Apollo was one of the twelve gods of mountain Olympus. He was the god of light, the protector of art and divination. He was born on the island of Delos and he was the child of Zeus and beautiful Leto. One of the most widely known myths of passionate love, is the one involving Apollo and Daphne.
Daphne was a very beautiful nymph, the daughter of (river) Pineios and Gaia (Earth). Apollo fell madly in love with her, so he chased her every day in the forest to express his feelings of love. His attempts were futile though, since Daphne didn’t like this persistence. After a while, the beautiful nymph realized that this situation would not change, so she asked her father for help. Zeus interfered to save his daughter. He asked for the help of Gaia (Earth) to transform his daughter into a beautiful tree. Daphne’s feet rooted in earth, her hands became branches and her hair turned into fragrant blossoms.
When Apollo saw the tree, he became really depressed because he lost he beloved nymph. Thus, he cut a branch off the tree and put it on his head. The beautiful tree took Daphne’s name and became Apollo’s favorite plant. It is known until today with the name laurel.
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