What tree did the nymph Daphne become. Daphne, beautiful nymph, beloved of Apollo, turned into a laurel tree

Boris Vallejo - Apollo and Daphne

When the bright god Apollo, proud of his victory over Python, stood over the monster slain by his arrows, he saw near him the young god of love Eros, pulling his golden bow. Laughing, Apollo said to him:
- What do you need, child, such a formidable weapon? Leave it to me to send out the smashing golden arrows with which I just killed Python. Are you equal in glory with me, the archer? Do you want to achieve more fame than me?
Offended, Eros proudly answered Apollo:
- Your arrows, Phoebus-Apollo, do not know a miss, they will smash everyone, but my arrow will hit you too.
Eros waved his golden wings and in the blink of an eye flew up to the high Parnassus. There he took out two arrows from the quiver: one - wounding the heart and causing love, he pierced the heart of Apollo with it, the other - killing love, he launched into the heart of the nymph Daphne, the daughter of the river god Peneus and the goddess of the earth Gaia.

Apollo and Daphne - Bernini

Once I met the beautiful Daphne Apollo and fell in love with her. But as soon as Daphne saw the golden-haired Apollo, she started to run with the speed of the wind, because the arrow of Eros, which kills love, pierced her heart. The silver-eyed god hurried after her.
- Stop, beautiful nymph, - he cried, - why are you running from me, like a lamb pursued by a wolf, like a dove fleeing from an eagle, you are rushing! After all, I'm not your enemy! Look, you hurt your legs on the sharp thorns of the blackthorn. Oh wait, stop! After all, I am Apollo, the son of the Thunderer Zeus, and not a simple mortal shepherd.
But the beautiful Daphne runs faster and faster. As if on wings, Apollo rushes after her. He is getting closer. Now it's coming! Daphne feels his breath, but her strength leaves her. Daphne prayed to her father Peneus:
- Father Peney, help me! Part quickly, mother earth, and devour me! Oh, take away this image from me, it causes me only suffering!

Apollo and Daphne (Jakob Auer)

As soon as she said this, her limbs immediately became numb. The bark covered her delicate body, her hair turned into foliage, and her hands raised to the sky turned into branches.

Apollo and Daphne - Carlo Maratti, 1681

For a long time the sad Apollo stood in front of the laurel and, finally, he said:
“Let a wreath of only your greenery decorate my head, let from now on you decorate with your leaves both my cithara and my quiver. May your greenery never wither, O laurel, Stay forever green!
The laurel quietly rustled in response to Apollo with its thick branches and, as if in a sign of consent, bowed its green top.
-
Kun N.A., Neihardt A.A. "Legends and myths Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome "- St. Petersburg: Litera, 1998

At that very wonderful moment, when, proud of his victory, Apollo stood over the monster Python he had slain, he suddenly saw not far from him a young naughty, the god of love, Eros. The prankster laughed merrily and also pulled on his golden bow. The mighty Apollo grinned and said to the kid:

- What do you need, child, such a formidable weapon? Let's do this: each of us will do our own thing. You go and play, and let me send the golden arrows. These are the ones I just slew this vicious monster. How can you equal me, archer?
Offended, Eros decided to punish the arrogant god. He slyly narrowed his eyes and answered the proud Apollo:
- Yes, I know, Apollo, that your arrows never miss. But even you can't escape my arrow.
Eros waved his golden wings and in the blink of an eye flew up to the high Parnassus. There he drew two golden arrows from his quiver. One arrow, wounding the heart and causing love, he sent to Apollo. And with another arrow that rejects love, he pierced the heart of Daphne, a young nymph, daughter of the river god Peneus. The little rascal did his evil deed and, fluttering with openwork wings, flew on. Time passed. Apollo had already forgotten about his meeting with the prankster Eros. He already had a lot to do. And Daphne continued to live as if nothing had happened. She still ran with her nymph friends through flowering meadows, played, had fun and did not know any worries. Many young gods sought the love of a golden-haired nymph, but she refused everyone. She didn't let any of them get close. Her father, old Peneus, was already saying to his daughter more and more often:
“When will you bring my son-in-law to me, my daughter?” When will you give me grandchildren?
But Daphne only laughed merrily and answered her father:
“Don't force me, my dear father. I don't love anyone and I don't need anyone. I want to be just like Artemis, an eternal maiden.
The wise Peneus could not understand in any way what had happened to his daughter. And the beautiful nymph herself did not know that the insidious Eros was to blame for everything, because it was he who wounded her in the heart with an arrow that killed love.
Once, flying over a forest glade, the radiant Apollo saw Daphne, and immediately the wound inflicted by the once insidious Eros came to life in his heart. Hot love flared up in him. Apollo quickly descended to the ground, not taking his burning eyes off the young nymph, and extended his hands to her. But Daphne, as soon as she saw the mighty young god, began to run from him as fast as she could. Amazed, Apollo rushed after his beloved.
“Stop, beautiful nymph,” he called to her, “why are you running away from me like a lamb from a wolf?” So the dove flies away from the eagle and the deer runs away from the lion. But I do love you. Be careful, this place is uneven, don't fall, I beg you. You hurt your leg, stop.
But the beautiful nymph does not stop, and Apollo implores her again and again:
- You yourself do not know, proud nymph, from whom you are running. After all, I'm Apollo, the son of Zeus, and not a simple mortal shepherd. Many call me a healer, but no one can heal my love for you.
In vain did Apollo cry out to the beautiful Daphne. She rushed forward, not understanding the road and not listening to his calls. Her clothes fluttered in the wind, her golden curls scattered. Her tender cheeks glowed a scarlet blush. Daphne became even more beautiful, and Apollo could not stop. He quickened his pace and was already overtaking her. Daphne felt his breath behind her, and she prayed to her father Peneus:
“Father, my dear! Help me. Part, earth, take me to you. Change my appearance, it causes me nothing but suffering.
As soon as she uttered these words, she felt that her whole body was numb, the tender girlish chest was covered with a thin crust. Her hands and fingers turned into branches of flexible laurel, green leaves rustled instead of hair on her head, light legs rooted into the ground. Apollo touched the trunk with his hand and felt his tender body still trembling under the fresh bark. He hugs a slender tree, kisses it, strokes the flexible branches. But even the tree does not want his kisses and avoids him.
For a long time, the saddened Apollo stood next to the proud laurel, and finally said sadly:
“You did not want to accept my love and become my wife, beautiful Daphne. Then you will become my tree. May the wreath of your leaves always adorn my head. And may your greenery never wither. Stay forever green!
And the laurel rustled softly in response to Apollo and, as if agreeing with him, bowed its green top.
Since then, Apollo fell in love with shady groves, where, among the emerald greenery, evergreen proud laurels stretched towards the light. Accompanied by his beautiful companions, young muses, he wandered here with a golden lyre in his hands. Often he came to his beloved laurel and, sadly bowing his head, fingered the melodious strings of his cithara. The enchanting sounds of music reverberated through the surrounding forests, and everything died down in rapturous attention.
But not for long Apollo enjoyed a carefree life. One day the great Zeus called him to him and said:
“You have forgotten, my son, about the order I have established. All who committed murder must be cleansed from the sin of shed blood. The sin of killing Python hangs over you too.
Apollo did not argue with his great father and convince him that the villain Python himself brought a lot of suffering to people. And by the decision of Zeus, he went to distant Thessaly, where the wise and noble king Admet ruled.
Apollo began to live at the court of Admet and serve him faithfully, atoning for his sin. Admetus instructed Apollo to graze the herds and look after the cattle. And since Apollo became a shepherd to King Admetus, not a single bull from his herd has been dragged away by wild animals, and his long-maned horses have become the best in all of Thessaly.
But one day Apollo saw that Tsar Admet was sad, did not eat, did not drink, walked completely drooping. And soon the reason for his sadness became clear. It turns out that Admet fell in love with the beautiful Alcesta. This love was mutual, the young beauty also loved the noble Admet. But Father Pelius, king of Iolka, set impossible conditions. He promised to give Alcesta as a wife only to those who come to the wedding in a chariot drawn by wild animals - a lion and boars.
The dejected Admet did not know what to do. And not that he was weak or cowardly. No, King Admet was powerful and strong. But he did not even imagine how to cope with such an overwhelming task.
“Don't be sad,” Apollo said to his master. “There is nothing impossible in this world.
Apollo touched Admet's shoulder, and the king felt his muscles fill with irresistible strength. Joyful, he went into the forest, caught wild animals and calmly harnessed them to his chariot. The proud Admet rushed to the palace of Pelias on his unprecedented team, and Pelias gave his daughter Alcesta as a wife to the mighty Admet.
Apollo served for eight years with the king of Thessaly, until he finally atoned for his sin, and then returned to Delphi. Here everyone is already waiting for him. The delighted mother, the goddess Leto, rushed to meet him. The beautiful Artemis rushed from the hunt as soon as she heard that her brother had returned. He climbed to the top of Parnassus, and here he was surrounded by beautiful muses.

daphne, Greek ("laurel") - the daughter of the river god Peneus or Ladon, one of the most beautiful nymphs.

He fell in love with Daphne, but not because of beauty, but as a result of Eros' malicious joke. Apollo had the imprudence to laugh at the golden bow of the god of love, and Eros decided to demonstrate to him the effectiveness of his weapon. At Apollo, he shot an arrow that evokes love, and at Daphne, who happened to be nearby, he shot an arrow that kills love. Therefore, the love of the most beautiful of the gods did not find reciprocity. Pursued by God, Daphne began to beg her father to change her appearance, she was ready to die rather than become Apollo's lover. Daphne's wish came true: her body was covered with bark, her hands turned into branches, her hair into foliage. She turned into an evergreen laurel tree, while Apollo, in memory of his first love, began to wear a decoration in the form of a laurel wreath.

Apparently, the first poetic story about tragic fate Daphne belongs to Ovid (the first book of Metamorphoses). He inspired Bernini to create the famous sculptural group "Apollo and Daphne" (1622-1624), as well as Pollaiolo, Poussin, Veronese and many other artists - authors of paintings of the same name. Perhaps the very first of all operas, written by J. Peri to the text of the poet O. Rinuccini in 1592, was called Daphne. A number of further musical incarnations this plot (Gagliano - 1608, Schutz - 1627, Handel - 1708) is closed by the opera "Daphne" by R. Strauss (1937).

As tradition testifies, the myth of Daphne existed long before Ovid (although, perhaps, in a slightly different version). At the place where, according to legend, Daphne turned into a tree, the temple of Apollo was built, which in 395 AD. e. was destroyed by order of Emperor Theodosius I, an opponent of paganism. Since pilgrims continued to visit the local laurel grove, in the 5th-6th centuries. n. e. a monastery was founded there with a temple of the Virgin Mary; the mosaic decorations of the temple, created in the 11th century, are one of the pinnacles of the "second golden age" of Byzantine art. This temple stands to this day in a green laurel grove ten kilometers west of Athens and is called "Daphni".

Ancient Greek mythology is rich in curious characters. In addition to the gods and their offspring, legends describe the fate of mere mortals and those whose lives were connected with divine creatures.

Origin story

According to legend, Daphne is a mountain nymph, born in the union of the goddess of the earth Gaia and the river god Peneus. In Metamorphoses, he explains that Daphne was born to the nymph Creusa after a romantic relationship with Peneus.

This author held to the myth that he fell in love with a pretty girl after being pierced by an arrow from Eros. The beauty did not reciprocate, since the other end of the arrow made her indifferent to love. Hiding from the persecution of God, Daphne turned to her parent for help, who turned her into a laurel tree.

According to another writer, Pausanias, the daughter of Gaia and the god of the rivers Ladon, was transferred by her mother to the island of Crete, and a laurel appeared in the place where she was. Tormented by unrequited love, Apollo wove himself a wreath from the branches of a tree.

Greek mythology is famous for its variability of interpretations, so modern readers also know the third myth, according to which Apollo and Leucippus, the son of the ruler Enomai, were in love with the girl. The prince, dressed in a woman's dress, pursued the girl. Apollo bewitched him, and the young man went to bathe with the girls. For the deceit, the nymphs killed the prince.

Due to the fact that Daphne is associated with a plant, her independent destiny in mythology is limited. It is not known whether the girl subsequently became a human. In most references, she is associated with the attribute that accompanies Apollo everywhere. The origin of the name is rooted in the depths of history. From Hebrew, the meaning of the name was translated as "laurel".

The myth of Apollo and Daphne

The patron of the arts, music and poetry, Apollo was the son of the goddess Latona and. Jealous, the wife of the Thunderer did not give the woman the opportunity to find shelter. sent a dragon named Python after her, who chased Latona until she settled on Delos. It was a harsh uninhabited island that blossomed with the birth of Apollo and his sister. Plants appeared on the deserted shores and around the rocks, the island was lit up with sunlight.

Armed with a silver bow, the young man decided to take revenge on Python, who did not give his mother peace. He flew across the sky to the gloomy gorge where the dragon was located. A furious terrible beast was ready to devour Apollo, but the god hit him with arrows. The young man buried his rival and erected an oracle and a temple on the burial site. According to legend, today Delphi is located on this place.

Not far from the place of the battle, the prankster Eros flew by. The mischievous man played with golden arrows. One end of the arrow was adorned with a gold tip, and the other with lead. Boasting before the hooligan of his victory, Apollo invoked the wrath of Eros. The boy shot an arrow into the heart of God, whose golden tip evoked love. The second arrow with a stone tip hit the heart of the lovely nymph Daphne, depriving her of the ability to fall in love.

Seeing the beautiful girl, Apollo fell in love with her with all his heart. Daphne is on the run. God pursued her for a long time but could not catch up. When Apollo came close, so that she began to feel his breath, Daphne prayed to her father for help. To save her daughter from torment, Peneus turned her body into a laurel tree, her hands into branches, and her hair into foliage.

Seeing what his love had led to, the inconsolable Apollo hugged the tree for a long time. He decided that a laurel wreath would always accompany him in memory of his beloved.

In culture

"Daphne and Apollo" is a myth that inspired artists of different centuries. He is one of the popular legends of the Hellenistic era. In ancient times, the plot was depicted in sculptures describing the moment of the transformation of a girl. There were mosaics that confirmed the popularity of the myth. Later painters and sculptors were guided by Ovid's exposition.

During the Renaissance, antiquity again received great attention. In the 15th century, the popular myth of a god and a nymph resonated in the paintings of the painters Pollaiolo, Bernini, Tiepolo, Brueghel and. Sculpture by Bernini in 1625 was placed in the cardinal residence of Borghese.

In literature, the images of Apollo and Daphne are repeatedly mentioned thanks to. In the 16th century, the works "Princess" by Sax and "D." authorship of Beccari, which are based on mythological motifs. In the 16th century, Rinuccini's play "Daphne" was set to music and, like the works of Opitz and, became opera libretto. Inspired by a story of unrequited love, musical works wrote Schutz, Scarlatti, Handel, Fuchs and.

Who are Apollo and Daphne? We know the first of this pair as one of the Olympic gods, the son of Zeus, the patron of the muses and high arts. And what about Daphne? This character of the mythology of Ancient Greece has no less high origin. Her father was, according to Ovid, the Thessalian river god Peneus. Pausanias considers her the daughter of Ladon, also the patron of the river in Arcadia. And the mother of Daphne was the goddess of the earth Gaia. What happened to Apollo and Daphne? Like this tragic story about unsatisfied and rejected love is revealed in the works of artists and sculptors later eras? Read about it in this article.

The myth of Daphne and Leucippe

It crystallized in the Hellenistic era and had several variants. The most detailed story called "Apollo and Daphne" is described by Ovid in his "Metamorphoses" ("Transformations"). young nymph lived and was brought up under the patronage Like her, Daphne also took a vow of chastity. A certain mortal, Leucippus, fell in love with her. To get close to the beauty, he put on a woman's outfit and braided his hair into braids. His deceit was revealed when Daphne and the other girls went to bathe in Ladon. The offended women tore Leucippus to pieces. So what about Apollo? - you ask. This is just the beginning of the story. The sun-like son of Zeus at that time only slightly sympathized with Daphne. But even then the treacherous god was jealous. The girls exposed Leucippus not without the help of Apollo. But it wasn't love...

The myth of Apollo and Eros

Influence on art

The plot of the myth "Apollo and Daphne" is one of the most popular in the culture of Hellenism. He was beaten in verse by Ovid Nason. It was the transformation of a beautiful girl into an equally beautiful plant that amazed the Antikovs. Ovid describes how the face disappears behind the foliage, the tender chest is covered with bark, the arms raised in prayer become branches, and the frisky legs become roots. But, says the poet, beauty remains. In the art of late antiquity, the nymph was most often also depicted at the moment of her miraculous transformation. Only sometimes, as, for example, in the house of the Dioscuri (Pompeii), the mosaic represents her overtaken by Apollo. But in subsequent eras, artists and sculptors illustrated only the story of Ovid that has come down to posterity. It was in the miniature illustrations for the "Metamorphoses" for the first time in European art there is a plot "Apollo and Daphne". The painting depicts the transformation of a running girl into a laurel.

Apollo and Daphne: Sculpture and Painting in European Art

The era of the Renaissance is called so because it revived interest in Antiquity. Since the Quadrocento century (fifteenth century), the nymph and the Olympian god literally do not leave the canvases famous masters. The most famous creation is Pollaiolo (1470-1480). His “Apollo and Daphne” is a painting depicting a god in an elegant camisole, but with bare legs, and a nymph in a flowing dress with green branches instead of fingers. This theme became even more popular in the Pursuit of Apollo and the transformation of the nymph portrayed by Bernini, L. Giordano, Giorgione, G. Tiepolo and even Jan Brueghel. Rubens did not shy away from this frivolous theme. In the Rococo era, the plot was no less fashionable.

Apollo and Daphne by Bernini

It is hard to believe that this marble sculptural group is the work of an aspiring master. However, when the work graced the Roman residence of Cardinal Borghese in 1625, Giovanni was only twenty-six. The two-figure composition is very compact. Apollo almost overtook Daphne. The nymph is still full of movement, but the metamorphosis is already taking place: foliage appears in fluffy hair, velvety skin is covered with bark. Apollo, and after him the viewer, sees that the prey is escaping. The master skillfully transforms marble into a flowing mass. And we, looking at the sculptural group "Apollo and Daphne" by Bernini, forget that in front of us is a block of stone. The figures are so plastic, so directed upward that it seems they are made of ether. The characters don't seem to touch the ground. To justify the presence of this strange group in the house of a clergyman, Cardinal Barberini wrote an explanation: "Anyone who seeks the pleasure of fleeting beauty runs the risk of finding himself with palms full of bitter berries and leaves."