Skip to content
Storgy

The Annotated Edition

PROM THE GREEK OF BION. by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Summary, meaning, line-by-line analysis & FAQ.

Read aloud in ~3 minOpen reading mode →

This is Shelley's translation of a lament from ancient Greece by the poet Bion, expressing sorrow over the death of Adonis — the handsome young man cherished by Venus (Aphrodite).

Poet
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Themes
beauty, death, love
The PoemFull text

PROM THE GREEK OF BION.

Percy Bysshe Shelley

[Published by Forman, “Poetical Works of P. B. S.”, 1876.] I mourn Adonis dead—loveliest Adonis— Dead, dead Adonis—and the Loves lament. Sleep no more, Venus, wrapped in purple woof— Wake violet-stoled queen, and weave the crown Of Death,—’tis Misery calls,—for he is dead. _5 The lovely one lies wounded in the mountains, His white thigh struck with the white tooth; he scarce Yet breathes; and Venus hangs in agony there. The dark blood wanders o’er his snowy limbs, His eyes beneath their lids are lustreless, _10 The rose has fled from his wan lips, and there That kiss is dead, which Venus gathers yet. A deep, deep wound Adonis... A deeper Venus bears upon her heart. See, his beloved dogs are gathering round— _15 The Oread nymphs are weeping—Aphrodite With hair unbound is wandering through the woods, ‘Wildered, ungirt, unsandalled—the thorns pierce Her hastening feet and drink her sacred blood. Bitterly screaming out, she is driven on _20 Through the long vales; and her Assyrian boy, Her love, her husband, calls—the purple blood From his struck thigh stains her white navel now, Her bosom, and her neck before like snow. Alas for Cytherea—the Loves mourn— _25 The lovely, the beloved is gone!—and now Her sacred beauty vanishes away. For Venus whilst Adonis lived was fair— Alas! her loveliness is dead with him. The oaks and mountains cry, Ai! ai! Adonis! _30 The springs their waters change to tears and weep— The flowers are withered up with grief... Ai! ai! ... Adonis is dead Echo resounds ... Adonis dead. Who will weep not thy dreadful woe. O Venus? _35 Soon as she saw and knew the mortal wound Of her Adonis—saw the life-blood flow From his fair thigh, now wasting,—wailing loud She clasped him, and cried ... ‘Stay, Adonis! Stay, dearest one,... _40 and mix my lips with thine— Wake yet a while, Adonis—oh, but once, That I may kiss thee now for the last time— But for as long as one short kiss may live— Oh, let thy breath flow from thy dying soul _45 Even to my mouth and heart, that I may suck That...’ NOTE: _23 his Rossetti, Dowden, Woodberry; her Boscombe manuscript, Forman. ***

Public domain

Sourced from Project Gutenberg

§01Quick summary

What this poem is about

This is Shelley's translation of a lament from ancient Greece by the poet Bion, expressing sorrow over the death of Adonis — the handsome young man cherished by Venus (Aphrodite). Adonis has been mortally wounded by a wild boar, and Venus hurries through the wilderness in her anguish, bleeding from thorns, desperate to reach him before he passes away. The poem concludes abruptly, with Venus pleading for one last kiss, which adds to the feeling of loss being painfully incomplete.

§02Themes

Recurring themes

§03Line by line

Stanza by stanza, with notes

  1. I mourn Adonis dead—loveliest Adonis— / Dead, dead Adonis—and the Loves lament.

    Editor's note

    The poem begins with a mournful cry, establishing a deep sense of loss right away with the repeated use of the word "dead." This is a lament steeped in ancient tradition, where grief is expressed openly and with great volume. "The Loves" points to the Erotes, the winged spirits of love from Greek mythology, who weep alongside Venus.

  2. Sleep no more, Venus, wrapped in purple woof— / Wake violet-stoled queen, and weave the crown

    Editor's note

    Venus is awakened from her slumber or maybe pulled from a fog of sorrow. The "purple woof" (woven cloth) and "violet-stoled" dress represent both royalty and mourning — in the ancient world, purple and violet symbolized power and sorrow at the same time. She is ordered to weave a crown of death, transitioning from passive grief into an active ritual.

  3. The lovely one lies wounded in the mountains, / His white thigh struck with the white tooth;

    Editor's note

    Here we have the physical scene: Adonis is gored by a boar's tusk on his thigh. The combination of "white thigh" and "white tooth" is intentional—it creates a striking contrast, making the wound feel both beautiful and horrific, two white elements clashing. Venus hovers above him in despair as his blood spreads across his pale skin and his eyes start to fade.

  4. A deep, deep wound Adonis... / A deeper Venus bears upon her heart.

    Editor's note

    This is the emotional heart of the poem. Adonis's injury is both real and deadly, but Venus's wound is her grief — and the poem emphasizes that her suffering runs even deeper. The dogs and nymphs surround the dying boy as Venus, with her hair flowing and feet bare, rushes through the woods in a panic, thorns piercing her feet and mixing her divine blood with his.

  5. Alas for Cytherea—the Loves mourn— / The lovely, the beloved is gone!—

    Editor's note

    "Cytherea" is another name for Venus, linked to the island of Cythera. This stanza expands the mourning: the oaks, mountains, springs, and flowers all participate. Nature itself mourns—waters turn to tears, and flowers wilt. The Greek exclamation "Ai! ai!" expresses deep pain, and Echo repeats it endlessly, making the grief feel eternal.

  6. Who will weep not thy dreadful woe, O Venus? / Soon as she saw and knew the mortal wound

    Editor's note

    The speaker looks straight at Venus, questioning how anyone could remain dry-eyed in such a moment. Then, for the first time, Venus speaks, holding onto the dying Adonis and urgently pleading with him to stay awake just long enough for one final kiss. Her request is filled with desperation and intensity — she longs to breathe him in, to draw his fading breath into her own mouth and heart.

  7. Oh, let thy breath flow from thy dying soul / Even to my mouth and heart, that I may suck / That...'

    Editor's note

    The poem abruptly stops in the middle of a sentence and even a word. It's unclear if this is due to an incomplete manuscript by Shelley or if the source text simply ends here, but the impact is profound — Venus's last plea is interrupted, mirroring the way Adonis's life was taken too soon. This fragment reflects the very essence of loss: something beautiful, forever unfinished.

§04Tone & mood

How this poem feels

The tone is filled with raw, ceremonial grief — imagine a funeral wail instead of a soft sadness. It's loud, urgent, and tangible. Shelley maintains the ancient ritual essence of Bion's original: the repeated cries, the direct calls to Venus, and the list of mourners. Yet, beneath all the anguish, there's a sense of tenderness, particularly in Venus's final speech, where grief turns personal and desperate rather than just monumental.

§05Symbols & metaphors

Symbols & metaphors

The wound on Adonis's thigh
The physical wound serves as the main source of the poem's grief. It also holds an erotic undertone — the thigh has been a significant symbol in ancient poetry — making the wound feel like a violation of both beauty and desire. Venus's blood from the thorns later reflects his wound, connecting them through their shared suffering.
Venus's unbound hair and bare feet
In ancient cultures, loose hair and bare feet indicated mourning and chaos. Venus, shedding her divine grace—her sandals, her belt, her polished look—reveals that love has taken everything from her, even her dignity as a goddess. She is now just a grieving woman.
The withered flowers and weeping springs
Nature's mourning goes beyond mere decoration. In the myth, Adonis represents a vegetation deity — his death brings a halt to the world's blooming. The grieving flowers and springs mark the end of a fertile season, leaving the world cold in the absence of beauty.
The last kiss
Venus's fixation on one last kiss goes beyond love — it’s about her struggle to let him go. In ancient thought, breath was linked to the soul, so her urge to "suck" his dying breath represents her attempt to keep a piece of him alive within her. The kiss transforms into a symbol of the futile desire to cling to someone who is already lost.
Purple and violet
These colors show up on Venus's clothing and in the blood that stains her skin. Purple symbolized royalty and mourning in ancient times. The blood from Adonis that spreads across Venus's pale body transforms her into a living symbol of grief — beauty marked by death.
Echo repeating "Adonis dead"
Echo in Greek myth can only repeat what others say — she has no voice of her own. Here, she embodies the voice of endless, unanswerable grief. The name "Adonis" bouncing off the mountains implies that the loss will keep resonating, that there is no response to death, only an echo.

§06Historical context

Historical context

Bion of Smyrna was a Greek bucolic poet from around the 2nd or 1st century BCE. His "Lament for Adonis" is one of the most well-known surviving examples of ancient Greek ritual mourning poetry, emerging from the Adonia — festivals celebrated throughout the Greek world to mourn Adonis's death each year. Adonis, a figure of remarkable beauty, was loved by Aphrodite (Venus) and was killed by a boar, symbolizing the cycle of vegetation's death and rebirth. Shelley translated this poem in 1818 while living in Italy, where he was deeply engaged with Greek literature. His own elegy, "Adonais" (1821), written in memory of Keats, draws directly from Bion's poem and this translation. Shelley's version captures the emotional depth of the original while infusing it with his own fluid, urgent English style.

§07FAQ

Questions readers ask

In Greek and Roman mythology, Adonis is a remarkably handsome young man. Aphrodite (known as Venus in Roman mythology) fell for him and enjoyed moments with him among mortals. Unfortunately, he met his end during a hunting trip when a wild boar attacked him—some tales suggest that the boar was sent by a jealous rival. His tale has come to represent the fleeting nature of beauty.

Read next

Poems in the same key

Similar poems

ADONAIS. — Percy Bysshe ShelleyLycidas — John MiltonElegy Written in a Country Churchyard — Thomas GrayThe Garden of Proserpine — Algernon Charles Swinburne

More by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Browse all Percy Bysshe Shelley poems →

Themes in this poem

Poems about beautyPoems about deathPoems about lovePoems about sorrow