One of the stories of the Greek mythology starring Apollo, the brave young man with the bow and arrow, is the one starring Apollo and Dalfne. Apollo, twin brother of Artemis, son of Leto and the god Zeus, eternal persecuted by Hera and custodian of his mother, put himself in the sights of Eros, the god of love and sex.
The myth says that one fine day Apollo made fun of Eros because he was playing with a bow and arrows. Angry Eros took two arrows, one of iron and the other of gold, and shot one at Daphne, a pretty nymph, and another at Apollo. The iron one went to the nymph but incited hatred and the gold one went to Apollo, inflaming his heart with love. But because of the arrows Daphne hated Apollo and Apollo could only love her. Daphne did not want to marry and have children, she preferred to hunt and roam the forest, so she asked her father to leave her single.
But Daphne was very beautiful and had many suitors, and they were joined by the enamored Apollo. He pursued her and she always escaped until the gods were moved and helped Apollo hunt her down. Desperate Daphne asked her father for help and this turned her into a mixture of woman and tree with branches and bark. Apollo could not love her as he intended but in return promised to love her forever and keep her always green with his own immortal powers.
Source and photo - Wikipedia