Saint Hyacinth, the Greek god of love from Crete, is celebrated every year on July 3, the date he martyred for the love of Christ.
According to the Orthodox Church, Saint Hyacinth was a steward of the Emperor Trajan, who asked him to deny Christ. He refused and was imprisoned 12 kilometers south of Anogia, Crete, in the mountainous region Fourni, where they would give him food drenched in the blood of animals, sacrificed to idols.
Saint Hyacinth refused food for forty days and he finally died of starvation in 98 A.D., at the age of 20. The guards found in his cell, angels holding candles and crowning him. According to the Greek Orthodox tradition, the Emperor Trajan ordered to throw his body to the beasts, but the angels were guarding him and the beasts didn’t touch him. Finally, his relic was buried in his motherland, Caesarea, by a senate who had given him back his sight.
In parallel, the name Hyacinth is interwoven with ancient manners. Celebrations in Tylissos, Messinia and Sparta were held every year in his honor. They celebrated his death and his resurrection, as he was considered a pre-Hellenic god of vegetation and fertility.
The modern cult of Saint Hyacinth starts form Anogia, Crete, with the Yakinthia Festival, and spreads slowly throughout Greece. He is considered the Saint of love, of pure feelings, of creation and inspiration. More specifically, according to Cretan tradition, those who prefer to celebrate Saint Hyacinth, visit the Saint Hyacinth’s Church, a simple, circular, stone Cretan temple, built at an altitude of 1,200 meters on Mount Psiloritis.
At the Yakinthia Festival, a blending of ancient Greek and Christian celebration which takes place every summer, love and youth are honored with rich cultural events, lasting three days. Yakinthia Festival celebrations have evolved into an institution and attract many visitors and musicians from Crete and other parts of Greece, as well as from throughout the Mediterranean.
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