August 18: Serendipity Day

As one of the younger sons of the king of Cyprus, prince Amarakos had a lot of time on his hands. He spent most of it in the garden, growing aromatic plants for perfumes. Now, he must have been the most clumsy gardener ever, frequently stumbling and dropping his harvest to the floor. Yet, these happy accidents turned out to be his best creations, and they even attracted the attention of the goddess of all things lush and arousing, Aphrodite. She carried the island in her heart, since the Cypriots prepared her a warm welcome when she first came ashore. She liked the awkward, yet dedicated perfumer, and appreciated how his pleasant fragrances added new dimensions to her favourite pastime. Most of which in the company of handsome Adonis, Amarakos’ nephew. Inevitably however, Amarakos grew old and gradually lost his sense of smell. To honour him, Aphrodite created a happy accident of her own. She transformed him into an oregano bush (“amarakos” in Greek), stil considered to be a strong aphrodisiac.

Alabastron, Metropolitan Museum of Arts, New York, USA

Scent Bottle, Antikensammlung Berlin, Germany

Did you know?

• Aphrodite’s/Venus’ favourite scent would have been myrtle. The Romans attributed powers of prophecy and augury to it.

• About Aphrodite’s/Venus’ “birth” from the foam of the sea: cfr. “Thorny”.

• About Aphrodite/Venus and Adonis: cfr. “Not to Last”.

• Amarakos/Amaracos was the son of king Kinyras/Cinyras and the brother of Myrrha (cfr. “Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh”). Myrrha got a son, Adonis, from Kinyras himself, which made Amarakos the half brother as well as the nephew of Adonis.