Adonis

Adonis, originally uploaded by CharlesFred.

Adonis is the Phoenician dying and resurrecting godman. A beautiful youth, he was the lover of Astarte (Aphrodite). His death and resurrection was celebrated in the spring in Syria and in the summer in Cyprus, where it was marked by a red rose, represnting the blood of Aphrodite as she trod over some white roses on her way to meet her wounded lover.

There is an excellent site on the myth and cult of Adonis on this site

Byblos in modern day Lebanon is one of the oldest cities in the world and was one of the main centres of worship of Adonis. Indeed, there is a River Adonis which flows out to the sea just south of the town. We saw this from the bus which we used travel to Byblos from Beirut, further south.

A look at the name Adonis on google shows that he lives on in the names of the following: the Adonis Cabaret, a girls' night out hen night in various cities in England, Adonis Grooming, a stockist for male grooming brands, Adonis Construction, oh well, (ADaptive Optics Near Infrared System), an Adaptive Optics system for telescopes, Adonis Beauty Consultants, Adonis Travel and Tourism, Adonis furniture, the Adonis Blue butterfly and, inevitably, Adonis Gent, an erotic gay male club in Belgium as well as an eating disorder called the Adonis Complex. So it is safe to say that Adonis is still very much with us as the personification of youthful good looks.