Once the god of light - the irresistible Apollo - quarreled with the young god of love and the inseparable companion of Aphrodite Eros. Apollo showed his disdain for the arrows of Eros and emphasized his superiority over him, believing that only his arrows can really hit the enemy.
Offended, Eros answered Apollo that his arrow could hit anyone, even Apollo himself, and as proof of this, he soared up the high mountain of Parnassus. He took out the arrow of love and fired it into the heart of Apollo, then he took out the second arrow - love that kills, and pierced it with the heart of the beautiful nymph Daphne, daughter of the river god Peneus.
After some time, Apollo met Daphne and immediately fell in love with her, because the arrow of love fired from the bow of Eros struck his heart. Daphne, as Apollo saw, rushed away from him, wounding her legs on the sharp thorns of thorns, because the arrow that was killing love hit right on target - in her heart.
Apollo was perplexed by the fact that Daphne began to run away from him. He ran after her and asked to stop, calling for the fact that he was not a mere mortal. But Daphne fled and, exhausted, prayed for her father for help. She asked him that her father convert her to something else, so as not to suffer from his true appearance. Immediately Daphne froze with her arms raised up, her bark covered her body, her arms raised up turned into branches, and her hair turned into leaves, and Apollo saw a laurel tree in front of him.
Standing in front of him, a wounded Apollo cast a spell on him. He wished the bay leaves to remain evergreen and adorn his head. According to legend, the laurel tree appeared, and the laurel wreath became a symbol of winner and glory.
The ancient peoples of the laurel was of great importance. The Romans and Greeks believed that a laurel wreath could protect against diseases and from lightning strikes. He served as a symbol of purification and could purify the soul of a murderer. According to legend, it was the laurel wreath that helped Apollo remove the sin from the soul after the murder of Python, the dragon who guarded the entrance to the prophetess of the temple of Apollo.
In ancient Greece, the winners of the Olympic Games were laurel wreaths. And the Romans awarded them with their warriors who defeated the enemies. So, at all official ceremonies, Julius Caesar was present with a laurel wreath on his head. Many kings minted their own image on the coins of their country, where a laurel wreath decorated their heads. Thus, they indicated their superiority over everyone else.
As a symbol of immortality, a laurel grove covers Mount Parnassus, where, according to legend, Muse, the daughter of the god Zeus and the goddess of Harmony, found their refuge. A laurel wreath served as an inspiration in poetry, painting, or the fine arts, and prominent artists were awarded wreaths from laurels. Hence the term "laureate" - the owner of a laurel wreath
In Rome and Ancient Greece, the main distinguishing mark was a laurel wreath. They were awarded winners in competitions or battles. After the award, the award-winning person relaxed, calmed down, lost his vigilance, bathed in the rays of his fame. Hence the expression "rest on our laurels."