Winter Aconite

eranthis hyemalis

In Greek mythology the aconite is mentioned in Ovid's Meatamorphosis when Medea tries to kill Theseus by putting aconite in his wine,trying to avert his becoming king ,which she wants for her own son . In Eurypide's play Medea to avenge Jason, her husband for his infidelity poisons him and her children  she begot with him with the  an aconite brew. Aconite was thought to form from the saliva of Cerberus,the three headed dog who guarded the gates of Hades.Hercules drags Cerberus from Hades.As the dog barks and defends himself from sunlight, spittle falls from his mouth onto the rocky earth. Achone is whetstone in greek.The saliva hardens to a poison in the soil and all plants that grow upon that soil contain this poison. In greek "er" is spring and " anthos "is flower. In latin" hyemalis "means of the winter ,hence this is the spring flower of the winter that bares a poison derived from the saliva of Cerberus upon the whetstone. Later Medea,the witch used the aconite for various acts of desperate revenge.This bulb  flower grows in abundance on moist surfaces close to the earth.