Daphne

(Image Information: Daphne, Pixabay)

To begin with, I am going to tell you the story of Daphne. Be warned, this story is terribly tragic. I hope it will encourage some of you to be more careful with your heart.

Daphne was my first love. Daughter of the river-god Peneus, she was a lovely nymph of the forest. She was an amazing young woman, strong, independent, and completely untamed. She used to love running through the woods, hunting, her hair wild and unbrushed. I fell in love with her at first sight.

Daphne was hard to get to know; she was very reluctant to speak with me at first. I respected her distance, and gradually, I gained her confidence. We began to speak, on occasion. I spent a lot of time in those woods, admiring nature, hoping to see Daphne. I became a familiar face. My feelings for Daphne grew. During this time, she and I would occasionally speak. We became acquaintances and sometimes we would hunt together. When we hunted together we made a perfect pair; my godly powers and her knowledge of the woods and its creatures made us unstoppable. Of course, being the God of archery, I never missed a shot. I could string my bow and release an arrow all in a mere second. I believe this might be when Daphne first felt a spark of attraction to me. After this, we began a halting sort of friendship, one which I was desperate to have but of which she was wary.

Daphne had never wanted to marry or fall in love. She admired my sister, Artemis, and wanted to be like her, a maiden huntress. I knew this, so I took my time while wooing her. We were friends for months. During this time we got to know each other. Eventually, she couldn't help it. She fell for my charms. She began to love me, as I had loved her from the moment I laid eyes on her.

We were very happy, and her father, Peneus, was pleased, for he had been pestering her to marry for years. We spent a lot of time together. I remember one time, we were out hunting when we came across an injured deer. Daphne was immediately distraught. She knelt down by the deer's side, tears streaming down her face, and began to sing a song so hauntingly beautiful that, even after all this time, I have not been able to forget. Touched by her sorrow, I used my powers to heal the animal and it instantly jumped up and bounded away. Daphne was overjoyed and, after that day, if she ever found a creature unwell, she would pray to me to revive it. Our relationship was strengthened by this, and we became a powerful force in the forest, whether hunting or healing. *

Alas, things could only go well for so long before it all ended. During the time of our relationship, I had gotten into an argument with my nephew, Eros. Now I don't remember exactly what we were arguing about but I suppose I said something a bit harsh to him and he began looking for revenge. I, being cocky, did not believe he would do anything. I was wrong not to worry.

One day, everything went wrong. I was in the woods, looking for Daphne, when I felt something strike me. I had not figured out what it was when Daphne appeared. Seeing her, I felt the urge to be closer to her, to speak to her. I missed her so much. I called out to her, and she looked at me with the strangest look. It was a look of fear, of disgust. I thought I must have misread the glance because no one could hate me. "Daphne?" I moved towards her and she turned and ran off. I sprinted after her, scared because I did not understand what was happening. Why was my love running from me? What was she scared of?

"Daphne, stop!" I used my godly powers to run faster. I was right behind her.

"Daphne, it's me. Your lord Apollo. Turn around at once!"

She turned and looked at me with pure terror in her face.

"Father, save me!" she screamed.

I reached out to touch her, when, before my eyes, she was transformed. My hand touched the hard bark of a laurel tree. I fell to my knees and wept.

"Why, my love? Why? Daphne, please come back."

I stayed there for many days, hoping my Daphne would come back to me. She never did.

Secrets have a way of being found out in our family, and I later learned it was Eros who had caused me so much trouble. Out of spite, he had shot me with an arrow of love designed to make its victim intensely passionate and obsessed with the first person they see. Daphne, he shot with an arrow of hate, designed to make its victim feel intense feelings of fear, disgust, and loathing towards the first person they see. His plan worked, perhaps even better than he had expected. Daphne was gone, and I was heartbroken.

I mourned for Daphne for years, vowing never to love again. But then I met Hyacinthus...

*Note about the contrasting elements of Daphne both hunting and healing. Daphne does not hunt simply for fun. She does enjoy it, but she is always careful to kill her prey quickly and effectively, and never wastes any part of it. She cares about her forest and its inhabitants, and cannot stand to see animals or plants suffer.

Author's Note:

This is a retelling of the myth of Apollo and one of his lovers, Daphne. In some versions of the story, Apollo and Daphne are in love until Eros messes everything up. In other versions, they have no relationship. Apollo is merely hunting one day when he sees her in the woods and decides he must have her. I chose to go with the nicer version, and have basically imagined how Apollo would talk about it many centuries later. I envisioned him madly in love with Daphne, and thus heartbroken when he loses her.

I decided to write about Apollo and his lovers because I enjoy the drama and I'm familiar with Greek mythology. An inspiration for my character Apollo, is Rick Riordan's version of Apollo, in his Trials of Apollo series. Rick's Apollo is very cocky, which I find amusing. I could have made my version more humble, but I enjoy cocky, overconfident Apollo. I think his arrogance encourages drama, which makes writing from his point of view quite fun.

In some mythology, Apollo is spoken of as a pure, honest, and good god. In my stories, Apollo has these aspects, but is also flawed. He cares about his followers and feels very emotional about his past, but he is extremely cocky as well. I used Edith Hamilton's book, Mythology, to research Apollo and Daphne. This is where I learned about Apollo being the god of light and truth. Everybody knows Apollo is associated with the sun, and before reading Hamilton's book, hearing him be called the light god would not shock me. The god of truth, however, was surprising to me. I have highly enjoy Hamilton's Mythology, and I would recommend it to those of you who like to read and/or are interested in Greek mythology.

Bibliography:

Apollo and Daphne. Website: Wikipedia

Apollo and Daphne. Website: Greek Gods and Goddesses

Daphne. Website: Theoi

Mythology by Edith Hamilton. Source: Overdrive