History of Red Carnation Flower
HISTORY OF RED CARNATION FLOWER
Theophrastus gave the flower its name by combining the words “Dios” (God) and “Anthos” (flower). The flower tells about Artemis and Orion in mythology.
Artemis is the daughter of Leto, the Goddess of music, and Zeus, the king of the Gods, and the twin sister of Apollo. She is the Goddess of the wild nature, hunting, wild animals and fertility. At a young age, Artemis wanted her father Zeus to give her eternal virginity. And Orion is the son of the sea God Poseidon and Euryale, the daughter of the King of Crete. He has a well-built body and his body is rewarded with a very handsome face. He also has the ability to walk on the sea like his father.
One day, while Artemis was bathing on Mountain Cithaeron, Acteon, the son of the minor God Aristaeus and Autone, sees Artemis. Artemis turns Acteon into a deer because of her devotion to chastity. Acteon is hunted by his own dogs. There is a common story the Acteon was killed by Artemis, but the brave Orion ignores it. As soon as Artemis sees Orion, she is incredibly impressed by the hunter’s appearance, strength and courage. Artemis, who swore to stay a virgin, falls in love with the hunter, an ordinary mortal, and give up her vow. When Artemis and Orion were together, they would explore the forests, hunt together, and challenge each other in archery. The forests were filled with their laughter. Artemis tells Apollo about Orion, and Apollo cannot understand how his sister could love a mortal. As time goes by, Orion turns into the person Artemis values most, and Artemis wants to marry Orion. Apollo opposes their marriage. He is very jealous of his sister and tries to dissuade from her decision. He threatens Orion many times. However, neither Artemis nor Orion give up their love.
One day, while Orion was sleeping, he had a nightmare in which he fought all night long with a scorpion whose sword could not penetrate its skin. When he wakes up, he goes outside and sees the scorpion in his dream. He immediately fights with the scorpion and cannot kill it as in his dream. The scorpion gets a little closer to Orion, which causes Orion to jump into the sea and swim away from the shore. Apollo says his sister that Candeon, who attacked a forest nun, tried to escape by swimming and points to Orion, whose head is visible only. Artemis, a good hunter, shots her boyfriend Orion in the head. When Artemis sees the sea painted blood red, she realizes the truth and is devastated. Filled with pain and regret, the Goddess asks Asclepius, the God of medicine, to bring Orion back to life. But Zeus rejects the idea of bringing the dead back to life because there is a diffrence between Gods and mortals. Artemis takes Orion’s lifeless body and puts it on a moon chariot made silver. She carries the man she loves to the sky with this moon chariot and chooses the darkest place for her lover to shine beautifully in the sky. Orion and the scorpion sent by Apollo are in opposite directions in terms of their positions in the sky. As one rises, the other sets.
One day, when Orion was in the sky as a constellation, Artemis went hunting. It’s a bad day and she returns empty-handed. She comes across a younge shepherd playing the flute in the forest. She thinks that the shepherd drives the animals away from her with his music. She blames the shepherd for the unsuccessful hunt. She thinks of Orion and becomes jealous of the shepherd. Artemis cuts out the glowing eyes staring at her and throws them to the ground. The shepherd turns his head to the sky and says, “You took away my eyes, but I can see Orion.”. Artemis looks at the sky, sees Orion and calms down. When her anger passed, she realizes that the shepherd is innocent. The Goddess regretted again. She look at the ground, where the shepherd’s eyes fell. Two flowers bloomed in the soil. Blood red. Two carnation.
Since that day, Orion disappeared among the stars in the sky and attained immortility, and the red carnation became the symbol of innoocent blood shed.
And red carnation is rebirth against death.
Today, the meanings symbolized by the flower vary depending on its color. While purple carnations express sadness, white carnations express resistance. Red carnation symbolizes love even today. It is also the most preferred carnation color. It is said in some sources to express the longing behind loss. If you want to give flower to someone you love with the meaning it symbolizes, carnation will undoubtedly be one of the best choices.
Melek AKINCI
