Laurels are a symbol of victory that traces its history from antiquity. This word comes from the name of a subtropical plant. Why did the ancient Greeks award winners with a wreath woven from the leaves of this tree? What does the expression “rest on our laurels” mean?
Plant
Laurel is an evergreen tree whose leaves contain a large amount of essential oil. These plants are quite common in ancient Greece. It is not surprising that they are so often mentioned in the myths of the ancient people. And first of all, in the legend of how the god Apollo fell in love with a girl, but his love remained unrequited.
Daphne
What is the myth about? One of the main gods in ancient Greek legends is Apollo. On his account there were many victories, but he could not win the main one. Apollo was unable to win the heart of her beloved girl. And everything happened after a harmless joke that he allowed himself to utter to Eros - a small but sometimes insidious deity who cuts through ancient Greek spaces with golden onions in full hands.
The prankster directed his arrows wherever he pleased. The victims of Eros lost their ability to think about anything other than the subject of their sigh. Apollo also suffered from his accuracy once.
In the heart of the god of beauty, an arrow fell, causing love, and in the heart of a nymph named Daphne, an arrow rejecting this feeling. From now on, Apollo was destined to suffer from unrequited sympathy. Daphne not only could not answer this feeling, but also avoided the pursuer in every possible way. Once it completely turned into a tree. Namely in the laurel.
This tree Apollo is very fond of. And since he still had many victories ahead, the inhabitants of Ancient Greece decided to use the leaves of the plant as a symbolic reward of the one who turned out to be the strongest in competitions held in honor of God.
Pythian Games
It is these rather spectacular events that were created in honor of the god of beauty, the patron of the arts. In addition to the Pythian, in Ancient Greece, Olympic, Nemean and Isthmian were also held. It is worth saying that competitions of various kinds in the ancient empire were far from the last significance. The ancient Greeks competed in everything: strength, knowledge, ability to play musical instruments and so on. They believed that the Pythian Games were not established by mortals, but by Apollo himself. Initially, these were exclusively musical competitions. A wreath of laurel was placed on the head of the winner. It was an extremely honorable award.
The culture of Ancient Greece formed the basis of literature and art of later states. Her influence is felt today. A laurel wreath is an eternal symbol of victory. Even the word "laureate" comes from the name of the plant, which Apollo once had been transformed into. The image of the leaves of this tree is quite often found on various medals and certificates.
Collocations
There are several stable expressions with the word "laurels." Ambitioners dreamed of becoming the owner of a wreath from this plant for many centuries. Envious people were harassed by other people's laurels.
Let's get back to ancient Greek myths. In ancient legends there is also such a character as Herostratus. Once he decided to become famous. Only he didn’t possess special physical strength or art abilities. And so I decided to burn the temple of Artemis. And he became famous. However, his glory was black, villainous.
And of course, it is worth recalling the expression mentioned above: "rest on our laurels." What does it mean? The phrase is used when it comes to a person who has achieved special results in any field, after which he has received the opportunity to use all kinds of benefits of the winner.
Do not confuse the name of the plant, symbolizing victory, with the status of Orthodox monasteries. Holy laurels in Russia - this is a phenomenon related to Christianity, but not to ancient Greek paganism.