The Three Myths 11

Apollo and Daphne

It all started when Apollo found Cupid playing with his arrows and told him to keep them because the boy was too young to have a weapon. Cupid responded by shooting Apollo with an arrow to excite love, and shot Daphne with an arrow that would repel it. This way, Apollo, no matter how hard he tried, would never be able to conquer the woman that cupid made him fall in love with. This story could be a representation of the several times in which a situation like this has occurred between humans. There is nothing worse than to fall deeply in love with someone who will never love you back. This was cupid´s punishment for Apollo, instead of causing him physical pain, which many believe is horrible, the boy made him feel a much deeper inner pain, which in my opinion, is much worse.

Cephalus and Procris

Cephalus was great in wood sports and loved hunting. He was gifted with a dog who could beat any rival, and a javelin which would never miss it´s prey. He loved his wife (Procris) very much, but every time he went out hunting , he would tell the wind that he was in love with the breeze. Procris got jealous and spied on him from behind a bush one day. She began sobbing when she heard her husband saying he loved the wind. When Cephalus heard the sound, he through his javelin at the bushes and killed her. In the story, I´m not quite sure whose fault it was that Procris died. There is nothing really wrong with loving the wind, but if Cephalus weren´t so addicted to hunting, then he never would have killed his wife. In the other hand, Procris should have stayed at home and trusted her husband. I´not sure either, the reason for her sobbing, just because he hoped for a cool breeze. It was both their faults, but a pity really because they loved each other so much.

Callisto

This myth was about a beautiful woman, Callisto, who even captivated Jupiter´ attention. Juno, who became very jealous of her, turned her into a bear. As a bear, she was in constant fear of hunters while other animals feared her. One day, she saw her son in the forest and approached him. The boy became alarmed and was about to shoot the bear down until Jupiter arrived and made constellation of both of them in the heavens. This myth shows the evil side of the gods, turning an innocent woman into a bear for life. There is also another very interesting part, when she was a bear, feared humans. This shows a bit of what the animals feel towards people who are trying to hunt them down. Finally though, she gets rewarded by living in the heavens with her son forever.