Parnasso in festa his own love life, when, enamoured of the nymph Daphne, he pursued her with lustful intent, but she prayed to the gods to be spared and was transformed into a laurel tree. As if embarrassed by this story, Apollo invites all to join him in drinking in praise of Bacchus. Mars, god of war, leads everyone in a drinking song, and Clio joins in the spirit of things so much that she begins to feel inebriated, much to the amusement of Orpheus' mother, Calliope, muse of epic poetry, and the chorus. The muses sing in turn in praise of Orpheus'
Daphne at the Pythian Games. The name Daphne, in greek Δάφνη, means "laurel. While the story of Daphne is traditionally connected with the bay laurel ("Laurus nobilis"), almost 90 species of evergreen shrubs noted for their scented flowers and poisonous berries are grouped under the genus Daphne—including the garland flower ("Daphne cneorum"); the February Daphne or mezereon ("Daphne mezereum"); and spurge laurel or wood laurel ("Daphne laureola"). These genera are categorized in the family Thymelaeaceae and are native to Asia, Europe and North Africa Artemis Daphnaia, who had her temple among the Lacedemonians, at a place called Hypsoi in antiquity, on