November 06 2008

Text By Meera Sethi

Trust me. You did not want to get on the wrong side of an ancient god. Those guys were vengeful, and they returned the insults of both mortals and immortals with equal fury. Remember Apollo? Remember how he said he was a better archer than little Eros? Hoo baby.

Did Eros have a comeback for that one. He shot Apollo with an arrow tipped in gold, filling the prideful divinity with insatiable lust. Then he shot the lovely Daphne with an arrow tipped in lead, filling her with a deep abhorrence for romance and a distinct disinclination to respond to Apollo's increasingly desperate advances.

Apollo ran, Daphne fled. Apollo ran, Daphne fled. Finally, Daphne cried out to her father—the river god Peneus—to help her shake off this awfully persistent immortal. And Peneus answered her call, transfiguring her. Within moments, the maiden had become a laurel tree, rooted in the ground and adorned with the most vibrant leaves. And Apollo; well, Apollo still wouldn't give up.

Now, who can blame him? There are few things more beautiful in this world than a woman who turns into a tree.