Hyacinthus

Hyacinthus, also known as Hyacinth, was the demigod son of Pierus of Magnesia, a mortal, and Clio, the Muse of History. Hyacinthus was a prince loved by both Apollo and Zephyros.

History

Hyacinthus was the son of Pierus of Magnesia and Clio, the Muse of History. Due to his extreme handsomeness, two gods fell in love with him: Apollo and Zephyros. However, Hyacinthus chose Apollo over Zephyros.

While playing a game of quoits with Apollo, Hyacinthus was killed by a jealous Zephyros. In his grief, Apollo refused to let Hades take Hyacinthus away, and instead transformed Hyacinthus' corpse into a flower - the hyacinth. 

The Heroes of Olympus

The House of Hades

While trying to retrieve Diocletian's scepter, Jason Grace and Nico di Angelo meet with Zephyros, still in the service of Eros. Zephyros, in his Roman aspect Favonius, explains as to why he serves the god of love. He recounts the story of Hyacinthus. He tells about the jealousy he had felt for Apollo and Hyacinthus's closeness. Jason is initially surprised by Favonius falling in love with a man, but he recovers quickly.

The Trials of Apollo

The Hidden Oracle

When Nosoi (plague spirits) attack Apollo on his way to Camp Half-Blood, he gets flashbacks of the events that occurred on the day Hyacinthus died.

Apollo also confesses that Hyacinthus and Daphne are his greatest and favorite lovers. Apollo tells that he is reminded of the few months he spent with Hyacinthus when he sees his son Will Solace with his boyfriend Nico di Angelo.

After he meets with Rhea, Apollo falls into a dream where Hyacinthus appears as a ghost, talks to him for a very brief time and asks him to find the caverns near the blue springs. When Hyacinthus starts fading away from the dream, Apollo desperately reaches and grabs his lover's shoulder and begs him not to leave him. But he wakes up, holding a pot of hyacinth flowers, and later comes to know he was talking to the flowers.

When Apollo sings to tackle the Myrmekes, he sings of his love for Hyacinthus and expresses his regret over his jealousy which ultimately killed Hyacinthus. He also tells that he created the hyacinth flowers out of his dead lover's blood, to always keep him in the sunlight.

Apollo continuously grieves for the loss of Hyacinthus, as he is constantly reminded of him everywhere he goes while in human form.

The Dark Prophecy

When Apollo meets Meg McCaffrey again, he says that he had never been so happy to see anyone, including Hyacinthus in his amazing tuxedo on their date night.

The Burning Maze

When Apollo, Meg, and Grover Underwood solve puzzles to get to Herophile, one clue is Named for Apollo's fallen love, this flower should be planted in autumn. Set the bulb in the soil with the pointy end up. Cover with soil and water thoroughly... you are transplanting. Apollo got reminded of Hyacinthus so runs down the eight squared corridors. But they had to fill in the "..." to make the word unless. And, as a result, the trio nearly gets burned by the essence of Helios. Meg got mad at Apollo, complaining that he made the hyacinth flower, but Apollo retorts that not all gods, like Prometheus, know everything about their creations.

Personality

Not much is known of Hyacinthus' personality, but he seemed to be a kind man that loved Apollo dearly. Considering how numerous lovers of gods tend to meet tragic ends, Hyacinthus appeared to be a very brave man who was willing to enter a romantic relationship with the god Apollo despite knowing it could be potentially dangerous. While spending time with Apollo, Hyacinthus can be somewhat carefree, as they can be seen spending a lot of peaceful time together and playing a game of quoits before his death, both of which would ending up fueling jealousy from Zephyros.

Appearance

In The Hidden Oracle, Hyacinthus was described by Apollo to be "the most handsome of men", with skin that is either bronze or copper-hued, curly dark hair, eyes as purple as senatorial robes, and a kind, brilliant smile. However, in Apollo's dream, he had an ugly dent above his left ear where the discus had struck him.

Abilities

Though it was never specifically stated or confirmed, it was highly likely that, as the son of Clio, the Muse of History, Hyacinthus possessed powers associated with history, memories, and time, though to a lesser extent compared to his mother. Possible examples of such powers were:

• Past Manipulation: Hyacinthus could presumably manipulate or alter the past.
• Retro-cognition: Hyacinthus could presumably discern events that happened in the past.
• Mnemokinesis: As history and memory are intertwined, Hyacinthus could presumably control and manipulate memories.
• Prophecy: As history and time are also intertwined, Hyacinthus could presumably see into the future.

Relationships 

Love Interests

• Apollo
• Zephyros

At some point, Apollo fell in love with the handsome mortal man Hyacinthus. One day, Zephyros, the god of the west wind, who was also smitten by Hyacinthus, came across him and Apollo playing a game of quoits. Jealous that Hyacinthus preferred the radiant archery god to him, Zephyros shifted the wind and sent a heavy metal ring flung by Apollo right at Hyacinthus' head, instantly killing the youth. The devastated Apollo would turn his lover's deceased body into a flower, the hyacinth. In order to avoid Apollo's wrath, Zephyros would seek protection from Eros who had mercy on him because he was driven crazy by love and who forced the guilt-ridden wind god to work for him forever as a result. As mentioned in The Hidden Oracle, Hyacinthus would forever remain one of Apollo's two all-time favorite lovers (on par with Daphne).

At some point, Zephyros fell in love with a mortal man named Hyacinthus, whom he found "quite extraordinary." After finding Hyacinthus with Apollo, playing a game of quoits, Zephyros accidentally killed Hyacinthus in a jealous rage. As the mortal died, Apollo transformed him into a flower, a hyacinth. Aphrodite's immortal son, Eros, offered Zephyros protection on the condition that he would work with him forever.

Family 

Others

The Muses

Since his mother, Clio, is the Muse of History, Hyacinthus likely knew them. Additionally, Hyacinthus probably does respect the Muses to some extent since they are his aunts.

Trivia

• Hyacinthus could likely turn back to a human since Thalia was able to come back to life.
• Since he's a demigod son of Clio, one of the Muses and a daughter of Zeus, Apollo is Hyacinthus' uncle.
• The hyacinth flowers Apollo held were either red as the blood of Hyacinthus or had the violet hue of his eyes.
• Just like Daphne (another lover of Apollo), Hyacinthus was transformed into a plant (although he had been transformed by Apollo instead of Gaea).
• When Hyacinthus tells Apollo to find the caverns near the blue springs, he was referring to the Cave of Trophonius located in the Bluespring Caverns.
• It is unknown where he "rests," though he possibly still resides in Greece.
• In myth, Hyacinthus is usually said to be a Spartan prince.