Laurel - a flower and tree in Greek mythology. Laurel (Laurus?nobilis), also known as laurel tree, laurel crown, bay leaf (laurel leaf), is an evergreen small tree of the Lauraceae family. Native to the Mediterranean and Asia Minor.

Greek Legend

The naughty little love god Eros (Roman name Cupid) was ridiculed by Apollo and determined to show Apollo the power of his bow and arrow. He flew around in the air, smiled and took out a small lead-headed arrow and shot it at Daphne, the nymph of the Peneus River; then he took out a golden arrow and shot it at Apollo. Lead arrows disgust love, but golden arrows can ignite love. Apollo fell passionately in love with Daphne, but at the same time, Daphne was ashamed of love and asked her father, the river god Peneus, to allow her to remain a virgin.

Apollo saw Daphne and immediately ran towards her, but Daphne ran away in panic. The Sun God murmured his love to her as he chased her, but this only made Daphne more frightened. In this way, one pursued and the other escaped, crossing many mountains, rivers and fields. Gradually, Daphne lost her strength, and she felt like she couldn't breathe - the sound of Apollo's footsteps was right next to her ears, and she could even feel his breathing. Daphne desperately asked her father for help: "Please help me, father! The earth, crack open and swallow me in!" As soon as she finished speaking, she began to become stiff: her body became a tree trunk, her blond hair stretched into leaves, and her arms Turned into branches

Her feet that could run well now have roots. Her head is covered in the shade, and only her beauty and purity remain.

Although Daphne became a tree, Apollo still liked her very much. He hugged the trunk, and the leaves rustled and trembled. "You will be my tree," he said, "you will be evergreen and become the crown of victory." From then on, Apollo respected the laurel tree as his sacred tree, in his hair, on his lyre and in his quiver. It is always decorated with laurel branches and leaves. Every year, the best poets in Greece selected by him were also given wreaths of laurel branches to show their glory. This is the origin of the "Poet Laureate" (Poet? Laureate).

Chinese legend

It is said that there is a laurel tree five hundred feet high in the moon. During the Han Dynasty, there was a man named Wu Gang who was obsessed with immortality and did not concentrate on his studies. He was demoted to the moon to cut laurels. However, the laurels in the moon followed the cutting and could not be cut down. Therefore, later generations can see Wu Gang in the moon. The image of endless felling of laurels.