Lotis
A nymph who fled the god Priapus and was transformed into the lotus tree to escape his assault.
The Myth of Lotis
At a festival of the gods, the nymphs feasted and drank alongside the Olympians. Lotis, tired from the revelry, fell asleep in a meadow. Priapus — the rustic fertility god, crude and perpetually aroused — crept toward her with intent. Just as he was about to reach her, a donkey brayed loudly, waking Lotis and alerting the other guests. Priapus was caught and humiliated before the assembled gods.
Lotis fled. But Priapus was persistent, and in some versions he pursued her again. The gods, taking pity, transformed her into the lotus tree — safe, rooted, and beyond the reach of her pursuer. The transformation was permanent. Lotis would spend eternity as a tree rather than a moment as a victim.
Ovid tells a related story in the Metamorphoses: Dryope, a mortal woman, innocently picked flowers from what she thought was an ordinary tree. Blood dripped from the broken stems. The tree was Lotis, still alive inside her bark, still bleeding when violated. Dryope was transformed into a tree herself as punishment, joining Lotis in silent, rooted existence.
Parents
Unknown
Children
None
Symbols
Fun Fact
Priapus was so humiliated by the braying donkey that foiled his assault on Lotis that he developed a permanent hatred of donkeys — which is why donkeys were sacrificed to him.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
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Pitys
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🗡 heroNymph who became a laurel tree
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🌿 nymphthe underworld, plants
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🌿 nymphdesire
Water nymph of Caria whose desperate embrace of Hermaphroditus caused the gods to fuse them into a single dual-sexed being.
Daphne and Apollo
💭 conceptpursuit, transformation
The nymph who escaped Apollo's pursuit by transforming into a laurel tree, which became sacred to the god and the symbol of poetic and athletic victory.
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🌿 nymphthe underworld, trees
A sea nymph abducted by Hades and transformed into a white poplar tree in the Underworld after her death.
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🌿 nymphNymph who became a freshwater spring
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💭 conceptNarrative
The god's relentless pursuit of a nymph who chose transformation into a laurel tree over submission
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🌿 nymphtransformation
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Castalia
🌿 nymphprophecy, springs
A nymph who was transformed into a spring at Delphi, whose waters inspired prophetic visions.