"Blue Eyes of Springtime" are the words the poet Heine uses to describe this charmer of a flower. Others, equally inspired, bestow upon the violet such adjectives as shy, sweet, tender, modest and shrinking. But according to Greek mythology, this lovely flower was created to feed a cow! Not any cow of course, but the one who had been the maiden Io, a priestess of Hera, queen of the Gods.

Unfortunately Zeus, king of the gods and Hera's husband, took a fancy to Io. He was flirting in the glade with her one day when he saw Hera approaching. There was no place in that bosky dingle for Io to hide, and from past experience Zeus knew how his wife felt about flirting. He could think of only one solution. Sadly, he waved a powerful hand, and then, to spare himself the grief of witnessing her transformation, he turned his back on Io until she gave a plaintive moo. When Hera arrived on the scene, her husband was gently stroking a milk white heifer-- one that looked upon him with reproachful eyes. Only then did Zeus realize that his choice of animal was a reflection on Io's character. Thereupon, with another regal gesture, he caused a patch of purple flowers to spring up as her special diet.

There is another myth in which Venus plays a part. Idly watching a group of dancing maidens, she asked Cupid if any of them were as beautiful as she. The tactless boy replied that in his opinion, they all were. Enraged, Venus lashed out at the hapless dancers and beat them until they were purple. But Cupid remained, after she had left the scene, and turned them all into fresh faced violets.

No such levity is tolerated in the Christian legend. The violet is one of many flowers dedicated to the Virgin, and the flower droops because the shadow of the cross fell upon it.

This beautiful flower plays a part in history as well. In France, Napoleon was known to his followers as Corporal Violette, and while he was in exile, they wore violets as a badge of loyalty. Understandably, this floral emblem became exceedingly unpopular during the Restoration and the Second Republic.

In Germany, violets were supposed to bring good fortune and were used to decorate the cradle and the bridal bed. In England, violets were carried to funerals to protect the living from harmful emanations in the cemetery. Yorkshire men used to believe that anyone who enters the house with fewer than a handful of violets will cause all the chicks and ducklings to die unless he has been thoughtful enough to include a leaf with the flowers.

The herbalist Culpepper called the flower the "herb of Venus" and prescribed dried flower petals for quinsey, epilepsy, jaundice and liver complaints. A good poultice for swellings could be made from the green leaves. And, anyone in quest of pleasant dreams had only to nibble a bit of violet root, or bind a piece around the temples, preferably after a warm violet foot bath. In Greece, a wreath of violets was capable of producing the same results. Such an adornment would also cure headache, cancer, and acute inflammation, as well as assuaging anger and comforting the heart.