The romantic relationships in the previous section were mostly mere flings. Sadly, when Apollo went in search of love, he almost always came up empty-handed. Not everyone was impressed by the playboy's courtship, and Apollo was often left heartbroken and angry. This section tells the stories of some who refused Apollo's love.

Cassandra

Cassandra was the daughter of Priam and Hecuba, king and queen of Troy. She was the most beautiful of all of the king's children, and many men admired her beauty and wished to court her. Apollo was one of her suitors. As a god, he could offer gifts no mortal man could.

Cassandra, however, wasn't interested. Unlike other gods who'd simply take what they wanted, Apollo agreed to bargain with her. He promised to teach Cassandra the art of prophecy if she would agree to become his lover. Their deal was made.

Apollo kept his side of the bargain, giving Cassandra the gift of prophecy and teaching her how to foretell the future. But when she'd learned these things, Cassandra reneged on her promise. Furious, Apollo spat in her mouth and condemned her to this fate: although she possessed the gift of prophecy, no one would ever believe her predictions. Later, during and after the Trojan War, Cassandra tried to warn others of their impending fates, but her warnings went unheeded.

Daphne

The beautiful mountain nymph Daphne was perhaps the most famous of the women who refused Apollo. Two myths tell the story of Apollo's great, unrequited love for Daphne — and in both, she suffers the same fate.

In one version, Daphne was loved both by Apollo and by Leucippus, the son of King Oenomaus. Daphne was not interested in either of her suitors. In order to get close to her, Leucippus disguised himself as a girl. This worked for a little while, until Apollo caught on.

To get rid of the competition, Apollo persuaded Daphne's attending nymphs to take off their clothes to bathe. When Leucippus refused to participate, the nymphs became suspicious. They stripped him naked, and when they discovered he was a man, they killed him on the spot.

Even with Leucippus out of the picture, Apollo had no luck with Daphne, who fled from him. As the love-struck god pursued her, Daphne cried out for help and was transformed into a laurel tree.

In the other version, Eros caused Apollo to fall in love with Daphne. Apollo had boasted that his own bow and arrows were superior to those of the god of love. To teach Apollo a lesson, Eros shot the Olympian with one of his gold-tipped arrows, causing Apollo to fall hopelessly in love with Daphne. Then Eros shot Daphne with one of his lead-tipped arrows, making her resistant to love.

Apollo chased his love fervently. Daphne tried to avoid him, but to no avail. He pursued her through the forests, until the exhausted Daphne called out to her father, a river god named Peneus, for help. Peneus came to the rescue and changed her into a laurel tree. Daphne's skin became the tree's bark, her hair became its leaves, her arms its branches, and her feet its roots. All that was left of the original nymph, the myth says, was her beauty.

Both versions of this myth end with Apollo choosing the laurel as his sacred tree. Laurel branches became a symbol of honor and were used to crown the winners of the Pythian Games at Delphi (more on those later in this chapter).

Marpessa

Marpessa, daughter of the river-god Evenus and granddaughter of Ares, caught Apollo's eye. Although Apollo fell in love with this “fair-ankled” girl (as Homer calls her), she was already engaged to Idas, a mortal son of Poseidon. That didn't stop Apollo. He abducted Marpessa and carried her away from her betrothed.

Devoted to his love, Idas pursued the god and challenged him. The two came to blows, and Zeus had to intervene. Separating the fighters, he held them apart and asked Marpessa to choose one. Marpessa picked Idas, explaining (like Coronis) that she desired a mortal husband because she was afraid Apollo would grow tired of her as she aged. So Idas had the distinction of being one of the few mortals to challenge a deity and survive.

Sinope

Sinope was another nymph whom Apollo adored. Several myths say that Sinope was also desired by Zeus. Both gods were persistent in their advances, and Sinope realized that running and hiding would do her no good.

She also realized that a god in amorous pursuit wasn't always as clever as usual. So she decided to trick each of her divine suitors in the same way. She stopped running, pretending to have given up, and surrendered herself. However, in exchange for her surrender, she asked the god to grant her a wish. Overcome with love, each god fell for the trap and promised the young nymph anything she desired. Her wish? To be granted eternal virginity.