Zenobius 1.49

More fruitless than the gardens of Adonis

English

Proverb

Explanation

said of those incapable of producing anything noble; Plato mentions it in the Phaedrus. These gardens of Adonis are sown in earthen pots and grow only as far as a green shoot; they are carried out as the god dies and thrown in fountains.

Greek

Proverb

Ἀκαρπότερος εἶ Ἀδώνιδος κήπων

Explanation

ἐπὶ τῶν μηδὲν γενναῖον τεκεῖν δυναμένων εἴρηται ἡ παροιμία· μέμνηται αὐτῆς Πλάτων ἐν Φαίδρῳ. Γίνονται δὲ οὗτοι οἱ κῆποι τοῦ Ἀδώνιδος εἰς ἀγγεῖα κεράμεια σπειρόμενοι ἄχοι χλόης μόνης· ἐκφέρονται δὲ ἅμα τελευτῶντι τῷ θεῷ καὶ ῥιπτοῦνται εἰς κρήνας.

urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0098.tlg001.1st1K-grc1:1.49