AMosquera, Apollo and Daphne reading

 To do research for my thesis statement paper, I decided to read more about the story of Apollo and Daphne. I was amazed to find out that we could pick any artwork for paper, of course, related to the topic of philosophy and beauty. In my Baroque class, interestingly before our class began, we had discussed the artwork Bernini had done, Apollo and Daphne, one of the most interesting is his sculptor which requires the viewer to find the full 360-degree view, each giving a different perspective. I decided to dwell on the story behind the scenes that Bernini depicts. From Greek mythology, Apollo was the God of light, music, poetry, art, medicine, knowledge, plague, and archery; a son of Zeus and Leto. People knew of his plague and medicine abilities because he would shoot them with his arrow knowing he was poisoning them and could heal them, if need be. Daphne was the daughter of a river god, known for her beautiful looks and for catching the eye of Apollo. Before the story took place, she wanted to remain untouched and unmarried. One day Apollo decides to mock Eros, also known as Cupid, the god of love, by saying he cannot shoot his arrow like him, saying his talent is no match and useless compared to his own. Out of spite, Cupid shoots two arrows, a gold one for Apollo to make him fall in love with the first person he sees; and a lead arrow that makes Daphne hate him. As Daphne runs she begs for her father, Peneus, to help rid her of Apollo. In response, Peneus used metamorphosis to turn Daphne into a laurel tree, a basil tree today. After this Apollo used his eternal youth and immortality powers to make the laurel leave evergreen. At this point of the story, Apollo made the plant sacred and vowed to wear it, making it his trademark crown. In short, the story is at the wrong place and the wrong time.