PHYLLIS
FULLIS
Phyllis and Demophoon, by Sir Edward Burne-Jones
(1833–1898), English Pre-Raphaelite painter
A daughter of king
Sithon, in Thrace, fell in love with
Demophon on his return from Troy to Greece. Demophon promised her, by a certain day, to come back from Athens and marry her, and as he was prevented from keeping his word, Phyllis hung herself, but was metamorphosed into an almond-tree, just at the moment when at length Demophon came, and in vain embraced the tree (Lucian,
De Saltat. 40 ; Tzetz.
ad Lyc. 495; comp. Hygin.
Fab. 59; Serv.
ad Virg. Eclog. v. 10; Ov.
Heroid. 2). In some of these passages we read the name of
Acamas instead of Demophon.
I was thrilled to learn that "Phyllis" was a Greek name, meaning "leaf" or "green leaf", and that there was a myth to go with it. My previous favorite Greek Myth, a difficult choice to narrow down, was the story of Persephone. The dark side of love - obsession to the point of kidnapping and rape; the love of mother for daughter; the extreme of being a willing victim, accepting responsibility for our actions; the relationship to the changing of seasons, fruitfulness/barreness; it's all in there.