Laurus nobilis Elder listed a variety of conditions which Laurel oil was supposed to treat: paralysis, spasms, sciatica, bruises, headaches, catarrhs, ear infections, and rheumatism. Laurel oil is a main ingredient, and the distinguishing characteristic of Aleppo soap. In ancient Greece, the plant was called "daphne", after the mythic mountain nymph of the same name. In the myth of Apollo and Daphne, the god Apollo fell in love with Daphne, a priestess of Gaia (Mother Earth), and when he tried to seduce her she pled for help to Gaia, who transported her to Crete. In Daphne's place Gaia left a laurel tree,
Thalia (nymph) Thalia (nymph) In Greek mythology, Thalia or Thaleia ( ; "Tháleia" or Θάλια "Thália", "the Joyous, the Flourishing", from θάλλειν / thállein, "to flourish, to be green") is a nymph, the child of Hephaestus. She is also given as an anthropomorphic secondary deity of plant life and shoots, possibly as the culmination of the transmission of knowledge on volcanic ash's use as a fertiliser, characteristic of ancient viticulture in volcanic soils such as those of the island of Santorini. The tradition surrounding her is confused, but she is probably confused with the Muse, Grace or Nereid of the same name.