Waterhouse,_John_William_-_The_Awakening_of_Adonis

The Awakening of Adonis
John William Waterhouse 1900

"In Greek mythology, Adonis was a youth of remarkable beauty, the favourite of the goddess Aphrodite.

Traditionally, he was the product of the incestuous love Smyrna (Myrrha) entertained for her own father, the Syrian king Theias.

Charmed by his beauty, Aphrodite put the newborn infant Adonis in a box and handed him over to the care of Persephone, the queen of the underworld, who afterward refused to give him up.

An appeal was made to Zeus, the king of the gods, who decided that Adonis should spend a third of the year with Persephone and a third with Aphrodite, the remaining third being at his own disposal.

Adonis became an enthusiastic hunter, and was killed by a wild boar during the chase. Aphrodite pleaded for his life with Zeus, who allowed Adonis to spend half of each year with her and half in the underworld.

The central idea of the myth is that of the death and resurrection of Adonis, which represent the decay of nature every winter and its revival in spring."

(Encyclopedia Brittanica)

So perhaps in this painting Adonis is being awakened from death and not, as I originally interpreted it, from sleep.