01/23/2016
Birthstone of Aquarius.
Have you heard of this legend before? Do you have a favorite myth behind your own birthstone?
The Legend of Amethyst...
The legend of the origin of amethyst comes from the Greeks. Dionysus (Bacchus,) the god of wine, celebration, intoxication, and joviality, was angered one day by an insult from a mortal who refused him acknowledgement. Enraged, Dionysus vowed to unleash his fury upon all mortals who did not partake in his gifts of wine and drunkenness. Unsuspecting Amethyst, a beautiful young maiden on her way to pay tribute to the goddess Diana, appeared and was detained by Dionysus. When she refused to partake in his partying Dionysus became angry and summoned two voracious tigers to devour the young maiden and sat back with his wine to watch. Amethyst cried out to Diana. When Diana saw what was about to transpire she quickly transformed the young mortal into a statue of pure white crystalline quartz to protect her from the tigers.
At the sight of the beautiful statue, Dionysus was moved with pity and realized the ruthlessness of his actions and began to weep with sorrow. As his tears dripped into his goblet, he collapsed and the tear-tainted wine ran out onto the stone from the tipped cup. The white stone then absorbed the color from the wine, creating the stone we now call amethyst.
The word "amethyst" comes from the Greek meaning "not drunken" and amethyst has long been considered a strong antidote to drunkenness. Wine goblets were often carved from it and the gemstone still symbolizes sobriety to this day.
Shop all Amethyst here: http://www.earthegy.com/amethyst-products.html
