John William Waterhouse

British, 1849 - 1917

Apollo and Daphne

Date: 1908

In Greek mythology, Daphne was the daughter of the river god Peneius. She was similar in many ways to the goddess Artemis, in that she was also a virgin huntress who happily roamed the wilderness. One day, the love god Eros shot a flurry of arrows to taunts from Apollo, the god of prophecy. The first of Eros' arrows was a gold-tipped shaft and when it struck Apollo it made him fall immediately in love with Daphne. The second one, however, had a lead tip and caused Daphne to become even more indifferent that she already had been to any lover. Apollo, however, pursued Daphne relentlessly until, in desperation, she turned herself into a laurel tree on the banks of her father's river.

Source: Classical Mythology: the Ancient Myths and Legends of Greece and Rome.

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