Laurel wreath
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A laurel wreath is a horseshoe or circle-shaped wreath made from laurel that you wear on your head. In Greek mythology the god Apollo is shown wearing a laurel wreath because of the story of Apollo and Daphne. In Ancient Greece it was given to special people, such as winners in competitions in poetry or sports, such as the Ancient Olympic Games.
It was also used in Ancient Rome, and Roman Emperors are often shown wearing laurel wreaths.
Until our time laurel wreaths are used to show someone is or has done something special (for example the Summer Olympics 2004 in Athens, Greece gave laurel wreaths to the winners). The saying "resting on one's laurels" comes from this and means that you do nothing now because you did something good in the past.
