Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

, Daphnis (; , from , ''daphne'', "

Bay Laurel ''Laurus nobilis'' is an aromatic evergreen tree or large shrub with green, glabrous (smooth) leaves. It is in the flowering plant family Lauraceae. According to Flora Cretica (Kleinsteuber Books, 2024, ISBN 978-3-9818110-5-6) the stem can be 1 ...

") was a legendary Sicilian cowherd who was said to be the inventor of

pastoral poetry The pastoral genre of literature, art, or music depicts an idealised form of the shepherd's lifestyle – herding livestock around open areas of land according to the seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. The target aud ...

. According to Diodorus the Sicilian (1st century BC), Daphnis was born in the Heraean Mountains of central

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

Mythology

According to tradition, he was the son of

Hermes Hermes (; ) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology considered the herald of the gods. He is also widely considered the protector of human heralds, travelers, thieves, merchants, and orators. He is able to move quic ...

and a

nymph A nymph (; ; sometimes spelled nymphe) is a minor female nature deity in ancient Greek folklore. Distinct from other Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature; they are typically tied to a specific place, land ...

, despite which fact Daphnis himself was mortal. As an infant, Daphnis' mother

exposed Expose, exposé, or exposed may refer to: News sources * Exposé (journalism), a form of investigative journalism * '' The Exposé'', a British conspiracist website * '' Exeposé'', a student-run newspaper of the University of Exeter Film and TV ...

him under a laurel tree, where he was found by some herdsmen and named after the tree (Greek ''daphnē'') under which he was found. The cows that tended to him as an infant were said to be sisters to the

ones Ones may refer to: * ''Ones'' (album), by Selena, 2002 * The Ones, New York electronica group * "The Ones" (''30 Rock''), an episode of ''30 Rock'' * In music, single bars of alternating solos (as in "trading ones"); see Rhythm section#Musical r ...

owned by

Helios In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Helios (; ; Homeric Greek: ) is the god who personification, personifies the Sun. His name is also Latinized as Helius, and he is often given the epithets Hyperion ("the one above") an ...

. He was also sometimes said to be Hermes' ''

eromenos In ancient Greece, an ''eromenos'' was the younger and passive (or 'receptive') partner in a male homosexual relationship. The partner of an ''eromenos'' was the ''erastes'', the older and active partner. The ''eromenos'' was often depicted as b ...

'' (beloved) rather than his son. In some versions, Daphnis was taught how to play the

panpipes A pan flute (also known as panpipes or syrinx) is a musical instrument based on the principle of the closed tube, consisting of multiple pipes of gradually increasing length (and occasionally girth). Multiple varieties of pan flutes have been ...

by the god Pan himself, and eventually the two also became lovers. Daphnis became a follower of the goddess

Artemis In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Artemis (; ) is the goddess of the hunting, hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, transitions, nature, vegetation, childbirth, Kourotrophos, care of children, and chastity. In later tim ...

, accompanying her in hunting and entertaining her with his singing of pastoral songs and playing of the panpipes. A

naiad In Greek mythology, the naiads (; ), sometimes also hydriads, are a type of female spirit, or nymph, presiding over fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of fresh water. They are distinct from river gods, who embodied ...

(possibly Echenais or Nomia) was in love with him and prophesied that he would be blinded if he loved another woman. However, he was seduced, with the aid of wine, by the daughter of a king, and, in revenge, this nymph blinded him or changed him into stone. Daphnis, who endeavoured to console himself by playing the flute and singing herdsmen's songs, soon afterwards died. He fell from a cliff, or was changed into a rock, or was taken up to heaven by his father Hermes, who caused a spring of water to gush out from the spot where his son had been carried off. Ever afterwards the Sicilians offered sacrifices at this spring as an expiatory offering for the youth's early death. There is little doubt that

Aelian Aelian or Aelianus may refer to: * Aelianus Tacticus, 2nd-century Greek military writer in Rome * Casperius Aelianus (13–98 AD), Praetorian Prefect, executed by Trajan * Claudius Aelianus Claudius Aelianus (; ), commonly Aelian (), born at Pr ...

in his account follows

Stesichorus Stesichorus (; , ''Stēsichoros''; c. 630 – 555 BC) was a Greek Greek lyric, lyric poet native of Metauros (Gioia Tauro today). He is best known for telling epic stories in lyric metres, and for some ancient traditions about his life, such as hi ...

of Himera, who in like manner had been blinded by the vengeance of a woman (Helen) and probably sang of the sufferings of Daphnis in his recantation. Nothing is said of Daphnis's blindness by Theocritus, who dwells on his amour with Nais; his victory over Menalcas in a poetical competition; his love for Xenea brought about by the wrath of Aphrodite; his wanderings through the woods while suffering the torments of unrequited love; his death just at the moment when Aphrodite, moved by compassion, endeavours (but too late) to save him; the deep sorrow, shared by nature and all created things, for his untimely end (Theocritus i. vii. viii.). A later form of the legend identifies Daphnis with a Phrygian hero, and makes him the teacher of Marsyas. The legend of Daphnis and his early death may be compared with those of Hyacinthus, Narcissus, Linus and

Adonis In Greek mythology, Adonis (; ) was the mortal lover of the goddesses Aphrodite and Persephone. He was considered to be the ideal of male beauty in classical antiquity. The myth goes that Adonis was gored by a wild boar during a hunting trip ...

—all beautiful youths cut off in their prime, typical of the luxuriant growth of vegetation in the spring, and its sudden withering away beneath the scorching summer sun.

Daphnis (nymph)

The geographer Pausanias mentions a mountain nymph called Daphnís (Greek , with a different accentuation). He writes: "Many and different are the stories told about Delphoi (

Delphi Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), was an ancient sacred precinct and the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient Classical antiquity, classical world. The A ...

), and even more so about the oracle of Apollo. For they say that in earliest times the oracular seat belonged to Ge (Gaea, the Earth), who appointed as prophetess Daphnis, one of the Nymphai (Nymphs) of the mountain ount Parnassos" (Pausanias, ''Description of Greece'', 10.5.5, trans. Jones).

Cultural depictions

* Daphnis is the subject of

Theocritus Theocritus (; , ''Theokritos''; ; born 300 BC, died after 260 BC) was a Greek poet from Sicily, Magna Graecia, and the creator of Ancient Greek pastoral poetry. Life Little is known of Theocritus beyond what can be inferred from his writings ...

's first ''Idyll'', which describes his death. *

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...

's Fifth Eclogue contains two songs sung by herdsmen, one lamenting the death of Daphnis, and the other celebrating his acceptance into heaven as a god. In his Tenth Eclogue he imagines his friend the poet

Cornelius Gallus Gaius Cornelius Gallus (c. 70 – 26 BC) was a Roman poet, orator, politician and military commander, at one time appointed by the Emperor Augustus as prefect of Egypt. Only nine lines of his poetry are extant today, but he was much read in antiq ...

dying of love in Arcadia, taking parts of ''Idyll'' I as his model.

Gallery

File:Pan and Daphnis.jpg, Sculpture of Pan teaching Daphnis to play the pan flute; ca. 100 B.C. Found in Pompeii File:Daphnis, Roman copy from a group from the 2nd century AD, Cinquantenaire Museum, Brussels.jpg, ''Daphnis'', Roman copy from a group from the 2nd century AD at the Cinquantenaire Museum File:Pan and Daphnis, by Pieter Mulier, called Cavaliere Tempesta, c. 1668-1676, oil on canvas - Blanton Museum of Art - Austin, Texas - DSC07854.jpg, ''Cavaliere Tempesta'' showing Pan and Daphnis by Pieter Mulier, c. 1668-1676 File:Arthur Lemon (1850-1912) - The Wooing of Daphnis - T07562 - Tate.jpg, ''The Wooing of Daphnis'' by Arthur Lemon, 1881

Notes

External links