Bulfinch’s Mythology · Chapter
Apollo and Daphne explained
Apollo, proud after slaying Python, mocks Cupid's archery, prompting Cupid to shoot him with a golden arrow of love and Daphne with a leaden arrow of aversion.
What happens
Apollo, proud after slaying Python, mocks Cupid's archery, prompting Cupid to shoot him with a golden arrow of love and Daphne with a leaden arrow of aversion. Apollo pursues the nymph Daphne, who flees in horror and prays to her father Peneus for rescue. She is transformed into a laurel tree, which Apollo adopts as his sacred symbol, decreeing its leaves eternal and using them for crowns, harp, and quiver.
Themes in this chapter
Love and Transformation
Apollo's unrequited love drives Daphne's metamorphosis into a laurel tree, symbolizing the fusion of desire and change.
Hubris and Divine Retribution
Apollo's arrogance toward Cupid leads to his own humiliation and unfulfilled love, demonstrating the consequences of pride.
Characters to notice
- Phoebus Apollo
God of music, poetry, medicine, and archery; falls in love with Daphne due to Cupid's arrow; pursues her until her transformation.
- Daphne
Nymph, daughter of the river god Peneus; flees from Apollo and is transformed into a laurel tree to escape his advances.
- Cupid
Son of Venus; shoots Apollo with a golden arrow of love and Daphne with a leaden arrow of aversion, instigating the chase.
- Peneus
River god, father of Daphne; invoked by Daphne for help, leading to her transformation.
Key passages
“Scarcely had she spoken, when a stiffness seized all her limbs; her bosom began to be enclosed in a tender bark; her hair became leaves; her arms became branches; her foot stuck fast in the ground, as a root; her face became a treetop, retaining nothing of its former self but its beauty.”
As soon as she finished her plea, her body stiffened, her chest was covered with soft bark, her hair turned into leaves, her arms into branches, her feet rooted into the earth, and her face became the crown of a tree, keeping only her beauty.
Describes the moment of Daphne's transformation into a laurel tree.
“Since you cannot be my wife, you shall assuredly be my tree. I will wear you for my crown; I will decorate with you my harp and my quiver; and when the great Roman conquerors lead up the triumphal pomp to the Capitol, you shall be woven into wreaths for their brows.”
Apollo declares that since Daphne cannot be his bride, she will become his sacred tree, used for his crown, lyre, and quiver, and that Roman victors will wear her leaves in their triumphal processions.
Apollo consecrates the laurel as a symbol of victory and eternal youth.