Apollo and Daphne
story from ancient Greek mythology
Apollo and Daphne is an Ancient Greek transformation or metamorphosis myth. No written or artistic versions survive from ancient Greek mythology, so it is likely Hellenistic in origin. It was retold by Roman authors in the form of an amorous vignette.
The myth purportedly explains the origin of the laurel tree and its connection to Apollo, although "Apollo was emphatically associated with the laurel before the advent of the Daphne myth." Details vary between different versions, but the beautiful nymph Daphne rejects the love of Apollo and is turned into a tree.
History
The earliest known source of this myth is Parthenius, a Greek poet who lived during the 1st century BCE, however, the most well-known and lyrical telling was by the Roman poet Ovid in his Metamorphoses (I.438–567), a collection of Greek fables first written in 8 CE.
Mythos
Apollo's priestess employed the use of laurel leaves at Delphi and they also became the symbol of victory and achievement as laurel wreaths were given to the victors of the Pythian Games.
Characters
The story generally involves three main players:
Apollo (Phoebus) – Greek god of healing, archery, music and arts, sunlight, knowledge, and patron of Delphi. Regarded as a great warrior and as the most beautiful of the gods.
Eros (Cupid, Amor) – god of love and sex; also known for his use of bow and arrow. He was often depicted as a winged boy, beginning in the Hellenistic period.
Daphne – a naiad (nymph), or huntress of Artemis.
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This entry incorporates text from “Apollo and Daphne” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.