Apollo and Daphne by Gil-Menel on DeviantArt (original) (raw)

For those who don't know the story... the Greek myth tells that once the god Apollo saw a beautiful nymph called Daphne. He instantly fell in love with her, but when he tried to get near her, she got afraid and fled. So, he ran after her but just when he had caught her, she begged her father (a river spirit) to save her in any possible way and he turned her into a laurel. Poor Apollo found himself hugging a tree.... but instead of growing mad, he paid tribute to the tree and to show his love he made a crown with the leaves of the laurel with which he adorned his head from then on... and since Apollo was, among other stuff, god of arts and poetry, in the future (during reinassance mostly) poets used to wear crowns of laurel leaves. Now a crown of laurel leaves (at least here in italy) is given to people who graduate at university as a symbol of knowledge and victory.

.. still I can't understand why Daphne fled... all myths tell that Apollo was pretty good looking...