La Dafne prominent figure throughout the composition, at times adding to the action of the story and at other times, providing reflective commentary. The prologue is delivered by the poet Ovid as he sings the text: When the opera proper begins, the god Apollo slays the Python, a monster which has been terrifying the Greek island of Delos. Cupid and Venus are unimpressed by Apollo’s boasting and about his conquest and his feelings of being invincible. Because of this, they plot revenge on Apollo. Cupid shoots two arrows, the first of which makes Apollo fall in love with the nymph Daphne, daughter
Laurel forest water despite the humidity, allowing perspiration and respiration. The scientific names "laurina", "laurifolia", "laurophylla", "lauriformis", and "lauroides" are often used to name species of other plant families that resemble the Lauraceae. The term "Lucidophyll", referring to the shiny surface of the leaves, was proposed in 1969 by Tatuo Kira. The scientific names "Daphnidium", "Daphniphyllum", "Daphnopsis", "Daphnandra", "Daphne" from Greek: Δάφνη, meaning "laurel", "laural", "Laureliopsis", "laureola", "laurelin", "Laurelindorinan", "laurifolia", "Cistus laurifolius" (Laurel Rockrose), "laurifolius", "lauriformis", "laurina", "laurophylla", "laurocerasus", "laurus", "Prunus laurocerasus" (English laurel), "Prunus lusitanica" (Portugal laurel), "Corynocarpus laevigatus" (New Zealand Laurel), and "Corynocarpus rupestris" designate species of other plant families