Bion of Smyrna, "Lament for Adonis", as translated by J. A. Symonds Jr. in The Century Guild Hobby Horse (October 1890)
“
Tears the Paphian shed, drop by drop for the drops of Adonis’ Blood; and on earth each drop, as it fell, grew into a blossom: Roses sprang from the blood, and the tears gave birth to the wind-flower.
— Bion of Smyrna on Anemone
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Tears the Paphian shed, drop by drop for the drops of Adonis’ Blood; and on earth each drop, as it fell, grew into a blossom: Roses sprang from the blood, and the tears gave birth to the wind-flower." in the context of "Bion of Smyrna, "Lament for Adonis", as translated by J. A. Symonds Jr. in The Century Guild Hobby Horse (October 1890)" to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Anemone" (Quotes)
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 19, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
About Bion of Smyrna
Bion (Βίων) was an ancient Greek bucolic poet from Smyrna, probably active at the end of the second or beginning of the first century BC. He is named in the Suda as one of three canonical bucolic poets alongside Theocritus and Moschus. One long poem about Adonis and seventeen shorter fragments of his poetry survive.
About Bion of Smyrna
Bion (Βίων) was an ancient Greek bucolic poet from Smyrna, probably active at the end of the second or beginning of the first century BC. He is named in the Suda as one of three canonical bucolic poets alongside Theocritus and Moschus. One long poem about Adonis and seventeen shorter fragments of his poetry survive.
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