Daphne immediately commenced her transformation into a laurel tree ("Laurus nobilis"): Even this did not quench Apollo's ardour, and as he embraced the tree, he felt her heart still beating. He then declared: Upon hearing his words, Daphne bends her branches, approving his decision. A version of the attempt on Daphne's sworn virginity that has been less familiar since the Renaissance was narrated by the Hellenistic poet Parthenius, in his "Erotica Pathemata", "The Sorrows of Love". Parthenius' tale, based on the Hellenistic historian Phylarchus, was known to Pausanias, who recounted it in his "Description of Greece" (2nd century AD). In this,
Nymph Nymph A nymph ( "nýmphē," Ancient: Modern: ) in Greek mythology is a minor female nature deity typically associated with a particular location or landform. Different from other goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as divine spirits who animate nature, and are usually depicted as beautiful, young nubile maidens who love to dance and sing; their amorous freedom sets them apart from the restricted and chaste wives and daughters of the Greek "polis". They are beloved by many and dwell in mountainous regions and forests by springs or rivers; as Walter Burkert (Burkert 1985:III.3.3) remarks, "The idea that rivers are gods