Lilac meaning

Lilacs have been cultivated since ancient times. Lilacs play a role in Greek mythology. Its use in that mythology indicates that lilac cultivation dates back to prehistoric times. According to Greek mythology, Pan, the god of the forests and fields, became enthralled with the nymph Syringa. Syringa was frightened because Pan had been chasing her through the forests. She turned herself into a fragrant flowering bush to escape his advances.

Lilacs are sometimes said to stand for confidence and sometimes said to symbolize pride or youthful innocence. Lilacs have been used in many literary works, including the famous poem "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd" by Walt Whitman. In this poem the lilac is used in a symbolic trinity with a star and and a thrush. Whitman uses the star to represent Abraham Lincoln, the thrush to represent the poet's attempt to come to terms with Lincoln's death, and lilacs to symbolize life after death.