Mythology is the myth of Daphne. Daphne - Myths of Ancient Greece Despair of the nymph Cletia

Daphne, Greek ("Laurel") - the daughter of the river god Peney or Ladon, one of the most beautiful nymphs.

He fell in love with Daphne, but not because of her beauty, but as a result of a malicious joke of Eros. 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, 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 the beloved of Apollo. Daphne's wish came true: her body was covered with bark, her arms 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 the tragic fate of Daphne belongs to Ovid (the first book "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 - the authors of the paintings of the same name. Perhaps the very first of all the operas, written by J. Peri on the text of the poet O. Rinuccini in 1592, was called "Daphne". A number of further musical incarnations of this plot (Galliano - 1608, Schütz - 1627, Handel - 1708) so far closes 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 the emperor Theodosius I, the enemy of paganism. Since the local laurel grove continued to be visited by pilgrims, in the 5-6 centuries. n. e. there was founded a monastery with a temple of the Virgin Mary; the mosaic decorations of the temple, created in the 11th century, are one of the peaks 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".

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 mischief-maker, the god of love, Eros. The prankster laughed merrily and also drew his golden bow. The mighty Apollo chuckled and said to the kid:

- What do you need such a formidable weapon for, child? Let's do this: each of us will do our own thing. You go play, and leave me to send golden arrows. These are the ones I just slain this evil monster. How can you be equal to me, arrowhead?
Offended Eros decided to punish the arrogant god. He narrowed his eyes slyly and replied to the proud Apollo:
“Yes, I know, Apollo, that your arrows don't miss. But even you cannot escape my arrow.
Eros flapped his golden wings and in the blink of an eye flew up to high Parnassus. There he drew from his quiver two golden arrows. One arrow that hurts the heart and evokes love, he sent to Apollo. And with another arrow, rejecting 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 his delicate 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 the flowering meadows, played, had fun and did not know any worries. Many young gods sought the love of the golden-haired nymph, but she refused everyone. She did not even let any of them come close to her. Her father, old Peny, was already saying to his daughter more and more often:
- When will you bring your son-in-law to me, my daughter? When will you give me grandchildren?
But Daphne only laughed merrily and answered her father:
“You don’t have to keep me in bondage, my dear father. I don't love anyone, and I don't need anyone. I want to be like Artemis, an eternal virgin.
Wise Peny could not understand in any way what happened to his daughter. Yes, 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 kills love.
Once, flying over a forest clearing, the radiant Apollo saw Daphne, and immediately the wound inflicted by the once insidious Eros revived in his heart. Hot love flared up in him. Apollo quickly descended to the ground, without taking his burning gaze from the young nymph, and stretched out 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. The astonished 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 love you. Careful, this is an uneven place, do not fall, I beg you. You hurt your leg, stop.
But the beautiful nymph does not stop, and Apollo begs her again and again:
- You yourself do not know, proud nymph, from whom you are running. After all, I am Apollo, the son of Zeus, and not a mere mortal shepherd. Many call me a healer, but no one can heal my love for you.
Apollo called in vain to the beautiful Daphne. She rushed forward, not making out the road and not listening to his calls. Her clothes fluttered in the wind, golden curls were scattered. Her tender cheeks glowed with 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 Peney:
- Father, my dear! Help me. Make way, land, take me to you. Change my face, he causes me nothing but suffering.
As soon as she uttered these words, she felt that her whole body was numb, the tender girl's 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, her light legs were rooted in the ground. Apollo touched the trunk with his hand and felt a tender body still trembling under the fresh bark. He hugs a slender tree, kisses it, strokes flexible twigs. But even the tree does not want his kisses and shies away from him.
For a long time, the saddened Apollo stood next to the proud laurel and finally said sadly:
“You didn’t want to accept my love and become my wife, beautiful Daphne. Then you will become my tree. May a wreath of your leaves always adorn my head. And may your greens never fade. Stay forever green!
And the laurel quietly rustled in response to Apollo and, as if agreeing with him, bowed its green peak.
Since then, Apollo fell in love with shady groves, where, among the emerald greenery, proud evergreen 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 echoed through the surrounding forests, and everything died away in enthusiastic attention.
But Apollo did not enjoy a carefree life for long. Once the great Zeus called him to his place and said:
- You have forgotten, my son, about my routine. All who have committed murder must be cleansed from the sin of the shed blood. Above you, too, hangs the sin of killing Python.
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 Admetus and serve him with faith and truth, atoning for his sin. Admetus instructed Apollo to graze the flocks and look after the cattle. And since Apollo became a shepherd for King Admet, not a single bull from his flock was taken away by wild animals, and his long-maned horses became the best in all Thessaly.
But then one day Apollo saw that King Admet was sad, that he did not eat, did not drink, he walked completely wilted. And soon the reason for his sadness became clear. It turns out that Admet fell in love with the beautiful Alkesta. This love was mutual, the young beauty also loved the noble Admet. But the father of Pelias, king Iolca, set impossible conditions. He promised to give Alcesta as a wife only to the one who comes to the wedding in a chariot drawn by wild animals - a lion and boars.
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 he could 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 Admetus rushed to the palace of Pelias on his unprecedented team, and Pelius gave his daughter Alcesta to the mighty Admetus as his wife.
For eight years Apollo served with the king of Thessaly, until he finally atoned for his sin, and then returned to Delphi. Everyone here has already been waiting for him. The delighted mother, the goddess Leto, rushed to meet him. The beautiful Artemis rushed in 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.

Apollo. The myth about Apollo, Daphne, Apollo and the muses. N.A.Kun. Legends and myths of Ancient Greece

Apollo is one of the oldest gods in Greece. Traces of totemism are clearly preserved in his cult. So, for example, in Arcadia they worshiped Apollo, depicted in the form of a ram. Apollo was originally the god of the flock. Gradually he became more and more the god of light. Later, he was considered the patron saint of settlers, the patron saint of the founding Greek colonies, and then the patron saint of art, poetry and music. Therefore, in Moscow, on the building of the Bolshoi Academic Theater, there is a statue of Apollo with a lyre in his hands, riding a chariot drawn by four horses. In addition, Apollo became a god who predicts the future. Throughout the ancient world, his sanctuary in Delphi was famous, where the priestess-pythia gave predictions. These predictions, of course, were made by the priests, who knew well everything that was done in Greece, and were made in such a way that they could be interpreted in either direction. The prediction given in Delphi to the king of Lydia Croesus during his war with Persia was known in ancient times. He was told: "If you cross the river Galis, you will destroy a great kingdom," but which kingdom, his own or Persian, this was not said.

The birth of Apollo

The god of light, golden-haired Apollo, was born on the island of Delos. His mother Latona, driven by the anger of the goddess Hera, could not find shelter anywhere. Pursued by the dragon Python sent by the Hero, she wandered around the world and finally took refuge on Delos, which in those days was rushing along the waves of the stormy sea. As soon as Latona entered Delos, huge pillars rose from the depths of the sea and stopped this deserted island. He became unshakable in the place where he still stands. All around Delos the sea was rustling. The cliffs of Delos rose dejectedly, bare without the slightest vegetation. Only sea gulls found shelter on these rocks and resounded them with their sad cry. But then the god of light Apollo was born, and streams of bright light flooded everywhere. They filled the rocks of Delos like gold. Everything around bloomed, sparkled: the coastal rocks, and Mount Kint, and the valley, and the sea. The goddesses gathered on Delos loudly praised the born god, offering him ambrosia and nectar. All nature around rejoiced along with the goddesses. (Myth about Apollo)

Apollo's fight with Python
and the founding of the Delphic Oracle

The young, radiant Apollo rushed across the azure sky with a cithara (an ancient Greek stringed musical instrument similar to a lyre) in his hands, with a silver bow over his shoulders; golden arrows rang loudly in his quiver. Proud, exultant, Apollo rushed high above the earth, threatening everything evil, everything generated by darkness. He strove to the place where the formidable Python lived, who pursued his mother Latona; he wanted to take revenge on him for all the evil that he had done to her.
Apollo quickly reached the gloomy gorge, the abode of Python. Cliffs rose all around, reaching high into the sky. Darkness reigned in the gorge. Along its bottom, a mountain stream was swiftly rushing, gray with foam, and mists swirled over the stream. The terrible Python crawled out of his lair. His huge body, covered with scales, wriggled between the rocks in countless rings. Rocks and mountains trembled with the weight of his body and budged. Furious Python gave everything to devastation, he spread death around. The nymphs and all living things fled in terror. Python rose, mighty, furious, opened his terrible mouth and was about to devour the golden-haired Apollo. Then there was a ringing of the bowstring of a silver bow, like a spark flashed in the air a golden arrow that knew no miss, followed by another, a third; arrows rained down on Python, and he fell lifeless to the ground. The triumphant victory song (pean) of the golden-haired Apollo, the winner of Python, sounded loudly, and the golden strings of the god's cithara echoed it. Apollo buried the body of Python in the ground where the sacred Delphi stood, and founded a sanctuary and an oracle in Delphi to divine in it the will of his father Zeus to people.
From a high bank far out into the sea, Apollo saw a ship of Cretan sailors. Under the guise of a dolphin, he rushed into the blue sea, overtook the ship and flew up like a radiant star from the sea waves at its stern. Apollo brought the ship to the pier of the city of Chris (a city on the shores of the Gulf of Corinth, which served as a harbor for Delphi) and led the Cretan sailors through a fertile valley, playing on a golden cithara, to Delphi. He made them the first priests of his sanctuary. (Myth about Apollo)

Daphne

Based on Ovid's poem "Metamorphoses"

The bright, joyful god Apollo knows sorrow, and grief befell him. He experienced grief shortly after defeating Python. When Apollo, proud of his victory, stood over the monster slain by his arrows, he saw near him the young god of love Eros, drawing his golden bow. Laughing, Apollo told him:
- What do you want, child, such a formidable weapon? Let it be better for me to send the smashing golden arrows with which I have just killed Python. Are you equal to glory with me, arrow-bearer? Do you want to achieve greater glory than me?
Offended Eros proudly replied to Apollo: (The myth of Apollo)
- Your arrows, Phoebus-Apollo, do not know a miss, they strike everyone, but my arrow will hit you.

Eros flapped his golden wings and in the blink of an eye flew up to high Parnassus. There he took out two arrows from a quiver: one - a wounding heart and one that provokes love, with it he pierced the heart of Apollo, the other - a killing love, he sent it into the heart of the nymph Daphne, the daughter of the river god Peneus.
Once met the beautiful Daphne Apollo and fell in love with her. But as soon as Daphne saw the golden-haired Apollo, she began to run with the speed of the wind, because the arrow of Eros, killing love, pierced her heart. The silver-eyed god hurried after her.
- Stop, beautiful nymph, - Apollo cried, - why are you running from me, like a lamb chased by a wolf, Like a dove fleeing from an eagle, you rush! After all, I'm not your enemy! Look, you cut your feet on the sharp thorns of the thorns. Oh wait, stop! After all, I am Apollo, the son of the thunderer Zeus, and not a mere mortal shepherd,
But the beautiful Daphne was running faster and faster. As if on wings, Apollo rushes after her. He is getting closer. Now it will overtake! Daphne can feel his breath. The strength leaves her. Daphne prayed to her father Peney:
- Father Peney, help me! Make way quickly, earth, and devour me! Oh, take this image away from me, it causes me one suffering!
As soon as she said this, her limbs immediately became numb. The bark covered her delicate body, her hair turned to foliage, and her hands, raised to the sky, turned into branches. For a long time Apollo stood before the laurel, sad, and finally said:
- Let the wreath only from your greenery adorn my head, let from now on you decorate with your leaves both my cithara and my quiver. May it never fade, oh laurel, your greenery Stay forever green!
And the laurel quietly rustled in response to Apollo with its thick branches and, as if in agreement, bowed its green peak.

Apollo at Admet

Apollo had to cleanse himself from the sin of the shed blood of Python. After all, he himself purifies people who have committed murder. He retired by decision of Zeus to Thessaly to the beautiful and noble king Admet. There he tended the king's flocks and by this service he atoned for his sin. When Apollo played in the pasture on a reed flute or on a golden cithara, wild animals came out of the thicket, fascinated by his game. Panthers and fierce lions walked peacefully among the herds. Deer and chamois flocked to the sound of the flute. Peace and joy reigned around. Prosperity settled in the house of Admet; no one had such fruits, his horses and herds were the best in all Thessaly. All this was given to him by the golden-haired god. Apollo helped Admetus get the hand of the daughter of King Iolcus Pelias, Alcesta. Her father promised to give her to wife only to someone who would be able to harness a lion and a bear in his chariot. Then Apollo endowed his favorite Admet with invincible strength, and he fulfilled this task of Pelias. Apollo served with Admet for eight years and, after completing his sin-atoning service, returned to Delphi.
Apollo lives in Delphi for spring and summer. When autumn comes, the flowers wither and the leaves on the trees turn yellow, when the already cold winter is approaching, covering the summit of Parnassus with snow, then Apollo, in his chariot drawn by snow-white swans, is carried away to the land of the Hyperboreans that does not know winter, to the land of eternal spring. He lives there all winter. When everything in Delphi turns green again, when flowers bloom under the living breath of spring and cover the Chris valley with a colorful carpet, the golden-haired Apollo returns to Delphi on his swans to divine the will of the thunderer Zeus. Then, in Delphi, they celebrate the return of the soothsayer Apollo from the country of the Hyperboreans. All spring and summer he lives in Delphi, he visits his homeland of Delos, where he also has a magnificent sanctuary.

Apollo and the Muses

In spring and summer, on the slopes of the wooded Helikon, where the sacred waters of the spring of Hippocrene mysteriously murmur, and on high Parnassus, near the clear waters of the Kastalsky spring, Apollo leads a round dance with nine muses. Young, beautiful muses, daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne (Goddess of memory), are constant companions of Apollo. He leads the choir of the muses and accompanies their singing by playing on his golden cithara. Apollo walks majestically in front of the chorus of muses, crowned with a laurel wreath, followed by all nine muses: Calliope is the muse of epic poetry, Euterpe is the muse of lyrics, Erato is the muse of love songs, Melpomene is the muse of tragedy, Thalia is the muse of comedy, Terpsichore is the muse of dances, Clea is the muse of history, Urania is the muse of astronomy, and Polyhymnia is the muse of sacred hymns. Their choir solemnly thunders, and all nature, as if enchanted, listens to their divine singing. (The myth of Apollo and the muses)
When Apollo, accompanied by the muses, appears in the host of the gods on bright Olympus and the sounds of his cithara and the singing of the muses are heard, then everything on Olympus falls silent. Ares forgets about the noise of bloody battles, lightning does not flash in the hands of the cloud-exterminator Zeus, the gods forget strife, peace and silence reign on Olympus. Even the eagle of Zeus lowers its mighty wings and closes its vigilant eyes, one cannot hear his formidable scream, he quietly slumbers on the rod of Zeus. In complete silence, the strings of Apollo's cithara sound solemnly. When Apollo gaily strikes the golden strings of the cithara, then a light, shining round dance moves in the banquet hall of the gods. The muses, the charites, the eternally young Aphrodite, Ares and Hermes - all participate in a merry round dance, and in front of everyone is the majestic maiden, the sister of Apollo, the beautiful Artemis. Flooded with streams of golden light, young gods dance to the sound of Apollo's cithara. (The myth of Apollo and the muses)

Sons of Aloe

The distant Apollo is formidable in his anger, and then his golden arrows do not know mercy. Many were amazed by them. They killed the sons of Aloe, Ot and Ephialt, proud of their strength, who did not want to obey anyone. Already in early childhood, they were famous for their enormous growth, their strength and courage that knows no obstacles. While still young men, they began to threaten the Olympian gods Ot and Ephialtes:
“Oh, just let us mature, just let us reach the full measure of our supernatural power. We will then heap Mount Olympus, Pelion and Ossa (the greatest mountains in Greece on the coast of the Aegean Sea, in Thessaly) one on top of the other and climb them to heaven. We will then kidnap you, Olympians, Hera and Artemis.
So, like the titans, the rebellious sons of Aloeus threatened the Olympians. They would fulfill their threat. After all, they chained the formidable god of war Ares, for thirty months he languished in a copper dungeon. Ares, insatiable with abuse, would have languished in captivity for a long time if it had not been for the quick Hermes who had kidnapped him, deprived of his strength. Ot and Ephialt were powerful. Apollo did not demolish their threats. The far-striking god drew his silver bow; like sparks of flame, his golden arrows flashed in the air, and Oth and Ephialtes, pierced by the arrows, fell.

Marsyas

Apollo and the Phrygian satyr Marsyas severely punished because Marsyas dared to compete with him in music. Kifared (That is, playing the kifar) Apollo did not bear such impudence. One day, wandering through the fields of Phrygia, Marsyas found a reed flute. She was abandoned by the goddess Athena, noticing that playing the flute she had invented disfigured her divinely beautiful face. Athena cursed her invention and said:
- Let the one who picks up this flute be severely punished.
Knowing nothing of what Athena said, Marsyas raised the flute and soon learned to play it so well that everyone listened to this simple music. Marsyas became proud and challenged the patron saint of Apollo's music to a competition.
Apollo came to the call in a long, magnificent robe, in a laurel wreath and with a golden cithara in his hands.
How insignificant the inhabitant of the forests and fields Marsyas with his pitiful reed flute seemed to the majestic, beautiful Apollo! How could he have made such wonderful sounds from the flute that flew from the golden strings of the cithara of the leader of the muses Apollo! Apollo won. Enraged by the challenge, he ordered to hang the unfortunate Marsyas by the arms and to strip off his living skin. So Marsyas paid for his courage. And the skin of Marsyas was hung in the grotto of Kelen in Phrygia and they told later that she always began to move, as if she danced when the sounds of the Phrygian reed flute reached the grotto, and remained motionless when the majestic sounds of cithara were heard.

Asclepius (Aesculapius)

But not only is Apollo an avenger, not only does he send death with his golden arrows; he cures diseases. Asclepius, the son of Apollo, is the god of doctors and medical arts. The wise centaur Chiron raised Asclepius on the slopes of Pelion. Under his leadership, Asclepius became such a skilled physician that he surpassed even his teacher Chiron. Asclepius not only healed all diseases, but even brought the dead back to life. With this, he angered the ruler of the kingdom of the dead, Hades and the thunderer Zeus, as he violated the law and order established by Zeus on earth. Angry Zeus threw his lightning bolt and struck Asclepius. But people deified the son of Apollo as a god-healer. They erected many sanctuaries for him, among them the famous sanctuary of Asclepius at Epidaurus.
Apollo was honored throughout Greece. The Greeks revered him as a god of light, a god who cleans a person from the filth of shed blood, as a god who divines the will of his father Zeus, punishes, sends diseases and heals them. He was revered by the Greek youth as their patron. Apollo is the patron saint of navigation, he helps the founding of new colonies and cities. Artists, poets, singers and musicians are under the special patronage of the leader of the muses' choir, Apollo Kifared. Apollo is equal to Zeus the Thunderer himself in the worship that the Greeks gave him.

Boris Vallejo - Apollo and Daphne

When the light 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 told him:
- What do you want, child, such a formidable weapon? Let it be better for me to send the smashing golden arrows with which I have just killed Python. Are you equal to glory with me, arrow-bearer? Do you want to achieve greater glory than me?
Offended, Eros proudly replied to Apollo:
- Your arrows, Phoebus-Apollo, do not miss, they strike everyone, but my arrow will hit you too.
Eros flapped his golden wings and in the blink of an eye flew up to high Parnassus. There, he took out two arrows from a quiver: one - a wounding heart and causing love, he pierced the heart of Apollo with it, the other - a killing love, he sent 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 met the beautiful Daphne Apollo and fell in love with her. But as soon as Daphne saw the golden-haired Apollo, she began to run with the speed of the wind, because the arrow of Eros, killing love, pierced her heart. The silver-eyed god hurried after her.
“Stop, beautiful nymph,” he cried, “why are you running away from me like a lamb pursued by a wolf, like a dove fleeing from an eagle? After all, I'm not your enemy! Look, you cut your feet on the sharp thorns of the thorns. Oh wait, stop! After all, I am Apollo, the son of the thunderer Zeus, and not a mere mortal shepherd.
But the beautiful Daphne is running faster and faster. As if on wings, Apollo rushes after her. He is getting closer. Now it will overtake! Daphne feels his breath, but her strength leaves her. Daphne prayed to her father Peney:
- Father Peney, help me! Make way quickly, mother earth, and devour me! Oh, take this image away from me, it causes me one 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 to 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 said:
- Let the wreath only from your greenery adorn my head, let from now on you decorate with your leaves both my cithara and my quiver. May it never fade, oh laurel, your greenery Stay forever green!
Laurus quietly rustled in response to Apollo with its thick branches and, as if in agreement, bowed its green peak.
-
Kuhn N.A., Neikhardt A.A. "Legends and myths of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome" - SPb .: Litera, 1998

Daphne Daphne

(Daphne, Δάφνη). The daughter of the Roman god Peneus, Apollo was captivated by her beauty and began to persecute her. She turned to the gods with a prayer for salvation and was turned into a laurel, which in Greek is called Δάφνη. Therefore, this tree was dedicated to Apollo.

(Source: "A Concise Dictionary of Mythology and Antiquities." M. Korsh. St. Petersburg, edition of A. Suvorin, 1894.)

(Δάφνη), "laurel"), in Greek mythology, a nymph, the daughter of the land of Gaia and the god of the rivers Peneus (or Ladon). The love story of Apollo for D. is told by Ovid. Apollo pursues D., who gave her word to remain celibate and remain celibate, like Artemis. D. prayed to her father for help, and the gods turned her into a laurel tree, which Apollo vainly embraced, who henceforth made laurel his favorite and sacred plant (Ovid. Met. I 452-567). D. - an ancient plant deity, entered the circle of Apollo, losing its independence and becoming an attribute of God. In Delphi, laurel wreaths were given to the winners of the competitions (Paus. VIII 48, 2). Callimachus mentions the sacred laurel on Delos (Hymn. II 1). The Homeric hymn (II 215) tells about divinations from the laurel tree itself. At the festival of Daphnephorium in Thebes, laurel branches were carried.
Lit .: Stechow W., Apollo und Daphne, Lpz. - B., 1932.
A. T.-G.

European drama turns to myth in the 16th century. ("Princess D." by G. Sachs; "D." by A. Bekkari and others). From the end. 16th century after the play "D." O. Rinuccini, set to music by J. Peri, the embodiment of myth in drama is inextricably linked with music (the plays “D.” by M. Opitz, “D.” by J. de La Fontaine and others are operatic librettos). Among the operas of the 17th and 18th centuries: "D." G. Schutz; "D." A. Scarlatti; Florindo and D. G. F. Handel; "D.'s transformation" I. I. Fuks and others; in modern times - "D." R. Strauss.
In ancient art, D. was usually depicted as being overtaken by Apollo (a fresco in the house of the Dioscuri in Pompeii) or turning into a laurel tree (plastic works). In European art, the plot was perceived in the 14-15th centuries, first in book miniature (illustrations for Ovid), during the Renaissance and especially in the Baroque period it became widespread (Giorgione, L. Giordano, J. Bruegel, N. Poussin, J. B. Tiepolo and others). The most significant of the sculptures is the marble group of P. Bernini "Apollo and D."

(Source: Myths of the Nations of the World.)

Nymph; pursued by Apollo in love with her, she asked her father, the river god Peneus (according to another myth, Ladon), for help and was turned into a laurel tree.

// Garcilaso de la VEGA: "I look at Daphne, I was dumbfounded ..." // John LILY: Song of Apollo // Giambattista MARINO: "Why, tell me, about Daphne ..." // Julio CORTASAR: Voice of Daphne // N.A ... Kuhn: DAFNA

(Source: "Myths of Ancient Greece. Reference Dictionary." EdwART, 2009.)

See what "Daphne" is in other dictionaries:

- (Greek daphne laurel). 1) this plant. berry; the most common kind of it, which grows wild in our country, is wolf pepper. 2) a nymph, the daughter of the river god Peneus and Gaia, who was simultaneously beloved by Apollo and Leucappus; she was saved from the persecution of Apollo by turning into ... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

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In Greek mythology, a nymph; pursued by Apollo in love with her, she asked her father, the river god Peneus, for help and was turned into a laurel tree ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Laurel. Time of occurrence: New. (common). Jewish female names. Dictionary of meanings ... Dictionary of personal names

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo. Apollo and Daphne. 1743 44. Louvre. Paris This term also exists ... Wikipedia

S; f. [greek. Daphnē] [with a capital letter] In Greek mythology: a nymph who took a vow of chastity and turned into a laurel tree to save herself from the loving Apollo who was pursuing her. * * * Daphne is a nymph in Greek mythology; pursued ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

Daphne- (Greek Daphne) * * * in Greek mythology, a nymph, daughter of Gaia and the river god Peneus. Pursued by Apollo in love with her, it turned into a laurel. (I. A. Lisovy, K. A. Revyako. The ancient world in terms, names and titles: Dictionary reference book on ... ... The ancient world. Reference dictionary.

Daphne Dictionary-guide to Ancient Greece and Rome, mythology

Daphne- (laurel) Greek mountain nymph, whom Apollo constantly coveted and who, in response to a plea for help, was turned by Mother Earth into a laurel tree. (At the time of the ancient Greeks there was a famous sanctuary of Apollo in the laurel forest on ... ... List of ancient Greek names

In ancient Greek mythology, a nymph. Pursued by Apollo, who was in love with her, D. asked the father of the river god Peneus for help, and he converted her to a laurel tree (Greek daphne laurel). The myth of D. was reflected in poetry (Ovid's Metamorphoses), in ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Books

• "Daphne, you are my joy ...", K. 52 / 46c, Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus. Reprinted sheet music edition of Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus "Daphne, deine Rosenwangen, K. 52 / 46c". Genres: Songs; For voice, piano; For voices with keyboard; Scores featuring the voice; Scores ...