of Prometheus tells that the hero discovered this secret only after thousands of years of torment to which Zeus doomed him. Residents in Olympia Ancient Greece they placed altars to Zeus, Gaia and Themis side by side, which shows how much they revered this goddess of law and order.

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Hades Hades, Hades, Pluto (“invisible”, “terrible”), in Greek mythology the god of the kingdom of the dead, as well as the kingdom itself. Son of Kronos and Rhea, brother of Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Demeter and Hestia. During the division of the world after the overthrow of his father, Zeus took the sky, Poseidon the sea, and Hades the underworld; The brothers agreed to rule the land together. Hades' second name was Polydegmon ("recipient of many gifts"), which is associated with the countless shadows of the dead living in his domain. The messenger of the gods, Hermes, conveyed the souls of the dead to the ferryman Charon, who transported across the underground river Styx only those who could pay for the crossing. The entrance to the underground kingdom of the dead was guarded by the three-headed dog Kerberus (Cerberus), who did not allow anyone to return to the world of the living.

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Hercules Hercules - in Greek mythology - a Greek folk hero, the son of Zeus and the mortal woman Alcmene. In the service of Eurystheus, Hercules performed twelve labors: -1- strangled the Nemean lion with his hands; -2- killed the Lernaean hydra -3- caught the Erymanthian boar alive; -4- caught a Kerynean doe; -5- exterminated the Stymphalian birds; -6- obtained the belt of the Amazon queen Hippolyta; -7- cleaned the stables of Augeas; -8- overpowered the Cretan fire-breathing bull; -9- defeated King Diomedes; -10- stole the cows of Geryon and the three-headed giant; -11- obtained the golden apples of the Hesperides; -12- defeated the guardian of Hades, the hellish dog Kerberus. Hercules was depicted: - as a child strangling snakes; - young men resting after a feat or performing a feat; - a powerful bearded man, armed with a club and dressed in the skin of the Nemean lion he killed

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Achilles Achilles, Achilles (A c i l l e u z) · one of the greatest heroes of the Trojan War, the son of the Myrmidon king Peleus and the sea goddess Thetis. In an effort to make her son invulnerable and thus give him immortality, Thetis tempered him in fire at night and rubbed him with ambrosia during the day. One night, Peleus, seeing his young son on fire, snatched him from his mother’s arms (Apollod III 13, 6). According to another version (Stat. Ach. III I 269 trace), Thetis bathed Achilles in the waters of the underground river Styx in order to thus make him invulnerable, and only the heel by which she held him remained vulnerable (hence the expression “Achilles’ heel”) . Insulted by Peleus' interference, Thetis left her husband, and he gave Achilles to be raised by the wise centaur Chiron, who fed him the entrails of lions, bears and wild boars, taught him to play the sweet-sounding cithara and sing

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Odysseus Odysseus (O d u s s e u z), Ullis (Ulixes) · king of the island of Ithaca, son of Laertes and Anticlea (Homer “Iliad”, IX 308). The genealogy of Odysseus is closely related to the general character of the hero - smart and cunning. According to some versions of the myth, Odysseus is the son of Sisyphus (Soph. Philoct. 417, 1311; Eur Iphig. A. 524), who seduced Anticlea before her marriage to Laertes (Schol. Soph. Ai. 190). Moreover, Anticlea's father Autolycus - “the great oathbreaker and thief” (Hom. Od. XIX 396 seq.) was the son of Hermes and helped him in all his tricks (396-398); hence the inherited intelligence, practicality, and dexterity of Odysseus, coming from Hermes.

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Medea Medea, in ancient Greek mythology, is a sorceress, the daughter of the Colchian king Eetus and the Oceanid Idia, the granddaughter of Helios.

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Europe Europe, in Greek mythology, is the daughter of the Phoenician king Agenor, who became the object of passion of the thunderer Zeus. Flying over the city of Sidon, Zeus saw girls dancing in circles in the meadow and weaving wreaths of bright flowers. The most beautiful of all was Europe - the daughter of the local king. Zeus descended to earth and appeared in the guise of a wonderful white bull, standing at the feet of Europa. Europe, laughing, sat on his broad back. At that same moment, the bull rushed into the sea and carried her to the island of Crete, where Europe gave birth to Zeus three sons - Minos, Radamanthos and Sarpedon, and then married the local king Asterius ("star"), who adopted her sons from God. Zeus mercifully gave his rival the mighty copper pelican Talos, who was supposed to guard Crete, walking around the island three times a day. And he placed the divine bull in the sky - the constellation Taurus, as a reminder to Europe of his great love for her.

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Narcissus Narcissus, in Greek mythology, is the unusually beautiful son of the Boeotian river god Cephissus and the nymph Liriope. When the parents asked the soothsayer Tiresias about the future of the child, the sage replied that Narcissus would live to old age if he never saw his face. Narcissus grew up to be a young man of rare beauty, and many women sought his love, but he was indifferent to everyone. Among those rejected by him was the nymph Echo, who dried up from grief so that only her voice remained. The women, offended by Narcissus's inattention, demanded the gods to punish him, and the goddess of justice Nemesis heeded their pleas. One day, returning from a hunt, Narcissus looked into an unclouded spring and, seeing his reflection in the water, fell in love with it. The young man could not tear himself away from contemplating his face and died of self-love. According to legend, at the site of Narcissus’s death, a field of amazing plants and herbs appeared, in the center of which grew a healing flower, marked by strict beauty, which was named after the young man.

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Ancient myth: the origin of the world and the gods: “The Birth of Zeus”, “Olympus”. “In the beginning there was the word... Everything came into being through him...” Gospel of John (Chapter 1) Initially, only eternal, boundless, dark Chaos existed. It contained the source of life. Everything arose from boundless Chaos - the whole world and the immortal gods. He was, as it were, the raw material from which everything that ever existed came into being. Obeying an unknown force that forced it to rotate and create, Chaos gave birth to the most ancient thing in our nascent Universe - Time. The Hellenes called him Chronos. And now everything happened in time, because... the space was still in its infancy. Chronos gave birth to three elements - Fire, Air and Water. But this was after the Earth appeared. Following Chronos, Eros and Anteros arose simultaneously, like twin brothers. (Subsequently, such double birth is very common and was considered almost sacred by the Greeks) Eros - Love, and Anteros - Denial of Love.

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Chaos gave birth to something similar to itself - Erebus, as the embodiment of Darkness. Behind him is Niktu - the dark starless Night. And also the Incomprehensible Abyss - Tartarus. Tartarus was emptiness itself, a black hole. Throughout history, the Gods have used its depths as punishment for the defeated. No one could escape from the Abyss on their own. Tartarus was the most terrible place in the Universe. But from Darkness and Night were born the Eternal Light - Ether and the Shining Day - Hemera. "Black Night and gloomy Erebus were born from Chaos. Night Ether gave birth to the shining Day, or Hemera: She conceived them in her womb, uniting with Erebus in love." Hesiod: “The Origin of the Gods” Erebus and Nyx had more children: the gloomy Charon - the ferryman across the River Styx in the kingdom of the dead and three daughters - the twins Tisiphone, Alecto and Megaera - the goddess of vengeance Erinyes. The remnants of the primeval Chaos were already spinning at tremendous speed and turned into an Egg. This egg was the embryo of the Earth. But then it split into two parts. The upper half of the shell became the Starry Sky - Uranus, the lower half - the Mother Earth - Gaia. And the liquid spread over the body of the Earth is the Boundless Sea - the Pontus. He became Gaia's first husband. The second was Uranus-Sky. From their marriage came all the Olympian gods.

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Homer Homer is an ancient Greek poet. To date, there is no convincing evidence of the reality of the historical figure of Homer. According to ancient tradition, it was customary to imagine Homer as a blind wandering singer-aed; seven cities argued for the honor of being called his homeland. He was probably from Smyrna (Asia Minor), or from the island of Chios. It can be assumed that Homer lived around the 8th century BC. Homer is credited with authoring two of the greatest works of ancient Greek literature, the Iliad and the Odyssey. In ancient times, Homer was recognized as the author of other works: the poem “Batrachomachia” and the collection of “Homeric hymns.” Modern science assigns only the Iliad and the Odyssey to Homer, and there is an opinion that these poems were created by different poets and at different times. historical time. Even in ancient times, the “Homeric question” arose, which is now understood as a set of problems related to the origin and development of the ancient Greek epic, including the relationship between folklore and literary creativity itself.

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Biographical information about Homer given by ancient authors is contradictory and implausible. “Seven cities, arguing, are called the homeland of Homer: Smyrna, Chios, Colophon, Pylos, Argos, Ithaca, Athens,” says one Greek epigram (in fact, the list of these cities was more extensive). Regarding the life of Homer, ancient scholars gave various dates, starting from the 12th century BC (after the Trojan War) and ending with the 7th century BC; There was a widespread legend about a poetic competition between Homer and Hesiod. Most researchers believe that Homer's poems were created in Asia Minor, in Ionia in the 8th century BC, based on mythological tales about the Trojan War. There is late antique evidence of the final edition of their texts under the Athenian tyrant Pisistratus in the mid-6th century BC, when their performance was included in the festivals of the Great Panathenaia.

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“Iliad” and “Odyssey” The works of Homer, the poems “Iliad” and “Odyssey”, are the first known monuments of ancient Greek literature and at the same time the first monuments of literature in Europe in general. Containing a huge number of different kinds of legends and being very significant in size (there are 15,693 poetic lines in the Iliad, 12,110 in the Odyssey), these poems could not appear suddenly, in the form of the work of only one brilliant writer. Even if they were compiled by one poet, they were compiled on the basis of centuries-old folk art, in which modern science establishes a reflection of the most diverse periods of the historical development of the Greeks. These works were recorded for the first time only in the second half of the 6th century. BC e. Consequently, the folk materials for these poems were created even earlier, at least two or three centuries before this first recording, and, as modern scholarship shows, the Homeric poems reflect even older periods of Greek or perhaps even pre-Greek history. The plot of Homer's poems is different episodes of the Trojan War. Troy and the region where this city was the capital, Troas, were located in the northwestern corner of Asia Minor and were inhabited by a tribe of Phrygians. The Greeks, who inhabited the Balkan Peninsula, waged wars in Asia Minor for many centuries. One such war, namely with Troy, was especially imprinted in the memory of the ancient Greeks, and many different stories were dedicated to it. literary works and, in particular, several special poems. They told about the Trojan War, the reasons that caused it, the capture of Troy and the return of the victorious Greeks to their homeland. To understand the content of the Iliad and the Odyssey, it is necessary to know all the legends about the Trojan War, since both poems depict only individual moments of this war.

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Greek myths tell that the Earth, burdened with an overgrown population, asked Zeus (the supreme deity of the ancient Greeks) to spare it and reduce the number of people living on it. For the sake of the request of the Earth, by the will of Zeus, the Trojan War begins. The closest reason for the war was that Paris, the son of the Trojan king Priam, kidnapped Helen, the wife of the Spartan king Menelaus. To take revenge for this kidnapping and bring Helen back, Menelaus’ brother and the king of Argolis, neighboring Sparta, Agamemnon advises Menelaus to gather all the Greek kings with their squads and start a war with Troy. Among the Greek kings involved, especially notable are the fleet-footed Achilles, the king of Phthia, who amazes with his power, and Odysseus, the king of the island of Ithaca (to the west of the Balkan Peninsula). All Greek tribes send their troops and their leaders to Aulis, from where the pan-Greek army moves across the Aegean Sea and lands near Troy, which is several kilometers from the coast. Agamemnon is elected supreme leader of the entire Greek army. The war has been waged with varying success for 10 years. And only after 10 years did the Greeks manage to get into the city itself, burn it, kill the men, and take the women captive. Scattered throughout the Iliad and Odyssey are only hints of the war as a whole. But the poems do not contain a special narrative about the causes of the war, nor about its first 9 years, nor about the capture of Troy. Both poems are each dedicated to a special plot, namely, “The Iliad” - one episode from the tenth year of the war, and “The Odyssey” - tales of Odysseus’ return to his homeland after the war.

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"Odyssey". The main content of the Odyssey is the tale of Odysseus' return to Ithaca after the end of the war with Troy.

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Myths and Legends of the ancient Slavs Our Fatherland Olenich Anastasia 8th grade Municipal Educational Institution "Maslovskaya Sosh"

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Creation of the world At first there was water everywhere; God sent him to bring a bird from the bottom of the earth. God tells her to cough up the earth: “Make sure you don’t hide anything”; she coughed up, and the ground became flat everywhere. She only kept a little bit in her mouth. And that earth began to grow in her mouth. She prayed to God: “Lord, I hid the earth, I didn’t cough it all up.” - “Well, it’s not okay, there’s nothing to do, cough up the rest.” She coughed up. And from this there became mountains throughout the whole earth.

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Tree of the world The axis of the world is a holy tree - an ash tree, on which the supreme god Svarun resides in his bright chambers. Its roots extend throughout the underground kingdom of Chernobog. Its root has four legs: one root goes to the south, the second to the east, the third to the north, and the fourth to the west. Small catkins in its branches are the sun, moon and stars. This is how the ash tree connects the underground, the earth and the sky. From under the tree of peace flows a spring of pure, living water, which heals and resurrects from the dead.

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How a man got fire The first fire came to us with Perun. Yes, no one had any luck with this fire, until one old wheelwright had the happy idea to plan an ash blade, put it on the spindle, pressing it hard, and start rubbing it here and there with the bow. Lo and behold, smoke came from the spindle, and it flared up like a fire...

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The legend of the sun Mother Earth lay in darkness and cold. And the eternally young, eternally joyful bright Yar said: “Let’s look through the pitch darkness at Mother Earth, is she good, is she comely?” And the flame of the bright Yar’s gaze in an instant pierced immeasurable layers. Mother Cheese-Earth woke up from her sleep and stretched out in her youthful beauty. She greedily drank the golden rays of the life-giving light, life and languishing bliss poured through her depths... Heavenly birds flew out of her depths, forest and field animals ran out, fish swam in the rivers and seas, small insects huddled in the air. Then the Earth gave birth to man. And when he emerged from the bowels of the earth, Yarilo struck him on the head with bright lightning, and from that lightning the mind arose in man.

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Perun Perun - Slavic god thunderstorms, god of thunder and lightning. Perun was considered the patron saint of warriors. And Perun’s main feat was precisely that he returned fertility to the Earth, returned the Sun and rain. An animal was dedicated to Perun - a wild aurochs. Perun had his own tree - the oak, and his favorite flower - the iris, which blooms when the first thunderstorms thunder.

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Dazhdbog The ancient Slavs considered Dazhdbog the god of the Sun. Dazhdbog means “giver of all blessings.” Dazhdbog rides across the sky in a beautiful chariot drawn by four white, golden-maned horses with golden wings. And the sunlight comes from the fiery shield. At night he crosses the Ocean on a boat drawn by swans. The Slavs believed that the Sun God would help them.

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Svetovid Svetovid was considered the guardian and continuer of the family, the progenitor who gave light and life. Hence the Christmastide - games in honor of the god Svetovid. Svetovid’s four faces indicate that his power extends “to all four directions.”

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Yarila Yarila is the god of reviving nature. This Slavic mythological character is associated with the idea of ​​fertility and spring power. Sometimes Yarila appeared before people in the spring as a boy on a young stallion, in the summer as an adult man on a strong horse, and in the fall as an old man on an old horse. People knew: winter would pass, and Yarila would return.

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Belbog The very name of this deity is consonant with the word “good”. He was considered the guardian and giver of goodness, good luck, justice, and happiness. The ancient Slavs used the iron test to establish a person's guilt or innocence. The suspect was given a red-hot piece of iron and told to walk ten steps with it. And the one whose hand remained unharmed was recognized as right. Hence the concept of “branded with iron” from ancient times was equivalent to “branded with shame.”

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Chernobog This terrible deity was considered the beginning of all misadventures. Concepts such as “black soul” and “rainy day” are associated with him, the ruler of the underworld. Chernobog was depicted dressed in armor, with a face filled with rage, with a spear in his hand, ready to inflict all sorts of evil.

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Lada and her children Lada is the goddess of love, beauty and charm. Lel was the eldest son of Lada, the second son was Polelya - the god of marriage. He blessed people for everyday life, a family path full of thorns. Lada's third son is Did, the god of marriage. Like his brother Polelya, Did is always young. The goddess Didilia is the guardian of the clan and children, also from the Lada family.

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Since ancient times, the rose has remained the unsurpassed queen of flowers, a symbol of beauty and greatness. According to archaeological data, the rose has existed on Earth for about 25 million years, and in culture the rose has been grown for more than 5,000 years, and for most of this time it was considered a sacred symbol. It was grown in the gardens of the East several thousand years ago, and the very first information about the rose is found in ancient Indian legends, although Persia is considered its homeland. Bengal roses come from India, tea roses come from China. According to legend, Lakshmi is the most beautiful woman in the world, an opening rosebud was born. The Queen of Flowers was also appreciated by privileged people. Roses were bred under Peter the Great and Catherine the Second. For the ancient Greeks, the rose has always been a symbol of love and sadness, a symbol of beauty in poetry and painting.

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According to the legend about the violet (pansy): the three-color petals of the pansy reflect three periods in the life of the girl Anyuta with a kind heart and trusting eyes. She lived in a village, believed every word, found an excuse for every action. Unfortunately, she met an insidious seducer and fell in love with him with all her heart. And the young man was afraid of her love and hurried on the road, assuring that he would return soon. Anyutana watched the road for a long time, quietly fading from melancholy. And when she died, flowers appeared at the place of her burial, the tricolor petals of which reflected hope, surprise and sadness. This is a Russian legend about a flower. The ancient Greeks associated the appearance of these flowers with the daughter of the Argive king Io, who fell in love with Zeus, for which his wife Hera was turned into a cow. To somehow brighten up the life of his beloved, Zeus grew pansies for her, which symbolized a love triangle. The violet is the favorite flower of Empress Josephine and the emblem of the Napoleons.

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An ancient Greek myth tells about the origin of cloves. One day, the goddess of the hunt Diana (Artemis), returning very irritated after an unsuccessful hunt, met a handsome shepherd who was cheerfully playing a merry song on his pipe. Beside herself with anger, she reproaches the poor shepherd for dispersing the game with his music and threatens to kill him. The shepherd makes excuses, swears that he is not guilty of anything and begs her for mercy. But the goddess, unconscious of rage, pounces on him and tears out his eyes. Only then does she come to her senses and comprehend the full horror of the crime committed. Then, in order to perpetuate those eyes that looked at her so pitifully, she throws them onto the path, and at that very moment two red carnations grow out of them, reminiscent of the color of innocently shed blood... French girls, seeing off their boyfriends to the war, to the army, they also gave them bouquets of scarlet carnations, thereby expressing the wish that their loved ones return unharmed and undefeated. The warriors believed in the miraculous power of the carnation and wore it as a talisman. The Italians also found favor with the carnation. Her image was included in the state emblem, and girls considered the carnation to be a mediator of love: for a young man going to battle, they pinned the flower to his uniform to protect him from danger. This flower was considered a protective talisman of love in Spain. Spanish women managed to secretly arrange dates with their gentlemen, pinning carnations of different colors on their chests for this occasion. In Belgium, the carnation is considered the flower of the poor or common people, a symbol of a comfortable home. Parents present a bouquet of flowers to their daughter who is getting married. Carnations are a decoration for dining tables. In England and Germany, carnations have long been considered a symbol of love and purity. It was the Germans who gave the flower the name “clove” - for the similarity of its aroma with the smell of the spice, dried buds of the clove tree; from German this designation passed into Polish, and then into Russian.

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Since ancient times, people have worshiped the lily as one of the most beautiful creatures on the ground. Even the wish for well-being sounded like this: “May your path be strewn with roses and lilies.” A symbol of hope in Ancient Greece, peace and purity in Rus', and in France these flowers meant mercy, compassion and justice. Although lilies come in different shades, but exactly White flowers are given a special symbolic meaning. The white lily symbolizes innocence and has symbolized purity and purity since ancient times. It is no coincidence that lilies are the flowers of brides. And the very name of the flower translated from ancient Greek means “white-white.” The Greeks attribute to her divine origin. The lily played a significant role among the Romans, especially in their flower festivals dedicated to the goddess of spring - Flora. But nowhere did the lily have such historical significance as in France, where the names of the founder of the French monarchy Clovis, kings Louis VII, Philip III, and Francis are associated with it I.

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Legends about flowers

There are many legends about the appearance of flowers on our planet. Here's what one of them says. In ancient times, Mother Earth lay in darkness and cold. And one day Yarilo (among the ancient Slavs the god of the sun, spring and fertility) pierced the layers of darkness over the sleeping Earth with the flame of his gaze. The Red Sun immediately shone, giving light and warmth to the awakening planet. She drank greedily sun rays, basked in her youthful beauty, gaining life-giving strength to the brim. Then Yarilo said, his wise eyes brightening: “Oh, you are the one, Mother of Cheese Earth! Love me, the bright god. For your love, I will decorate you with blue seas, yellow sands, blue rivers, silver lakes, green grass-ants, with scarlet and azure flowers..." That's how flowers came to Earth. Since then, every spring Yarilo awakens from his winter sleep, mounts his horses and decorates Mother Cheese Earth with flowers.

Water Lily This story happened in ancient Italy. Once upon a time, there lived a beautiful Melinda. And the swamp king was watching her all the time. The king's eyes twinkled when he looked at the beautiful girl, and although he was scary as hell, he nevertheless became Melinda's husband, and the yellow egg capsule, which has long symbolized betrayal and deceit, helped him get the beauty. While walking with her friends near a swampy lake, Melinda admired the golden floating flowers, reached for one of them, stepped on a coastal stump in which the lord of the bog was hiding, and he carried the girl to the bottom. At the site of her death, snow-white flowers with a yellow core emerged. These flowers turned out to be water lilies.

CAMELLIA The legend tells: somehow, Cupid was so successful in his affairs that not a single person was left unhit by his arrows. There was nothing more to do on earth, and Cupid went to Saturn. There he saw beautiful ice women. The entire quiver discharged into them, but not a single woman even raised an eyebrow... The offended Cupid descended to the ground, and - lo and behold: all the ice women came down after him and turned into camellia flowers. Beautiful and fearless.

Ivan-tea Once upon a time there lived a boy named Ivan in a Russian area. He loved to wear a red shirt and spent most of his time at the edge of the forest among flowers and bushes. And the villagers, who saw the red color among the greenery, said: “Yes, it’s Ivan, tea, walking.” And they got so used to it that they didn’t notice Ivan’s absence in the village and began to say: “Yes, it’s Ivan, tea!” - at the scarlet flowers that suddenly appeared near the outskirts. And so the name Ivan-tea stuck to the new plant.

Immortelle According to Indian legend, the immortelle was born in the following way: a guy and a girl got married in the same village. Going after the wedding from the wigwam of the bride's father to her husband's parents, the newlyweds met wild animals, which immediately tore them to pieces. Residents buried the newlyweds on the river bank. And in the spring, a light lilac flower suddenly appeared at the place of their burial. The hunter, passing by him, exclaimed touchingly: “Live forever!”, and nature accepted the good wish.

Rose It is believed that roses are the first plants introduced into crops for their flowers, perhaps due to the ease with which they produce double forms. No other plant's flowers aroused such admiration among people for their beauty and aroma and did not awaken such inspiration among people of art. In ancient Persia, poets never tired of singing the rose. According to Persian legends, it was a gift from Allah himself. One day all the flowers came to him with a request to appoint a new ruler instead of the sleepy lotus - although he was beautiful, he often forgot about his duties. Allah heeded their request and appointed a white rose with sharp thorns guarding it as ruler. The nightingale, seeing the new queen of flowers, was fascinated by her beauty and in delight pressed the rose to her chest. But sharp thorns pierced his heart, and scarlet blood, splashing from the unfortunate man’s chest, watered the delicate petals of the wondrous flower. To this day, the outer petals of many roses retain their pink tint.

Jasmine The first mention of fragrant jasmine was found in ancient Egyptian papyri. The Hellenes believed that jasmine was given to people by the goddess of wisdom Athena. In the Philippines, jasmine is called sampaguita. The sampaguita has been the national flower of the Philippines since 1937. Filipinos greet their dear guests with garlands of white fragrant flowers, wreaths and sampaguita necklaces are placed on their heads and necks. Sampaguita is used in various cultural and religious ceremonies. Sampaguita is considered the flower of purity, fidelity and love.

Lily of the valley Lily of the valley is compared to tears and an old legend says that this wonderful flower grew from tears that fell to the ground. Subtle aroma Lily of the valley attracts bees and bumblebees, which contribute to the pollination of flowers, after which the berries develop initially green and, when ripe, orange-red. A poetic legend is dedicated to them: once upon a time, a long time ago, Lily of the Valley fell in love with the beautiful Spring and, when she left, he cried for her with such burning tears that the blood came out of his heart and colored his tears. The lily of the valley in love endured his grief as silently as he carried the joy of love.

Dahlia There is a legend among the people according to which this beautiful flower owes its name to the young gardener George. In ancient times, the dahlia was a royal flower and could only grow in the palace garden. And he would have remained a royal prisoner if not for the gardener George... Despite the severe ban, the gardener gave this flower to his bride, and then planted the same flower near her house. Having learned about this, the king ordered the gardener to be thrown into prison, where he died. But the royal flower had already broken free and became popular among the people. In honor of the young gardener George, who gave his life for his freedom, the flower was named dahlia. Now they are known in almost all countries of the world.

Sunflower The Greek myth tells how Clytia, daughter of the king of Babylon, was abandoned in love by the sun god Apollo because he turned his attention to her sister Leukotha. Clytia's jealousy caused the death of her sister. She herself, rejected by God, slowly died and turned into a flower that always turns its face to the sun.

CROCUS History of the name and origin of crocus (saffron): comes from the Greek word "kroke" - thread. Saffron - from the Arabic "sepheran" - yellow. In the East, saffron is highly prized; it was no less valuable to the Greeks and Romans. Fragrant water was prepared from saffron, which was sprinkled on rooms, halls, theaters, clothes, and put into drinks and food. A fragrant ointment was also made from it. There is a Greek myth that describes the appearance of saffron flowers: “The god Mercury had a friend named Crocus. Once, while throwing a disk, Mercury accidentally hit Crocus with the disk and killed him. From the ground stained with blood, a saffron flower grew.”

Carnation Legend tells that one day the goddess Diana, returning very irritated from an unsuccessful hunt, met a handsome shepherd at the edge of the forest, who was cheerfully playing the pipe. In anger, she blamed the shepherdess for her failure and the fact that because of him and his music, all the game ran away and the hunt was ruined. The poor young man made excuses, swore that he was not guilty of anything and begged for mercy. But the goddess, not hearing anything, and, not remembering herself with rage, attacked the shepherd and tore out his eyes. When she came to her senses, remorse began to torment her, but she was no longer able to correct what she had done. Then, in order to at least a little make amends and perpetuate the memory of the young man, Diana cast her eyes on the path. And at the same moment, two carnations grew out of them, their color reminiscent of innocently shed blood.

Cornflower One of the Roman legends says that cornflower got its name from the beautiful young man Cianus, who was so captivated by the beauty of blue wildflowers that he himself dressed in all blue. He never left the fields while cornflowers grew on them, and endlessly weaved wreaths and garlands from them. Some time later he was found dead in a grain field among his favorite flowers. The goddess Flora, whom the young man loved more than others, for his constancy and love for her, as a sign of special favor, turned the young man’s body into his favorite flower, which has since received the name Cyanus.

GLADIOLUS Translated from Latin, "gladiolus" means "sword", and therefore among the Romans it was considered the flower of gladiators. One of the legends tells how a flower appeared on earth. There was a war between the Romans and Thracians. Victory went to the Romans. A cruel Roman commander captured Thracian warriors and ordered them to be turned into gladiators. Homesickness bound the two young captives Saint and Teres into a strong friendship. Wanting to entertain the audience, the cruel commander forced two friends to fight against each other, promising the winner a reward - a return to their homeland, that is, something for which they were ready to give their lives. The curious flocked to the military spectacle. Trumpets sounded, calling the brave to battle, but Saint and Teres stuck their swords into the ground and rushed to each other with open arms. They were put to death. But as soon as their bodies touched the ground, tall, beautiful flowers bloomed from the hilts of their swords. In honor of the noble gladiators they were called gladioli. And to this day they are a symbol of fidelity, nobility, and memory.

Lilac An ancient Greek legend tells: young Pan - the god of forests and meadows - once met the beautiful river nymph Syringa - the gentle messenger of the morning dawn, and was so enchanted by her grace and gentle beauty that he forgot about his amusements. Pan decided to speak to Syringa, but she got scared and ran away. Pan ran after her, wanting to calm her down, but the nymph suddenly turned into a fragrant bush with delicate lilac flowers. Pan cried inconsolably near the bush and from then on became sad, walking through the forest thickets alone, trying to do good to everyone. So the name Syringa became the Latin name for lilac.

PEONY It is believed that the scientific name of peony, or peon, peonia, goes back to the Hellenic deity Paean. In pre-Homeric times, Paean was revered as the omnipotent averter of evil. In his honor, hymns were sung in a special meter, paean. According to the second assumption, the peony is named after the area of ​​Lyonia in Greece, where it once grew wild. The flower received its name in honor of the young doctor Peon, who cured all kinds of diseases with decoction and drops from flowers. He also healed the god of the underworld Pluto from the wounds inflicted on him by Hercules. Having learned about this, Peon's teacher Aesculapius became jealous of his student and decided to poison Peon. But Pluto turned the young man into a beautiful flower.

PANSIES Pansies were already known to the ancient Greeks, who even had a famous legend about the beautiful Io associated with their origin. Zeus fell in love with the beautiful Io and, in order to hide her from his wife, turned her into a cow. They say that these flowers were grown by Jupiter as tasty food for this unfortunate woman, in order to somewhat soften her bitter fate; and therefore, probably, they were also called in ancient Greece the flowers of Jupiter. In the Middle Ages, the viola served as a symbol of fidelity for lovers and it was customary to give each other their portraits, placed in an enlarged image of this flower.

CHRYSANTHEMUM The Japanese have long celebrated the holiday of chrysanthemums, because... The legend about the origin of Japan is also connected with the magical properties of the flower. In ancient times, China was ruled by a cruel emperor. He was informed that on one of the nearest islands there was a chrysanthemum plant, from the juice of which a vital elixir could be prepared. But only a person with a pure heart and good intentions can pick a flower. The emperor and his courtiers were sinful people, and three hundred young boys and girls were sent to the island who did not return to the cruel emperor; Fascinated by the nature of the island, they founded a new state - Japan.

LILY Lily gets its name from the ancient Gaulish word "li-li", which literally means "white-white". The first images of her are found on Cretan vases and frescoes, starting from 1750 BC, and then among the ancient Assyrians, Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. According to ancient Greek legend, the Theban queen Alcmene secretly gave birth to a boy, Hercules, from Zeus, but, fearing the punishment of Zeus’s wife, Hera, she hid the newborn in the bushes. However, Hera accidentally discovered the boy and decided to breastfeed him. But little Hercules sensed an enemy in Hera and roughly pushed the goddess away. The milk splashed into the sky, causing the Milky Way to form, and the few drops that fell to the ground sprouted and turned into lilies.

FORGET-MENT One day, the goddess of flowers, Flora, descended to earth and began to bestow names on flowers. She gave all the flowers a name, didn’t offend anyone and wanted to leave, but suddenly she heard a weak voice behind her: “Don’t forget me, Flora!” Give me a name too! Flora looked around - no one was visible. I wanted to leave again, but the voice repeated: “Don’t forget me, Flora!” Give me a name please! And only then Flora noticed a small blue flower among the herbs. “Okay,” said the goddess, “be a forget-me-not.” Together with my name, I endow you with miraculous power - you will restore the memory of those people who begin to forget their loved ones or their homeland.

IRIS According to legend, the first iris bloomed several million years ago on the edge of subtropical forests in Southeast Asia. It was so beautiful that not only all the animals, birds and insects gathered to admire it, but even water and wind, which then spread the ripened seeds of the flower throughout to the globe. And when the seeds sprouted and blossomed, iris flowers became one of man’s favorite plants. Florence was called Florence by the Romans only because irises grew in abundance around this Etruscan settlement, and the literal translation from Latin into Russian “Florence” means “blooming”. Even in ancient times, Arabs planted wild iris with white flowers on graves.

Chamomile (common cornflower) Daisies are similar in shape to umbrellas, and according to legend, in ancient times they were umbrellas for little gnomes. When it starts to rain in the steppe, the gnome will cover himself with a chamomile or pick it and walk across the steppe, raising the flower above his head. The rain knocks on the chamomile umbrella, flows off it in streams, and the gnome remains completely dry. And daisies look like surprised eyes. If you go out into the meadow on a dry, windy day and listen carefully, you can hear a quiet rustle - this is the rustle of white chamomile eyelashes. The surprised eyes of the daisy look at the sky, trying to understand the movements of clouds, stars and planets.

Astra If you have ever looked at a silvery star for a long time, you have probably noticed that the star is not just a luminous point, it emits either blue, then white, or pink light. As if calling someone, sending signals. The ancient people, noticing this, began to look closely at the trees and flowers surrounding them... and saw small light blue flowers with yellow circles in the middle, which, swaying from a light breeze, resembled the light and vibrations of stars. "Aster!" - they exclaimed, which translated into Russian means “star”. Since then, the name “aster” has remained with the flower.

Daisy The daisy is one of the first to open after sunrise, for which it is affectionately called the “eye of the day.” And translated from Greek “daisy” means “pearl”. Indeed, countless small daisy flowers seem like little pearls. The white or pinkish flowers form beautiful borders in our flower beds.

There is a very beautiful legend about the origin of this small white or pinkish flower that forms beautiful borders in our flower beds and beautiful groups on the green lawn. They say that Holy Mother of God, wanting to please little Jesus one winter and give him a wreath of flowers, not finding any in the cold-beaten fields, she decided to make them herself artificially from silk. And so, making various flowers, she made some that especially pleased the baby Jesus. These were small daisies made from yellow silk material and thick white threads. While preparing them, the Most Holy Theotokos more than once pricked her fingers with a needle, and drops of her blood stained these threads in places with a reddish or pinkish color. That is why, in addition to white petals, there are also pinkish petals and on the underside they are often colored red. Baby Jesus liked these flowers so much that he kept them all winter like a jewel, and when spring came, he planted them in the valley of Nazareth and began to water them. And suddenly these artificial flowers came to life, took root, began to grow and, growing more and more, moving from one country to another, soon spread throughout the entire earth. And now, as if in memory of this miracle, these lovely flowers bloom from early spring until late autumn, and there is no country in the world where they cannot be found.

Primrose Primroses, or primroses (from the Latin “primus” - “first”), have long been known to people, as evidenced by numerous legends and tales. So, in some places in Germany there was a belief that the girl who was the first to find a primrose would certainly get married that year. The ancient Scandinavians considered primroses to be the keys of Freya's spring. The ancient Greeks called primrose the flower of the twelve gods. According to medieval legend, primroses are nothing more than the keys to the gates of heaven, which accidentally fell from the hands of the watchman, the Apostle Peter, who had dozed off in heaven. Peter rushed to catch them, but it was too late: the keys fell to the ground, and primroses grew from them.

Lotus Since time immemorial in Ancient Egypt, India and China, the lotus has been a particularly revered and sacred plant. Among the ancient Egyptians, the lotus flower symbolized the resurrection from the dead, and one of the hieroglyphs was depicted in the form of a lotus and meant joy. In ancient Greek mythology, the lotus was the emblem of the goddess of beauty Aphrodite. In ancient Greece, stories were common about people eating lotus - "lotophagi", or "lotus eaters". According to legend, anyone who tastes lotus flowers will never want to be with the homeland of this plant. For many peoples, the lotus symbolized fertility, health, prosperity, longevity, purity, spirituality, hardness and the sun. In the East, this plant is still considered a symbol of perfect beauty. In Assyrian and Phoenician cultures, the lotus symbolized death, but at the same time rebirth and future life. For the Chinese, the lotus personified the past, present and future, since each plant simultaneously has buds, flowers and seeds.

Anthurium In ancient times, people lived in tribes, and they were ruled by a cruel leader. One day he wanted to marry a beautiful fifteen-year-old girl from a neighboring tribe. But the young beauty did not like the cruel ruler, and she refused him. The leader was furious at the girl's disobedience. He attacked the village in which she lived with her family and took her by force. On the wedding day, a celebratory bonfire was lit. But the young beauty could not imagine life without her loved ones. And she didn’t want to accept her fate, to become the leader’s wife. In a red wedding dress, she threw herself into the fire. But the gods had mercy on her, and before she could fall into the fire, she turned into a red anthurium flower, as graceful as the young beauty. And the gods turned the entire village into a dense, impenetrable tropical forest.

Poppy When the first people appeared on earth, nature made sure that they not only hunted and worked, but also rested peacefully. Nature gave people the night to relax. The night hid the surrounding world from people, so that people would not see anything and sleep peacefully. However, despite this, people continued to stay awake at night. Night, feeling powerless, wrapped her head in fog and cried little by little, and dew appeared on the ground from her tears. Seeing the saddened night, nature took pity on her and sent her husband a dream: together with her husband, nature thought, it would be easier for the night to calm people down and make them sleep... Indeed, it became easier for the night and sleep to cope with people, but not everyone obeyed them . Then nature made sure that night and sleep had children - dreams that could distract people and make them forget. And yet, neither night, nor sleep, nor dreams could completely lull the preoccupied person to sleep. The dream became angry at his own weakness, stuck the royal rod into the ground and flew away. Dreams enveloped the rod in dreams, the night breathed life into it, and the rod took root, turned green and opened beautiful flowers. This is how the poppy appeared on earth.

Phlox Translated from Greek, "phlox" means "flame". According to legend, they were flaming torches in the hands of sailors and Odysseus, who descended into the underground kingdom of Hades. They were secretly followed by the god of love Eros, who constantly guarded Odysseus’s love for Penelope. When the companions got out of the dungeon and threw the torches to the ground, they sprouted and turned into phlox flowers in memory of the brave Odysseus. Eros did not part with the torch, but, tired of the difficult journey, suddenly dozed off. While he was sleeping, the nymph stole the torch and, in order to leave unnoticed, decided to extinguish it in the nearest source. But when she lowered the torch into the water, the source lit up, boiled, and its water became healing. Now weak people go to bathe in healing waters and restore youthful strength to their bodies.

Hyacinth The name of the flower “hyacinth” in Greek means “flower of rains,” but the Greeks simultaneously called it the flower of sadness and also the “flower of memory” of Hyacinth. The young son of the king of Sparta, Hyacinth, was so beautiful that he outshone even the Olympian gods in beauty. The handsome young man was patronized by the gods of the southern wind Zephyr and Apollo. Once Apollo and Hyacinth competed in discus throwing. The bronze projectile rose higher and higher, but it was impossible to give preference to any of the athletes - Hyacinth was in no way inferior to God. Straining his last strength, Apollo threw the disk right under the clouds, but Zephyr, fearing his friend’s defeat, blew so hard that the disk unexpectedly hit Hyacinth in the face. The wound turned out to be fatal. Apollo, saddened by the death of the young man, turned drops of his blood into beautiful flowers so that his memory would live forever among people.

Delphinium Greek legends are inclined to claim that once upon a time in Ancient Hellas there lived an unusually gifted young man who, from memory, sculptured his deceased beloved and breathed life into the statue. And the gods turned him into a dolphin for such extraordinary audacity. Every evening the dolphin swam to the shore, every evening the girl he had revived approached the shore, but they could not meet. The girl looked into the distance of the sea with eyes full of love, a light breeze swayed the curls of her shiny hair, and the beauty’s narrow eyebrows arched, giving her face an expression of hidden melancholy. But then the girl perked up, her eyes shone: on the iridescent waves she saw a dolphin: in his mouth he was holding a delicate flower emitting an azure light. The dolphin swam majestically and gracefully to the shore and laid a sad flower at the girl’s feet, which turned out to be a delphinium flower.

Narcissus The Greek myth tells of an unfortunate young man named Narcissus. The son of the river god Kephissus and a beautiful nymph conquered women's hearts with his beauty. The nymph Echo, captivated by his beauty, suffered cruelly from unrequited love and, in the end, died, leaving her voice. It just so happened that the young man’s heart did not reciprocate anyone. As punishment, Nemesis prophesied that Narcissus would one day experience an all-consuming feeling of unrequited love. And soon the prophecy came true: on a hot day, the young man bent over the stream to quench his thirst and, seeing his own reflection in the mirror surface of the water, froze. Narcissus was enchanted, madly in love. He didn’t sleep, didn’t eat, just admired himself until he died. In the place where the soul left the body, a beautiful lonely flower with a drooping head grew. And the mythical goddesses of retribution - the Furies - hastened to decorate their heads with them.

Ivan-da-Marya In deciduous forests, on damp peat meadows, a two-color flower grows - Ivan-da-Marya. There is a belief that this flower is able to reconcile quarreling spouses. He owes his name to his husband and wife, whom he called Ivan and Marya. The legend says: one day Ivan and Marya were walking along the road. We reached a fork. Here Ivan says: “Let’s turn left,” and Marya says: “No, right.” Ivan says “left”, and Marya repeats “right”. They stood at a fork in the road. Ivan has a purple shirt, Marya has a yellow scarf. So they stand and argue, but there is no distance from each other. And they turned into a flower with one stem for two, which began to be called Ivan da Marya.

Bluebell A bluebell has 5 petals, as a rule, and whoever looks at this flower, which grows in a forest or in a field, will always love and be loved. This flower is a symbol of happy, tender and mutual love.

Catchment The scientific name of the catchment is aquilegia. And among the people they also call it doves, most likely due to the similarity of the shape of the corolla to a dove. One of the popular nicknames of this plant is associated with a legend. In a small French village there lived a grumpy woman who annoyed her husband with endless nagging. The husband couldn’t stand it and decided to break up with the grumpy woman. The woman got scared, turned to people for help, and one of the residents, wanting to help the unfortunate woman, recommended that the woman boil the flowers of the columbine, and as soon as she has the desire to grumble, take a water decoction into her mouth and hold it until the desire to lecture her husband disappears. will disappear. The woman followed good advice. There was peace and grace in the house, and since then the French have called the catchment the grass of a grumpy woman.

Marigolds The plant received its Latin name in honor of the son of Genius and grandson of Jupiter - Tages (Tagetas). This character from ancient Greek mythology became famous for his ability to predict the future. Tages was a boy, but his intelligence was unusually high, and he had the gift of foresight. Similar myths existed among the Etruscans. Tages appeared to people in the form of a baby, whom a plowman found in a furrow. The child told people about the future of the world, taught them to tell fortunes from the entrails of animals, and then disappeared as unexpectedly as he had appeared. The predictions of the baby god were recorded in the prophetic books of the Etruscans and handed down to posterity. In China, marigolds are a symbol of longevity, which is why they are called “flowers of ten thousand years.” In Hinduism, this flower was personified with the god Krishna. In the language of flowers, marigolds mean fidelity.

Calendula A boy was born into one poor family. He grew up sick and weak, so they called him not by his name, but simply by Zamorysh. When the boy grew up, he learned the secrets of medicinal plants and learned to use them to heal people. Sick people began to come to Zamorysh from all the surrounding villages. However, there was an evil man who was jealous of the doctor’s fame and decided to kill him. One day on a holiday he brought Zamorysh a cup of wine with poison. He drank, and when he felt that he was dying, he called people and bequeathed that after his death, the marigold from his left hand would be buried under the poisoner’s window. They fulfilled his request. A medicinal plant with golden flowers grew in that place. In memory of the good doctor, people called this flower marigold. The first Christians called calendula “Mary’s Gold” and decorated statues of the Savior’s mother with it. IN ancient india Garlands were woven from calendula and decorated with statues of saints. Calendula is sometimes called the “bride of summer” because of the flower’s tendency to follow the sun.

Snowdrop The Latin name for this flower, galactus, comes from the Greek words gala (milk) and actus (flower), meaning a milky white flower. Legend has it that when Adam and Eve were expelled from paradise, it was snowing heavily and Eve was cold. Then, in order to somehow calm her down and warm her up, several snowflakes turned into flowers. Therefore, this flower symbolizes hope. What is it called?

Chionodoxa or “Glory of the Snows” According to folk legend, this flower arose from pieces of the sky that fell to the ground. His Latin name– Scylla, which means “sea onion” because its color resembles the blue of the sea. Many peoples believe that this flower heals the sick. It is considered a flower of cheerful mood. Its stem is thin and fragile, and the flower itself evokes tender and touching feelings. What is the name of this flower?