Love and passion are said to be feelings that move the world, but like many feelings, sometimes they overflow and despite their intentions, they can cause more harm than good, that is why there is virtue and chastity to control them, as symbolized by the myth of Daphne and Apollo.
Daphne and Apollo
Apollo is the Greek god of music, poetry and art in general, he is a great warrior and an extraordinary archer. He also is proud and smug. Eros is the god of fertility and sexual attraction, he is also a formidable and accurate archer. Apollo killed the terrible snake Python and, emboldened by that triumph, rebuked Eros:
“Tell me, effeminate young man, what do you intend to do with that weapon that belongs more to my hands than to yours? I know how to shoot certain arrows against ferocious beasts and against the worst enemies. I have enjoyed watching the Python snake die among the poisoned anguish of many wounds. Be content with fanning with your candles a fire that is not enough for me and do not pretend to equal your victories with mine "
Eros felt very offended by the words of the vain god, but he was not daunted and replied:
“Use your arrows as you please and hurt whoever you want. It pleases me more to hurt you now. The glory that comes to you from the defeated beasts will come to me from having surrendered to you, invincible hunter.”
Then the offended god of erotic love went to Mount Parnassus and there he took two arrows, one of gold that incites love and passion, the other arrow was made of lead that provokes hatred and disdain. The first arrow was shot with great certainty directly into the chest of the mighty Apollo, the second was sent into the body of the nymph Daphne.
Daphne was a dryad, a tree nymph, daughter of the river god Ladon of Arcadia with Gaia or the river god Peneus of Thessaly with Creusa, a water nymph and priestess of Gaia. Daphne was a follower of Apollo's sister, Artemis, goddess of the hunt, of maidens, and of virginity.
After receiving the arrow shot by Eros, Apollo felt a passionate and irrational love as well as an irresistible desire for the nymph Daphne, for her part, she, who, being a priestess of Artemis, in fact rejected carnal love, only felt contempt and hatred for the God.
Maddened with love, Apollo begged and pleaded with the nymph. He gave her all the arguments he could think of to convince her to accept her love. She offered him everything a god of her power would grant him. The brave and proud archer god humiliated himself before the indifferent Daphne, but it was in vain, the nymph only felt contempt for him and she did not hide it, to each plea of the god she responded with disdain.
Apollo reflected on his situation, he knew that he was the son of the mighty Zeus, he was aware of his power to see the future and knew first-hand all of the past, he was the most accurate archer the universe knew, he was worshiped as a benefactor for having invented medicine and knew the virtue of plants to put an end to all the ills of mortals, but even so, with all his knowledge he did not know how to cure his immortal heart of the evil instilled by the dart of Eros.
Apollo thought that if his power and gallantry, in addition to all the pleas were insufficient to conquer the indifferent heart of the nymph, the only path left to him was that of violence and that is why he decided to subdue Daphne and force her to surrender to him. Daphne, seeing the god, immediately understood her dark intentions and she fled in terror. In her desperate race, Daphne reached the bank of the river Peneus, hers, her father, and desperately begged her:
"My father, if it is true that your waters have the privilege of divinity, come to my aid... or you, Earth, swallow me! Because I already see how fatal my beauty is...!"
As soon as she finished her anguished plea, a spasm ran through her entire body, she feels her legs go numb, her skin is covered with a soft bark, her blonde hair turns into leaves, her shapely arms turn into branches, her white and delicate feet twist, turn into roots and sink into the ground, finally her face is no longer visible, the only thing left of the nymph is a laurel tree that retains all its beauty.
Apollo, stunned, witnesses the transformation of his beloved. The god feels the trunk of the tree and feels the beating of the nymph's heart, then he tenderly hugs the trunk, kisses it and with tears in his eyes tells her that since she cannot be his wife, it will be the tree dedicated to his cult, he promises that he will adorn his hair, his lyre, and his quiver with laurels; The laurels will adorn the forehead of the victorious warrior and will protect the doors of the emperors and thanks to the love that he deposits in them, his leaves will always remain green.
virtue versus lust
The myth of Daphne and Apollo symbolizes the confrontation between virtue and lust. Apollo, who in this case represents lust, pursues Daphne, a symbol of virtue, blinded by sensual desire. Daphne has consecrated her life to virtue and, as a priestess of Artemis, she has taken vows of chastity.
Dafne manages to escape the dark desires of the god thanks to the metamorphosis her body underwent, turning into a tree, representing eternal chastity. In addition, that tree is the laurel, a symbol of victory, that is, the triumph of virtue over lust.
Daphne and Apollo in art
Many artists have been inspired by the myth of Daphne and Apollo. What is considered the first opera in history, unfortunately disappeared, written in 1597 by Jacopo Peri was entitled "Daphne". “Gli amori d'Apollo e di Dafne” is an opera by Francesco Cavalli. "Daphne" is the title of an opera by Richard Strauss based on the myth of this nymph. Daphne and Apollo was titled a painting by Francesco Albani and a sculpture by Gian Lorenzo Bernini.
The poets also received the inspiration that came from this interesting myth: Francesco Petrarca's poetic work is marked by the myth of Daphne whom the Florentine poet identified with his eternal love Laura de Noves. Sonnet XIII written in 1543 by Garcilaso de la Vega begins with these words: «Dafne and her arms grew...». The Spanish musician and poet Juan de Arguijo composed in 1605 a sonnet entitled "Apolo a Dafne"
Here are some links of interest: