ADONIS A simple shepherd, Adonis gained partial immortality due to the intervention of Aphrodite, Greek goddess of love, who, on witnessing the young shepherd's death by a wild boar, would not allow the gods to take the life less body from her arms until they had agreed that Adonis should continue to live half of the year on Earth, during spring and summer, while the winter and autumn months should be spent in the kingdom of the dead, Hades, where she might spend the time with him, beside Persephone, Queen of the Dead, and wife to Hades, king of the Under world.