Daphne and the Laurel Wreath

According to the classic Greek story of Daphne and the Laurel Wreath, Daphne was a beautiful young nymph who happened to be uninterested in love, even though she was constantly asked by men for her hand in marriage. While her father, the river god Peneus, hoped that she would eventually marry, he remains disappointed, as she refused all potential suitors. The story really begins when one day, Eros (or Cupid, the god of love) struck Apollo (the god of light, music, youthfulness, etc.) with one of his love arrows, after Apollo mocked their power. As a result, Apollo fell in love with the first woman he met, who happened to be Daphne. Apollo then proceeded to confess is profound love for her, but she refused his pleas for marriage. Persistent, however, Apollo did not give up, and he remained determined that he would win Daphne's love. At some point, Daphne realized that no amount of refusal could convince Apollo into ceasing his attempts, so she decided to run away, hoping he would not pursue. He did pursue, and as he neared her, Daphne prayed to her father, Peneus, for help. In response, Peneus turned his daughter into a laurel tree. Devastated by Daphne's rejection, Apollo-nonetheless--continued to love her. In her honor, Apollo proclaimed that the leaves of the laurel tree would remain a perpetual green, unaffected by the hindrances of age.

Since the dawn of his time, man has longed for immortality; the epics of Gilgamesh and other legendary heroes can attest to this fact. Throughout the centuries, people have sought to attain immortality and eternal youth, whether this has been through doomed attempts at alchemy or the ambitious, but fruitless, pursuit of the Fountain of Eternal Youth. Like all of those ambitious people who have preceded me, I am fascinated by the concept of attaining immortality and eternal youth. Considering I have listened to and read epic tales of mythology--containing themes of immortality--from a very young age, it is hardly surprising that I myself have always been interested in the subject of immortality, but as I have mentioned, I am not the only person to ever live who has desired to attain a higher physical status. Countless have endeavored to achieve this ultimate of goals, yet all have failed (or, at least to society's knowledge, all have failed). Perhaps some day, when technology has progressed in sophistication far beyond the mechanisms of current technologies, people will learn the secret to immortality. Until then, though, immortality and eternal youth will continue to remain humanity's most enticing ambition.

The ankh has been used for millennia, since the times of ancient Egypt, to represent immortality and eternal youth.