"I could never forget
into Your arms, oh Your arms
neglected my soil
yet They embrace me now
and how i blossom for You,
only for You,
Demophon"
- Charnice Hoegnifioh, The Blossoming of a Once Forgotten Nut Tree (excerpt)
Artwork: "The Tree of Forgiveness"
(Oil & Tempera on canvas / panel; 186 cm x 111 cm; Signed and dated: E.B.J. 1882; inscribed on label, verso:
THE TREE OF FORGIVENESS / PHILLIS AMIDST HER MOURNING / BECAUSE DEMQPHOON HAD FORSAKEN) by Edward Coley Burne-Jones
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Both poem and painting illustrate a classical legend, Phyllis and Demophoön. After the conquest of Troy, Demophoön, the son of Theseus, stayed at the court of the King of Thrace. Phyllis, the King’s daughter, fell in love with the visitor. Demophoön agreed to marry Phyllis but first returned to Attica to sort out his affairs. However, he was away so long that Phyllis lost hope of his return and in a fit of anguish killed herself. The gods took pity on her and turned her into an almond tree. When Demophoön eventually returned he was filled with remorse and embraced the almond tree. Immediately the tree blossomed and Phyllis emerged to forgive her lover.
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