One day the god Apollo was taunting Cupid for Cupid's unmanly activities as god of love. Cupid thereupon vowed to show his power. He took two arrows from his quiver, one of gold and one of lead. The arrow tipped with gold excited love. The other arrow repelled love. He went outm seeking a character for his little play.
The beautiful nymph Daphne was the daughter of the river god Peneus. She loved hunting and the woodlands. Like Diana she shunned all men and rejected all suitors for her hand. Her father Peneus pleaded with her to marry, nut she refused. Still, many men fell in love with her, to no avail.
Cupid, with his wry sense of humor, decided to play a trick on both Apollo and Daphne. He shot Apollo with the gold-tipped arrow and Daphne with the lead-tipped one. Apollo fell madly in love with Daphne, but she would have nothing to do with him. She fled from him in terror. The more he professed his love for her, the faster she fled from him.
In her flight she at last came to the river Peneus, where her father dwelt. She prayed to be saved from the embraces of Apollo, and her prayers were answered. As Apollo was about to clasp her in his arms at last, Daphne was transformed into a laurel tree. Apollo was thwartedm but his love did not die. He declared that the laurel would always be green. He promised to bind the leaves around his head in memory of his lost love. From then on the laurel wreath became a symbol of victory.
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FairyTales & Myths
A sound, that you always dream to hear, is calling you to a new magical world, a world called......
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Heronie
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