Sunflowers And The Sun God ...

‘The heart that has truly loved never forgets,
But as truly loves on to the close,
As the sunflower turns on her god when he sets,
The same look that she turned when he rose’


The word sunflower comes from the Greek ‘Helianthus’ ... ‘Helios’ meaning ‘sun’ and ‘anthos’ meaning flower and it is Greek mythology which provides us with the story of the origin of the sunflower ...

There was once a water-nymph called Clytie who fell in love with the God of the Sun Apollo (or Helius). She was so much in love that she would sit on the ground and stare up at the sun all day long ... but, Apollo never noticed her ...

The other Gods took pity on her and turned her into a sunflower ... her legs became the sunflower’s stem, whilst her face became the flower, her golden hair the petals.

Even in the form of a sunflower Clytie continues to watch her love and that is why the sunflower’s face turns to follow the path of the sun ...

But, as with many legends, over time the tale has become altered ... here is a slightly sadder tale ...

There was once a water-nymph called Clytie who fell in love with the God of the Sun Apollo. She was so much in love that she would sit on the ground and stare up at the sun all day long ... but Apollo never returned her love.

She sat all day long, upon the cold ground, following the path of the sun al day long. For nine days eating no food and taking nothing to drink ... in fact pining away ... Her limbs rooted into the ground, whilst her face became the flower, continuing to following the course of the sun throughout the day ... in love with the sun just as Clytie was with Apollo ...

And finally a third tale ... one of darker deeds ...

There was once a nymph called Clytie who fell in love with the God of the Sun Apollo. Apollo scorned her love in favour of the love of another Leucothoe, the daughter of Orchamus the King of Persia.

Jealous Clytie told Orchamus of the love affair between his daughter and Apollo and as punishment Orchamus buried his daughter alive! Apollo hated Clytie even more now and so she wasted away ... becoming the sunflower whose head turns to follow the sun every day ...

The Meaning Of The Sunflower ...

So, now we think we know the legend the sunflower, let’s see what other cultures have made of the sunflower over the years ...

Sunflowers Worshipped In Peru ...

After reading the story above, I think you’ll understand people choosing to worship the sunflower. In 1532 in Peru the natives were found worshipping a giant sunflower, representing the sacred image of a sun god ... with Incan priestesses wearing large, gold discs designed as sunflowers.

A Little Bit Of Chinese ...

In China the sunflower was used to symbolise longevity ...

Sunny America ...

Looking back through the history of Central and North America you’ll find sunflowers being used ...

North American Indians placed bowls of sunflowers seeds on the graves of their dead to ‘nourish them’ on their long journey ...

In Central and North America they have been used to make dye, oil for food and even medicine ...

And more recently Kansas was designated as the Sunflower State ...

‘Oh sunflower! The queen of all flowers,
No other with you can compare,
The roadside and fields are made golden
Because of your bright presence there.
Above all the weeds that surround you
You raise to the sun your bright head,
Embroidering beautiful landscapes
Your absence would leave brown and dead.’
[An Ode To The Kansas Sunflower by Ed Blair]

Nuclear Free Sunflowers ...

‘Sunflowers instead of missiles in the soil would insure peace for future generations.’
[William Perry, former U.S. secretary of defence]

In June 1996 the Sunflower was chosen to symbolise a world free of nuclear weapons. After Ukraine gave up its last nuclear warhead, defence ministers from the Russia, Ukraine and the U.S. met on a former Ukrainian missile base. They celebrated by scattering sunflower seeds and planting sunflowers.

Six months later William Perry received a letter from the U.S. Ambassador to the Ukraine. He had sent him some sunflower seeds harvested from those same sunflowers which had been planted at the missile base.

‘And I took those seeds and I gave them to my grandson to plant at his school - as a symbol that he and his grandchildren would not have to live with the same dark nuclear cloud that’s been hanging over my head for all these years’
[William Perry]

Not only have has the sunflower been chosen to represent a nuclear free world, you’ll also find it used by many green parties around the world.

Let’s End On A Happy Note ...

‘I'm just as happy as a big sunflower
That nods and bends in the breezes,
My heart's as light as the wind that blows,
Blowing from off the trees-es.

I'm just as happy as a butterfly
That dips and spins in the flowers
My song's as joyous as the pretty bird's
Singing to us for hours.’

Sing along now ...