Daphne (mythology)
From Wikipedia, a free encyclopedia written in simple English for easy reading.
- For other uses of the name see Daphne
Daphne (Greek: Δάφνη, meaning "laurel") was a dryad in Greek mythology, daughter of the river god Peneus.
Once the god Apollo made fun of Eros, the god of love. Eros was angry, and shot a golden arrow at Apollo, making him fall in love with the nymph Daphne. But Eros shot Daphne with a leaden arrow so she could never love Apollo back. So Apollo followed her while she ran away, until she came to the river of her father Peneus. There she wanted help from Peneus, who turned her into a laurel tree so she would be safe from Apollo. Apollo was sad, and made himself a laurel wreath (a circle made of laurel that you put on your head) from the tree, and the laurel tree became sacred to Apollo.
See Ovid. Metamorphoses. Book I: 452-567.
This short article can be made longer. You can help Wikipedia by adding to it.
