Apollo and Daphne is transformed into a laurel tree. The myth of Apollo and Daphne has been examined as a battle between chastity (Daphne) and sexual desire (Apollo). As Apollo lustfully pursues Daphne, she is saved through her metamorphosis and confinement into the laurel tree which can be seen as an act of eternal chastity. Daphne is forced to sacrifice her body and become the laurel tree as her only form of escape from the pressures of Apollo's constant sexual desires. Apollo crafts himself a wreath out of her laurel branches and turning her symbol of chastity into a cultural symbol for him
Nicaea (mythology) Nicaea (mythology) In Greek mythology, Nicaea or Nikaia was a naiad nymph ("the Astakid nymph", as referred to by Nonnus) of the springs or fountain of the Greek colony of Nikaia in Bithynia (northwestern Anatolia) or else the goddess of the adjacent lake Askanios (Ascanius). She was the daughter of the river-god Sangarius and Cybele. By the god of wine, Dionysus, she mothered Telete (consecration) She was a devotee of the goddess Artemis. When a shepherd, Hymen, pursued Nicaea, she killed him with an arrow to the heart. This enraged Eros, who inspired Dionysus to fall in love with her.