Chatty Little Things...

​Please look at the fascinating flower in my photograph. Is a peony not a beautiful creation?

Do you know the tale about peonies?

There has survived an alluring story about how a peony came to its name. 

In the ancient Greek mythology, a divine spectacle inspired the christening of the flower. It began rather violent, with a war between Heracles and Pluton. Herakles, it is said, disliked Pluton's way of ruling the underworld and treating his underlings so badly.

​Both, Heracles and Pluton, fought this argument out in a battle and, much to Pluton's disbelief, Heracles wounded his opponent's shoulder with an arrow.

Not being used at all to administer first aid to a serious wound, Pluton retreated to the Olympus, ignoring his injury. After some unbearable suffering it finally occurred to Pluton that it was vital to get some medication and treatment. He searched for Asclepius, the god of medicine. When he could not find him Pluton called out to the next medic he met in a yard and asked for help. Now this helper happened to be a young student named Paean. Paean cured the struggling deity Pluton by pure talent and, in order to ease his pain, used a by then unusual way of remedy. He treated Pluton's wound with a beautiful flower he had discovered at the foot of Mount Olympus. 

We would think now that from that day on Paean was up to great fame as a medical professional, but, alas! His teacher Asclepius was not in the least amused by Paean's playing a lone hand. Deadly jealous, Asclepius conceives a murderous plan; once and for all, Paean has to lose his life. 

​Word, however, has already spread, and the story had been brought to the attention of Zeus, the ruler of all gods at the Mount Olympus. Without further delay he headed to the scene of event and saved Paean's life by turning him into the beautiful flower Paeonia, today known as peony. What an honour, is it not?

How did we learn about the tale? Well those peonies are chatty little things, are they not? When they start opening up there is no holding. And we, we cannot help but listening to their whispering of the epic tale, can we?