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,
Ida (nymph) Ida (nymph) In Greek mythology, Ida or Ide (Ancient Greek: Ἴδη) was one of the nurses of the infant Zeus on Crete. According to Apollodorus, Rhea gave the infant Zeus to the nymphs Adrasteia and Ida, daughters of Melisseus, leader of the Kuretes of Crete, to nurse, and they fed Zeus on the milk of the goat Amalthea. According to Hyginus, Ida and Adrastea (along with Amalthea) were daughters of Oceanus, whom "others say they were the daughters of Melisseus". She was associated with the Cretan Mount Ida. According to the second-century geographer Pausanias, Ida was represented, on the altar