Divine Flower of Love: The Sunflower
We call it sunflower, but it should be called love flower. Do you know the relationships other one loves more? That’s the love of the sunflower. In this story, the love of Apollo, the god of the sun, and blonde-haired Clytie is told.
Clytie was so in love with Apollo that she would stare at the sky while watching him, without fear of going blind. One day Clytie called out to Apollo. She told Apollo about her love and shouted to Apollo that she would not give up on her love, no matter what the cost, even if he was burned by the sunlight. But Apollo laughed, mocked, and ignored Clytie.
Out of sadness, Clytie wandered around mountains and hills, waiting for Apollo to show his face in the sky, and became embittered by life. She didn’t eat or drink for days, she was fed with tears and dew grains. She weakened and eventually became exhausted. Now, when she looks at the sun, she gets dizzy and her eyes darken from the scorching rays of the sun. And one day Clytie passed away from this world, but this pain of love never passed away.
Apollo was very sad when he saw Clytie’s dead body. He begged Zeus and asked for Clytie to come back to life. Zeus also could not bear Apollo’s pain. By fulfilling this wish, he turned Clytie into a flower as tall as her and with blonde hair like her. Clytie’s legs suddenly began to sink deep into the ground. Her legs and body have become thinner and have a greenish color. Her beautiful face to a flower; Her golden hair turned into petals. And now Clytie has turned into a sunflower.
Since that day, sunflowers follow the sun from morning to evening, and when the sun sets, they bow their necks sadly and wait for the sun to rise again, just to see their loved ones again.
