Ancient Scene of Mosaic Art-4

Apollon & Daphne

Apollo sees the young and beautiful Daphne by the river and Apollo's desires awaken in him and he wants to talk to her. But Daphne understood what the God of Light was going through. She starts to run away. She runs, Apollo chases. On the one hand, the flirtatious God shouts "don't run away, I love you".

Hatay Archaeological Museum / 2nd-3rd century AD

Defne, on the other hand, knowing what happens to women who make love with the gods, is frightened and continues to run away. As for Apollo, he definitely wants to catch this beautiful nymph. The distance between them gets shorter and shorter and there comes a moment when Daphne hears Apollo's breath in her hair. Realising that there is no possibility of salvation anymore, Daphne suddenly stops, scrapes the soil with her foot and shouts: "O mother earth, cover me, hide me, protect me." Upon this sincere plea, Daphne feels that her organs become heavy and woody. A grey crust covers her chest, her fragrant hair turns into leaves, her arms grow into branches, her tender feet become roots and dive deep into the soil, she becomes a laurel tree.

Bibliography;
-M.D. Dunbabin, Katherine, " Mosaics of the Greek and Roman World ", Cambridge University press, 1999.
-Sander, Loma, " Encyclopedia of Mosaic Art ", The English Press, 2012.
-Greco-Roman Mosaics, " Theoi Greek Mythology " https://www.theoi.com/