#daphnis

Oleander Hawk Moth (Daphnis nerii), family Sphingidae, Hungary

Δαφνίς is a Greek masculine name meaning: a laurel berry.

Variants:

Dafnin [Wilhelm Wattenbach & Ernst Dümmler 1873 Monumenta Alcuiniana, page 269].

Dafnis [Wilhelm Wattenbach & Ernst Dümmler 1873 Monumenta Alcuiniana, page 270].

Daphnis [Wilhelm Wattenbach & Ernst Dümmler 1873 Monumenta Alcuiniana, page 270].

Definition:

δαφνίς = a laurel-berry [Henry Liddell & Robert Scott 1855 A Greek-English lexicon, 4th edition, page 283].

Usage:

The Wooing of Daphnis by Arthur_Lemon

Hamadryads are nymphs who inhabit trees, the word is a compound of ‘hama’, "together with," and ‘drus’, "tree" ,"oak". In the ‘Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite’ there is a reference these nymphs as being neither mortal nor immortal, for though they have god-like characteristics their lives are bound up with that of the tree, and “the soul of the tree and the soul of the nymph leave the light of the Sun together.” There are stories about these nymphs punishing mortals who damage trees, but also of showing gratitude to mortals who protect or rescue trees from damage.

When offered a reward this usually turns out to involve sex, but often with conditions attached with the mortals concerned suffering the consequences when not observing them. One of these conditions might be that the mortal keeps silent about his relationship with the nymph. Another is related in the story of Rhoikos who, seeing that an oak was about to fall, had it propped up. The nymph, thanked him and told him to ask for anything he wanted. When he asked to have sex with her, she told him not to have sex with any other woman. She said that a bee would act as a messenger between them. The bee flew by while he was playing draughts, and Rhoikos spoke so crudely that he angered the nymph, who stung him. The story is not specific but he may have been bragging about his forthcoming liaison with the nymph, or that he had been with another woman.

This photo shows how the gravitational pull of Saturn's tiny moon Daphnis perturbs the orbits of particles of the planet's A ring, sculpting the edge of the Keeler Gap into waves.

Material on the inner edge of the gap orbits faster than the moon, so the waves there lead the moon in its orbit. Material on the outer edge moves slower than the moon, so waves there trail the moon.

The waves Daphnis creates cast shadows on Saturn during its equinox - which will be soon, when the planet's rings will appear (from Earth) to disappear as they lay edge-on toward the Sun.

Sabina Yapparova Сабина Яппарова as “Chloé” (a shepherdess) and Ivan Zaytsev Иван Зайцев as “Daphnis” (a goatherd), “Daphnis et Chloé Дафнис и Хлоя” based on a pastoral romance of the same name by Longus, music by Maurice Ravel, choreo by Ivan Zaytsev Иван Зайцев, costume design by Anna Yakushchenko Анна Якущенко; House of Officers Доме Офицеров, Saint Petersburg, Russia (December 4, 2020).

Note: Original quality of photographs might be affected by compression algorithm of the website where they are hosted

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