Daphne

Daphne was the daughter of Peneus, a river god. Daphne was Apollo’s first love, brought by a shot of Cupid’s arrow. Apollo loved Daphne, but she did not anything to do with him because she was also hit by an arrow with the reverse effect of love. One day, Apollo begins to chase down the nymph, desperate for her love. She ran from Apollo until she grew tiresome, and knew it was a matter of minutes until he would catch her. Daphne called out to her father for help. Peneus transformed his daughter into a laurel tree. Suddenly her legs took root, and her skin began to turn into bark. Apollo finally reaches the laurel tree, and he still acts as if the tree is Daphne. He claimed the tree to be his special tree. The laurel tree is a symbol of the god Apollo.

Works Cited:

Gill, N. "Apollo and Daphne." Classical History. 2002. The New York Times Company. 27 June 2006. <http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/bl/bl_apollodaphne.htm>