The Gardens of Adonis (Paperback)

~ (Author), Janet Lloyd (Translator), Jean-Pierre Vernant (Introduction) "Although Panyassis' account appears to set the metamorphosis of Myrrha into a myrrh tree in Assyria, other versions locate it in the Land of Spices..." (more)
Key Phrases: canicular period, internal concoction, ethnographical context, Golden Age, Aristotelian Problemata, Land of Spices (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Rich with implications for the history of sexuality, gender issues, and patterns of Hellenic literary imagining, Marcel Detienne's landmark book recasts long-standing ideas about the fertility myth of Adonis. The author challenges Sir James Frazer's thesis that the vegetation god Adonis-- whose premature death was mourned by women and whose resurrection marked a joyous occasion--represented the annual cycle of growth and decay in agriculture. Using the analytic tools of structuralism, Detienne shows instead that the festivals of Adonis depict a seductive but impotent and fruitless deity--whose physical ineptitude led to his death in a boar hunt, after which his body was found in a lettuce patch. Contrasting the festivals of Adonis with the solemn ones dedicated to Demeter, the goddess of grain, he reveals the former as a parody and negation of the institution of marriage.

Detienne considers the short-lived gardens that Athenian women planted in mockery for Adonis's festival, and explores the function of such vegetal matter as spices, mint, myrrh, cereal, and wet plants in religious practice and in a wide selection of myths. His inquiry exposes, among many things, attitudes toward sexual activities ranging from "perverse" acts to marital relations.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press (April 4, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691001049
• ISBN-13: 978-0691001043
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,550,636 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book to read, June 28, 2003

By	eitan bachmat (Beer Sheva, Israel) - See all my reviews

Detienne's book is a wonderfull and thought provoking book.
he presents a structuralist analysis of the myth of Adonis.
It is very hard to provide convincing structuralist interpretations to myths and it seems that in structuralism
the journey is at least as important as the end result
(see most of the work of Levi Strauss). However, in this case Detienne's analysis is rather compeling and provides the reader with amazing insights into greek thought about food, perfumes,
sex and all the other good things in life. If you wish to read just one structuralist work to get a feeling for this
fascinating and highly non trivial mode of analysis of human thought, I would recommend this book