Chapter 6: Daphne
"Listen to me, Father. That's what I want. I want to become a part of the retinue of the Goddess Artemis. And for that, I need to remain chaste forever. So, I just want you to allow me to be a sworn virgin."
The woman who talked was a naiad. A beautiful maiden with long hair brown as the purest tree's wood. Her skin was as white as the swan's feathers covered by a red chiton. She was a true treasure of beauty and grace. She was the pride of her father, Peneus, a river god. An old and wise man with long white beard and a huge heart carrying love for his child.
"My dear Daphne." He said. "I wish you would marry and give me grandchildren as beautiful as you. But this is your life and I want you to be happy. So, I allow you to follow this path and to stay virgin forever."
"Thank you, Father!" She said happily, hugging him. "It means a lot to me to have your blessing!"
Peneus was content to please her. He would do anything to make her happy and protect her.
Anything.
…
Delphina was now a patron goddess of the sanctuary that bore her name: Delphi. Well, Apollo was in reality the main god honored, but she didn't mind it. It was going to share her name, so she was going to make sure it would be worthy of her.
Shortly after Apollo claimed the navel of the world, he faced a trial. Gaia becameÉ furious because he killed her child, Python. So, despite the fact it was a monster, the slaying of the snake was still considered as a murder and the god had to be punished for it.
He accepted his sentence with dignity without any protestation. He was to go in exile to Thessaly for a short time. Wondering what he would be doing, Delphina learned that he was to serve the other gods by watching over their cattle (because of that, he also got the title of God of Shepherds and Herdsmen).
As soon his purification was done (from which he became the God of Purification because he was truly the God of Almost Everything), he came back to Delphi where he began to establish his sanctuary.
Surprisingly, the exile didn't appease Gaia enough. She requested to have an event held every four years to commemorate the memory of Python. Apollo agreed to it.
And so here, Delphina was present to help her friend with the preparations of the first Pythian Games. A kind of festival similar to the Olympics with music and sportive competitions. But here, it was to remember the death of the previous guardian of the sanctuary.
But Delphina suspected Apollo to do it more in order to commemorate his own triumph.
Anyway, she was eying the stadium being built. It was smaller than the one in Olympia but standing at the top of the sanctuary, it offered a majestic view over the valley and the temple with its treasures. The stadium was surrounded by natural walls of rock and large trees. The esthetic was perfect.
Her thoughts got interrupted by a melodious sound. It came from a magical music instrument: a lyre. Played by Apollo who was sitting on a luxurious wooden chair while watching over the preparations for the Games. The instrument was essentially a tortoise shell tied to two convex arms connected at the top by a crossbar where seven stretched strings were attached to the shell. The strings produced a beautiful sound and Apollo totally mastered it very fast.
That was another story to tell. Zeus impregnated another woman after Leto, Maia, Delphina's sister (but she sadly never got to know her). From this union, a son was born. His name was Hermes.
She heard that just after his birth, Hermes, still a baby, escaped from his cradle and went to explore the world by himself (seriously, with so many precocious children, just what in Tartarus Zeus put in his sperm?). Then, she didn't understand why but the first thing he did was to pick a tortoise and transform its shell into a lyre he just invented.
And then, he went to steal Apollo's cattle for a total unknown reason and brought them to a cave. Luckily, one of the herdsmen spotted the thief and informed the God of the Sun.
Hermes acted as an innocent baby and went back inside his blanket. When Apollo accused his half-brother and brought the matter in front of his father, Maia refused to believe him. Well, Zeus was smarter than her. But just when Hermes was about to get in serious trouble, he began to play the lyre and Apollo was so seduced he offered to trade the instrument with the cattle.
And this is how Apollo got his lyre.
And it didn't displease Delphina at all. She loved music! She also loved to sing! When she was young, she would often sing with her sister Calypso. Together, they intoned sumptuous symphonies acapella lying down on the hot sand of Crete.
That was another thing she missed since her sister's departure.
She got distracted from her melancholy by multiple female voices singing in chorus. She turned around. Apollo was playing the lyre, surrounded by nine gorgeous maidens who sang a song praising their master.
These ladies were the famous Muses. As the God of Music, Art and Science, Apollo became their leader.
They were nice. Delphina enjoyed their company a lot. She came closer to them. She was concerned about something and needed to share it.
She waited for the song to end. She spoke once it was done.
"Apollo, I need to talk with you. It is about the Pythian Games."
"Speak." He allowed in his own polite manner.
"Well, we have nothing to offer to the winners. We could simply offer them money, but I think we should give something more…symbolic. Don't you agree?"
"I do. But I have no idea what to offer them. Do you?"
"No."
"Well, we still have time to think about it."
Then, he left his chair to reach the table just beside not far. He deposited his lyre and took his bow and his quiver with arrows.
"Are you leaving, my Lord?" Erato, the Muse of Love poetry, asked.
"Indeed. I am going to hunt in Thessaly with my sister, Artemis. I trust you to take care of the palace and the temple during my absence."
"Well, in my case, I am going to go back to the ocean. My dolphins need me." Delphina decided to do.
And without anymore words, the two divinities went to different directions, leaving the Muses all alone and wondering about what to do now.
"Well." Clio, the Muse of History, spoke. "Maybe we can try to figure out a price for the upcoming Pythian Games."
…
In the Thessalian forest, a young boy looking as five years old was all alone. He was almost naked except for a white cloth covering his waist. A particularity very noticeable was his white birdlike wings in his back. He displayed blond hair entirely in curl with a crown of colorful flowers.
He was Eros, God of Love and son of Ares and Aphrodite, despite the fact that the latter was already married to Hephaestus.
He was holding a bow and was trying to hang the bowstring on it but it proved to be harder than he thought. Well, he was still a child and a beginner.
And to his own bad luck, Apollo, God of Archery, just happened to pass on this way of the forest, this same day. He was about to join his sister for a good hunt when his attention was immediately directed to his young nephew.
Curiously, seeing him manipulating a bow annoyed him. Was it not supposed to be the attribute of both Artemis and him? How could this baby be worthy of just touch this noble weapon?
Convinced to be in his right, he went to question the young winged god. "Hello, Eros. What a surprise to see you here."
"Hi! Apollo." The God of Love answered, still concentrated on his task.
"I see you got a bow? Would you tell me how?"
"It is a gift from my father, Hephaestus!"
Of course, he should have guessed. The poor blacksmith remained blind to the cheating behavior of his wife and so totally believed Eros was his own son. Poor guy.
Seeing the young god battling with the string kind of make him laugh. Seriously, it was ridiculous! Apollo managed to do that on his first day after his birth and was also able to shoot a target soon after.
Hearing the laugh, Eros reacted. "What? What is so funny?"
"Eros, come on." Apollo replied. "This kind of weapon is not made for you. By the way, you are the God of Love. It just doesn't fit you."
That statement made a nerve explode inside Eros's head. "How dare you? This bow is mine! I have every right to use it!"
"Really? You still didn't succeed to put the string…"
And like if he felt challenged, Eros suddenly managed to assemble the whole deadly tool. Finally! Satisfied far beyond, the young boy stared at the oldest one.
"See? I did it!" He said with a strong sense of victory.
"Well. Not too bad. But can you shoot an arrow with this? I really doubt it. And even if you manage to do it, you cannot compare yourself with me. I did kill Python after all. Come on. This isn't a toy, little child."
Now, Eros became truly annoyed by the arrogance in the voice of Apollo. He was clearly mocking him and looking down at him. The foul!
And then, he came up with an idea! He took his bow and summoned a golden arrow shining with pure magic and pointed it to the chest of the God of Archery.
"What are you doing?!" Apollo screamed.
Eros shot the arrow which went inside Apollo's body. The latter was for a moment worried but instead… He felt nothing at all.
He began to laugh.
"What was that?! You call that an arrow? It was clearly made of magic but so weak magic. I feel absolutely no pain! Well, like I said, you are the God of Love. You are just not made for that weapon. Go back making people fall in love."
And with these last words, Apollo left his nephew to go join Artemis… He didn't remark the discreet malicious smile on Eros's lips.
Apollo walked and walked through the vast green forest. It was quiet, ordinary, simple. He perfectly knew that trail. Nothing to impress him.
Well… That was he thought at first.
Singing under an oak, surrounded by white flowers and lighted by some rays of sunshine who managed to enter the dense couch of branches of the forest, there was a woman.
No! Not just a woman! She was… She was…
She was an angel, a treasure, a statue coming alive. She was the grace of the swans, the voices of the birds, the magic of the butterflies, the colors of the flowers. She was the air to breathe, the water to drink, the fire that warmed, the earth that fed.
She was the one.
…
Daphne was more than content. She was about to join the retinue of the marvelous Artemis. The Goddess of the Hunt said they would wait for her brother to join them for the day. She couldn't wait to prove herself!
For the moment, to kill the time, the brown haired nymph sat under an oak and sang. She loved to sing with the birds around her. She simply relaxed, singing a song praising the beauty of the forest.
"Your voice is beautiful as you."
She screamed when she was suddenly interrupted by someone who was definitely a male.
She turned around. She met a gorgeous man she recognised as Apollo, twin brother of Artemis. She shouldn't be afraid.
But she was.
The way he was looking at her. He was like a lion in front of a good piece of meat, an eagle eying its prey, a poor watching a huge amount of gold, a king standing in front of a wealthy territory to conquest.
He made her feel like an object.
And also, she felt disgust. Disgusted by the single view of him. He may be beautiful to the other women, but she only saw arrogance and vanity. And because of that, she already hated him without even knowing him. Never had she been so repulsed by a man before, and that was a lot to say for someone who despised men with the exception of her father.
Meanwhile, Apollo was coming closer…too much. Daphne took a step backward. The god took a step forward. She was now frightened.
"Don't come closer." She ordered him.
"Please, don't reject me. I just want to…"
"No! Leave me alone!"
And she began to run. Run away from this man. This horrendous man. And that brought Apollo to run after her in a desperate way.
"Wait! Listen to me, please!"
Daphne didn't want to listen to anything from him! She just wanted to be left alone. She ran faster. Faster than she ever did in her life. Her heart was beating like a drum. She was scarred. Apollo was still pursuing her behind, begging for her attention.
This was definitely harassment! Could he not see she wanted to do nothing with him? Her hatred increased. He would not give up easily. She guessed it. Her fears were growing.
She felt fatigue. She was so tired to run. She managed to outrun Apollo until now by an unknown miracle but she couldn't escape him forever.
She felt tears building in her eyes. Why? Why her? Apollo could get any woman, so why he had to be so stubborn? He was claiming to love her but you don't hurt someone you love. It made no sense!
But anyway, he was a god and her, a nymph. That meant his power surpassed her own. He was going to get what he wanted no matter what her will was. No!
She reached the river. Apollo was now coming closer. It was only a matter of seconds before he caught her. There was only one solution left.
She turned to the river and screamed. "Father! Please, help me! I hate Apollo! I don't want to belong him! I want to remain chaste forever! Please, help me, Father!"
Apollo was horrified by the distress of her love. He didn't want to hurt her! He felt the urge to reassure her and explain himself but when he finally got to her…
He didn't embrace a warm and soft body, but touched a cold and hard trunk.
…
Delphina was lying at the surface of the water in her mermaid form. She loved to let her body floating and being moved by the waves while she contemplated the clouds with her face getting warmed by the sun.
She was singing. Her dolphins loved music just like their mother and enjoyed to hear her sing. She got such a beautiful voice and knew how to use it well.
But suddenly, her song was interrupted by the joyful cry of a child. "Yeah! Here we go!"
She got out of her bubble quickly. What was going on?! She raised her head and noticed a blond winged boy riding one of her dolphin, clearly having the time of his life.
Wait, who was this boy?
"Who are you?" She asked.
The distracted child finally paid attention to her without letting go of the back of the playful dolphin. "Ah! I am Eros, God of Love and son of Aphrodite."
"Ho! I heard about you! Can you please tell me why you are riding one of my dolphins?"
"Because it's fun! My mother always talks about the dolphins. She truly loves them and now I understand her!"
Aphrodite was a fan of her dolphins? Well, that was such a great honor. She watched the young god swimming with the sea mammal, laughing with pure happiness. The dolphin looked happy as well. It was very cute!
"You seem to like my dolphin a lot."
"I do. I wish I could ride one every single day. It is so much fun!"
"Well, if you love it, then, I can lend you that dolphin to be your companion every time you want."
"Really? Wow! You are so nice! Not like this asshole named Apollo."
"Watch your language, young one." Delphina warned. "And what are you saying? I know Apollo and he is not a bad person."
"That's what you think! The jerk dared to mock my ability to shoot an arrow, claiming I was not worthy of this weapon, that he and his twin sister should be the only gods to master this instrument. How could he?"
"Well, I have to admit that his triumph over Python at only four days old must have boosted his self-confidence a little too much."
"And this is why I taught him a good lesson!" Eros demonly laughed.
"What? What have you done?"
"I just shot an arrow to his heart, but not any kind of arrow. A golden one that makes you fall in love with the first person you see, excluding myself, of course."
"So, you punished him by giving him love?" Delphina concluded with confusion.
"Of course not! He fell in love with a nymph named Daphne. And then, I shot her with a lead arrow…that made her hate him! Ah! Ah!"
"What?!"
"She hated him so much that she preferred to turn into a laurel tree than just speak to him. You should have seen the pain and sadness in his face!"
"Eros, that's not funny!"
The young God of Love stopped when he caught the fury in the eyes of the Sea Goddess. The dolphins looked as angry and disappointed as their mistress.
He didn't know why but he felt worse than when his own mother scolded him.
"Eros." Delphina began. "I know Apollo can be arrogant but he didn't deserve that. What he did to you, you will forget it tomorrow. But what you did to him, he will remember forever. You don't play with the hearts of people like that! It is truly fragile!"
"But…"
"No but! What you did was simply cruel!"
"Come on! It is not like I had physically hurt him."
"But emotionally, you did. And this is far worse. The pain is bigger and it takes a longer time to heal."
But the naïve and stubborn Eros just raised his eyebrows.
So Delphina added. "You have been made God of Love, but it looks like you know so few about this feeling. Maybe you will understand the day you fall in love yourself."
And with these last words, she left him there and swam back to Delphi. Apollo was probably feeling terrible right now and she needed to be there for her friend.
…
Delphina arrived at Delphi faster than she believed she could. She was worried. She still felt guilty for rejecting him in a very rude way. She hoped his state wasn't so bad. She couldn't estimate the intensity of the power of Eros, but she feared the worst.
She entered his palace. Many servants came to give her services but she politely dismissed them. She went straight to the main room. Right there, she noticed Apollo, sitting on his golden throne, his head low, his hands holding a branch with laurel leaves. There was a woman with him. One who got black hair tied in a bun and wore a short white chiton with visible sandals to her feet.
She recognized her. She was Artemis. Of course, she would be there for her brother. As the good huntress she was, she immediately felt her presence and left her brother to go talk to her friend.
"How is he?" The Sea Goddess eagerly asked.
Artemis's facial expression did nothing to reassure her.
"He is mumbling a lot. He listens to me but don't talk directly to me." She answered.
It was bad news. He was mentally isolating himself. Totally unhealthy.
"Delphina." Artemis spoke. "The night is coming. I have to drive the moon chariot. Can you take care of him for me, please?"
"No need to ask. You know I will."
"Thank you."
With Artemis gone, Delphina got the heavy task to make Apollo feel better. It would not be easy. She came near him. His eyes were on the branch where his hands caressed the large green leaves. He looked madly obsessed.
"Apollo?" The goddess called. "Eh? I am here. Are you alright?
He didn't answer. Not like he needed to. She perfectly knew he wasn't!
"Apollo, please. Say something."
"I didn't want to hurt her." He suddenly said, but more to himself than to her. "I just wanted to talk to her. To learn to know her. I wasn't about to do anything bad to her. I would kill myself before harming her… But in the end, I did it."
"Apollo…"
"When I saw her, I felt… I don't know how to describe it. It was unlike anything I felt before. It was like if I had been waiting for her all my life. I felt the greatest joy just by staring at her. I believed the Fates created her for me. She was certainly my soul mate. But in reality, the Fates totally tricked me. Not only she was a sworn virgin like my sister, but she hated me. Why? I just wanted a conversation. But I failed. I frightened her so much she has been transformed into a laurel…by my fault."
He touched with more tenderness the laurel leaves.
"My dear Daphne." He said. "You may have refused to be my bride but I cannot forget you like that. I'm gonna cherish your memory forever. The laurel shall be my sacred tree from now and be honored through Greece."
Delphina was blown away by the intensity of his affection. She couldn't reveal to him the truth about Eros's actions. She feared it would hurt him more than relieve him. But what else she could do to uplift his mood?
Suddenly, she got an idea. She made the risky move to take away his branch, provoking a bad reaction from his owner who finally looked at her.
"Delphina!" Apollo screamed, furious. "What are you doing? Give it back to me!"
"Just trust me. I am going to do something. I am sure you will love it."
Apollo, still being angry, calmed down a little. He was unsure but decided to trust one of his best friend.
Delphina picked the leaves and began assembling them together. Born as a nymph, she possessed some talents when it came to create some beauty accessories. When she finished, she smiled.
She held the laurel crown she just conceived and delicately put it on Apollo's head who looked at her with amazement.
"Now." She spoke. "You look fabulous."
He really was. The contrast between the green leaves and the golden hair made him even more beautiful. He looked like a victorious king.
The last thought made her smile wider.
"I think we just found the price for the winners of the Pythian Games." She obviously suggested.
And finally, Apollo smiled.
"Thank you, Delphina."
Thank you for reading!
Dolphins are often associated with Aphrodite and Eros, making them a symbol of love. A recurrent image is Eros riding a dolphin, in particular in roman art.
By the way, in this chapter, I indirectly referred to the future love story between Eros and Psyche, my favourite couple in Greek Mythology! If you love this couple as much as me, let me suggest you to read "Lost Soul" from The_Crystal_Rose available on Archive of Our Own. So far the best fanfiction about this couple that I have ever read.
For the next chapter, if you want a hint, then, I give you one: Wine.
See you soon!