Peneus
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- See also Pineios River (Thessaly) and Pineios River (Peloponnese).
In Greek mythology, Peneus (Πηνειός) was a river god, one of the three-thousand Rivers, a child of Oceanus and Tethys. The nymph Creusa bore him one son, Hypseus, who was King of the Lapiths, and three daughters, Cyrene, Daphne, and Stilbe
Eros, the Greek God of Love, shot Apollo, the Greek God of the sun, with one of his arrows, causing him to fall in love with Peneus' daughter Daphne. In an Arcadian version she the myth she was, instead, the daughter of the river god Ladon.
It was Eros's plan that Daphne would scorn Apollo because Eros was angry that Apollo had made fun of his archery skills. Eros also claimed to be irritated by Apollo's singing. Daphne prayed to the river god Peneus to help her. He changed her into a laurel tree, which later became sacred to Apollo - see Apollo and Daphne.
[edit] References
M. Grant and J. Hazel, Who's Who in Greek Mythology, David McKay & Co Inc, 1979