Apollo
was the god of light and also the god of unmarried men. He was as
beautiful and bright as sunlight, which is why he was also known as Phoebus,
which means bright and shining. Most nymphs and mortals alike found
Apollo irresistible for both his bravery and his manly beauty. Apollo was
full of romance, as he would court women/goddesses by singing love songs to
them and treating them with respect and thoughtfulness. Apollo was indeed
a very captivating god.
Although
most nymphs and mortals found Apollo irresistible, his first love, Daphne, did
not. ApolloÕs first love was actually the only one who ever resisted
him. Of course she had her
reasons. Aphrodite had once
again been angered and requested her son, Eros, to shoot Apollo in his heart
and make him in fall in love. Thus, Eros shot Apollo in the heart with
one of his arrows of love and made him fall in love with the beautiful nymph
named Daphne. This also pleased Eros, as Apollo had teased him earlier
about carrying bows and arrows as if they were toys. Apollo had mentioned
that the bows and arrows that Eros carried were nothing compared to his
own. This was ErosÕ chance to show him how influential his arrows truly
were.
After
being struck in the heart by ErosÕ shaft, Apollo saw Daphne and
uncharacteristic of his character chased her through the forest. He
pleaded for her to come and be his love. However, Daphne was a follower
of Artemis, ApolloÕs sister, and loved her freedom. Daphne knew that being
married to a god like Apollo would end her freedom and also cause potential
problems similar to some like Hera and Zeus had seen.
Because
of this, Daphne ran as fast as she possibly could, but Apollo ran just as swift
as she did. Just as Apollo was about to catch her, Daphne, being the daughter
of a river god, called out to her father for help. Suddenly her feet
became rooted to the ground and her clothing turned to smooth brown bark.
Her uplifted hands turned into branches from which leaves sprouted and she
became a laurel tree.
Apollo
was amazed by what he saw he saw his love turn into before his eyes and was
filled with sorrow. He touched the new treeÕs branches as they trembled
and he then hugged the trunk of the tree. He vowed that since Daphne
would not be his wife that she would become his sacred tree. He would
wear the leaves of DaphneÕs tree as his crown and always be remembered of his
first love. All the winners at his games and great heroes in the years to
come would be crowned with laurel leaves. He also vowed that she, like
him, would have eternal youth where her leaves would never turn brown or fall
but would always stay lush and green. The nymph, Daphne, hiding safely
inside her tree, was grateful for this gesture and heartbroken Apollo left her side
wearing a crown of laurel leaves.