These Games were held in honour of Apollo. Every 4 years, a Laurel wreath would be given to winner of the Pythian Games.The Laurel became the symbol of Apollo and the symbol of poetry.In the Greek language, the word for ‘Laurel’ is ‘Daphne’.Eros fired the arrows from the top of Mount Parnassus.Apollo had recently been victorious and won Python, an earth dragon, and told Eros that his godly talents were useless compared to his own. Eros fired the two arrows into Apollo and Daphne because Apollo had been making fun of him.After Daphne had been transformed into a Laurel, Apollo made the plant sacred and vowed to wear it as clothing.It’s believed that Daphne has to sacrifice her body and turn into a tree as this was the only way she could avoid Apollo’s sexual advances. Apollo used his powers of eternal youth and immortality to make Daphne’s laurel leaves evergreen. In response, Peneus use metamorphosis to turn Daphne into a laurel tree. Apollo told Daphne that he would love her forever.ĭaphne turned to the river god, Peneus, and pleaded for him to free her from Apollo. Under the spell of the arrow, Apollo continued to follow Daphne, but she continued to reject him.

In retaliation, Eros fired two arrows: a gold arrow that struck Apollo and made him fall in love with Daphne, and a lead arrow that made Daphne hate Apollo. Greek Mythology states that Apollo had been mocking the God of Love, Eros (also known as Cupid). However, Daphne was determined to remain unmarried and untouched by a man by the rest of her life. She was famous for being incredibly beautiful and for catching the eye of Apollo. It was believed that, as the God of both medicine and plague, Apollo could heal people as well as cause disease by shooting people with his arrows.ĭaphne was a Naiad Nymph in Greek Mythology, and was the daughter of a river god. People would come from all over the world to learn from Apollo what their future held. He had a twin sister, Artemis, who was the Goddess of Hunting.Īpollo was also famous for being an oracular god, and had two cults in Delphi and Delos. Apollo was the son of Zeus (the God of Thunder) and Leto.

Greek god of love