"Apollo and Daphne"

Ovid's story of "Apollo and Daphne" is taken from Greek myth. Apollo is the Greek god of prophecy, music, reason and light. He is sometimes identified with the sun. In Homer's Iliad Apollo is against the Greeks and on the side of the Trojans. This is appropriate for Ovid's purposes since, according to legend, the Romans are directly descended from the Trojans. (See Virgil's Aeneid.) In fact, Apollo was taken by Augustus as his special patron.

Daphne is a nymph. In Greek myth nymphs are female personifications of natural objects who are always young and beautiful but are not immortal. Daphne is the daughter of the river-god, Peneus, and she is a huntress. According to Ovid she is a rival of Diana, the virgin goddess. (Diana is the Roman name for Artemis who is the twin sister of Apollo.) Though her father urges Daphne to get married and give him grandsons, she charms him into allowing her to remain a virgin. She is not interested in love. (It is interesting to note that under the rule of Augustus, Roman marriage law required women between twenty and fifty years of age to marry and bear children. There were penalties imposed against those who did not.)

Cupid, or Eros in Greek myth, is the boy-god of love, son of Venus and Vulcan. One thing to keep in mind when reading this story is the clash of egos. Cupid's curse and revenge make the god of reason lustful and this brings about the "action" of the story. Who is at fault?

Again, there are many artworks depicting "Apollo and Daphne."  Here are three:

Bernini sculpture:  http://www.artrenewal.org/pages/artwork.php?artworkid=1872

Poussin painting:  http://www.artrenewal.org/pages/artwork.php?artworkid=2882

Waterhouse painting:  http://www.artrenewal.org/pages/artwork.php?artworkid=838