apollo and daphne

apollo and daphne, by gianlorenzo bernini.

apollo insults eros for playing with bows and arrows, and as a result, gets struck by one of gold and one of lead. the arrow of lead was shot into the nymph daphne, inciting hatred. the golden arrow was shot into the heart of apollo, inciting love. apollo is struck with love for daphne, who in turn is repulsed by the god, as daphne prefers exploring the woodlands to the love of any man.

apollo follows her, failingly trying to woo her, but daphne the nymph unceasingly escapes him. eros, however, intervenes at this point because he sees how equally they are matched at chasing and escaping. so, he helps apollo gain on the nymph. daphne, seeing that apollo is catching up with her, calls upon her father, peneus, to open the earth, or change her form.

suddenly, her hair becomes leaves, her skin turns to bark, her arms to branches, her feet firmly rooted into the earth. regardless, apollo still sees this tree as his love, and continually tends to her, as he has eternal youth, and promises that she should always stay green. hence, the leaves of the bay laurel tree --the provider of leaves for the laurel wreath, a symbol of grecian antiquity-- have never known to decay.