Adonis is likely the most beautiful young man in the world, but he has no interest in love or romance. He would rather spend his time hunting than pursuing love.
Venus is the goddess of love, and when she sees Adonis for the first time, she falls in love with him and comes down to earth to meet him. When they meet, Adonis is about to set out on a hunt. She wants him to get down from his horse and talk to her for a little while, but he is not interested in doing so. She forces him to get off the horse, and proceeds to lie down next to him, talking about love and staring at him as if entranced. All Venus wants is for Adonis to kiss her. All Adonis wants is for Venus to leave him alone so that he can go hunting. He escapes Venus's hold and mounts his horse so that he can continue hunting.
However, at precisely this moment, Adonis's horse becomes interested in a mare that trots by. The mare, like Adonis, is at first resistant to the pursuer's advances. After a little while, the mare concedes, and the two animals gallop off together, ruining Adonis's plans to go hunting. Venus sees this as her moment; she walks over to Adonis and starts talking to him again about love. He listens for a minute but is not interested in having a conversation with her and turns away. Heartbroken over Adonis's apathy, Venus faints, which captures Adonis's full attention. He is worried that he actually might have killed her. He kneels down and, after trying to no avail to wake her, eventually kisses her. She awakens at the feel of his kiss, and she asks for one kiss more, which Adonis reluctantly gives.
Venus wants to see Adonis again, but he tells her that he cannot see her because he has plans to go hunting for a wild boar. Venus is concerned about a strange premonition in which Adonis is killed by the boar that he is hunting. She tells him of her vision and warns him not to go out on the hunt, but he dismisses her, telling Venus that she is not in love with him, but blinded by lust; she cannot possibly assume to know him well enough to have fallen in love because he does not even truly know himself yet. Venus is hurt by his words, and as he pries himself from her grip she starts to cry.
The following morning, still disquieted by her premonition, Venus searches the woods for Adonis. She hears dogs and hunters in the distance and assumes it is his hunting party. She is worried for his safety because of her vision, and so sets off in pursuit of the hunt. Before she catches up with them, she finds Adonis's hunting dog lying severely injured on the ground. Adonis lies a little way away from his dog; he is dead, killed by the wild boar.
Venus is beside herself with sorrow and grief. She has never experienced loss before, and does not know how to process what has happened. Because she is the goddess of love, she decrees that from that moment on love will be peppered with suspicion, sadness, and fear.
Adonis's blood has dyed the flowers around him dark purple, and it is a reminder to Venus of his flesh and beauty. She plucks a flower and brings it to her breast. She leaves the earth to return to Paphos, bereft and filled with sadness.
