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Context Essay
Venus and Adonis are two lovers with a devastating story. Their romance begins when Venus’s son, Cupid, scratches her in the bosom with one of his ‘passion-tipped’ arrows. Venus becomes enamored with Adonis, who is a handsome young hunter. She chooses to hunt with Adonis rather than spend time in her favorite coastal cities; she even absents herself from Heaven. One day, Venus tells Adonis the story of Atalanta. Atalanta was an incredibly fast runner who decided she wanted to be married. When she consulted an oracle, he advised her not to be married, yet she persisted. She decided whoever was able to beat her in a foot race would become her husband, but if she beat them, they would be killed. A brave suitor named Hippomenes decides to challenge the beautiful Atalanta. With Venus’s help, he wins and takes Atalanta as his wife. Hippomenes forgets to honor Venus, and Venus is infuriated. She decides to make Hippomenes crazy with desire for his wife, and they end up having sex in the temple of Cybele who is the Mother of Gods. Cybele is shocked, and she turns the two lovers into lions. The end of Atalanta’s story transitions into my story, The Fate of Adonis, which is the last poem in Book 10. Since Adonis is an avid hunter, Venus warns Adonis of the dangerous animals of the forest. Before she leaves on a journey, she tells him that his beauty or youth will not intimidate the beasts. However, Adonis does not listen to her warning, and while he is hunting, he is pierced in the groin by a boar’s tusk. Venus hears Adonis’s groans while on her journey, and she returns to grieve over her dying lover’s body. To remember Adonis, she changes his blood into a red flower called the anemone.
Other authors, such as William Shakespeare, have written have written about the tragic love story of Venus and Adonis. Ovid's telling is the most vivid description of the two lovers.
Other authors, such as William Shakespeare, have written have written about the tragic love story of Venus and Adonis. Ovid's telling is the most vivid description of the two lovers.