Laurel wreath Laurel wreath A laurel wreath is a symbol of victory and honor. It is a round wreath made of connected branches and leaves of the bay laurel ("Laurus nobilis"), an aromatic broadleaf evergreen, or later from spineless butcher's broom ("Ruscus hypoglossum") or cherry laurel ("Prunus laurocerasus"). It is worn as a chaplet around the head, or as a garland around the neck. In Greek mythology, Apollo is represented wearing a laurel wreath on his head. In ancient Greece wreaths were awarded to victors, both in athletic competitions, including the ancient Olympics—for which they were made of wild olive-tree known as
The Wood Nymph have failed to prepare "The Wood Nymph" for publication is a question that has perplexed scholars. On the advice of Ferruccio Busoni, Sibelius in 1895 offered "The Wood Nymph" to the Russian music publisher Mitrofan Belyayev but it was not published. Murtomäki has suggested that Sibelius, despite having been fond of "The Wood Nymph", was "unsure about the true value" of his output from the 1890s, an ambivalence that is perhaps best illustrated by the piecemeal publication history of, and multiple revisions to, the four "Lemminkäinen" legends (appearing in the composer's 1911 diary under a list of works to be