The myth of Venus and Adonis was told by the ancient Roman poet Ovid in his Metamorphoses. Venus, the goddess of love, adored the handsome mortal Adonis. She cautioned him against the dangers of the hunt, but he ignored her warning and was killed by a wild boar. Venus granted Adonis a form of immortality by transforming his blood into anemones--fragile springtime flowers (seen here behind Venus) with a beauty as fleeting as his own.