Laurel wreath - award to the winner

Once the god of light - the irresistible Apollo - quarreled with the young god of love and inseparable companion of Aphrodite Eroth. Apollo showed his disregard for the arrows of the Eros and stressed his superiority over him, believing that only his arrows could really hit the enemy.

Offended, Eros responded to Apollo that his arrow is capable of hitting anyone, even Apollo himself, and in support of this he soared to the high mountain of Parnassus. He got the arrow of love and released it to the heart of Apollo, then he took out the second arrow - love killing, and pierced the heart of the beautiful nymph Daphne - the daughter of the river god Peneus.

After some time Apollo met Daphne and immediately fell in love with her, because the arrow of love, released from the bow of Eros, struck his heart. Daphne, as she saw Apollo, rushed to flee from him, wounding her legs against sharp thorns of thorns, because the arrow that killed love hit the target exactly - in her heart.

Apollo was at a loss because Daphne started running away from him. He ran after her and asked to stop, appealing to the fact that he was not an ordinary mortal. But Daphne fled and, exhausted, begged her father for help. She asked him that his father turn her into something else, so as not to suffer from her real appearance. Daphne immediately froze with her arms raised, her body covered the bark, her hands raised up into branches, and her hair turned into leaves, and Apollo saw the laurel tree in front of him.

Standing in front of him, the wounded Apollo cast a spell on him. He wished that the laurel leaves would remain evergreen and adorn his head. According to legend, the laurel tree appeared, and the laurel wreath became the symbol of the winner and glory.

The ancient peoples of the laurel had a great importance. The Romans and Greeks believed that a laurel wreath can protect against disease and lightning strikes. He served as a symbol of purification and could cleanse the soul of the murderer. According to legend, Apollo is a wreath of laurel tree helped to remove the sin from the soul after the murder of Python - the dragon, guarding the entrance to the prophet of the temple of Apollo.

In ancient Greece, the winners in the Olympic Games were laurels. And the Romans rewarded them with their warriors, who defeated the enemies. So, in 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 their head was adorned with a laurel wreath. Thus, they pointed to their superiority over all others.

As a symbol of immortality, the laurel grove covers the mountain of Parnassus, where according to legend, the Muse, the daughter of the god Zeus and the goddess of Harmony, found their refuge. Laurel wreath was the inspiration in poetry, painting or fine arts, and outstanding representatives of the arts were awarded wreaths from the laurel. Hence the origin of the term "laureate" - the owner of a laurel wreath

In Rome and Ancient Greece, the main distinguishing mark was the laurel wreath. They were awarded winners in competitions or battles. After the award, the person awarded the award relaxed, calmed down, lost his vigilance, bathed in the rays of his glory. Hence the expression "rest on our laurels".