Myths & Legends: Clytie, the Sunflower

Clytie and her sister, Leucothea, were water nymphs. Early every morning they used to come up from the depths of their river, with other nymphs from neighboring streams and fountains, and dance among the water-plants on its shores. But with the first rays of the rising sun, all the dancers plunged back into the water and disappeared; for that was the law among water nymphs. One morning Clytie and Leucothea broke this law. When the sun began to show above the hills and all the other nymphs rushed back to their streams, these two sat back on their riverbank and watched for the coming of the sun god. Then as Apollo drove his horses across the sky, they sat and watched him all day long. They thought they had never seen anything so glorious. The god sat in his golden chariot with his crown on his head and kept a firm rein on the four fire-breathing horses. The sisters were dazzled by the glitter of the chariot and the radiance of the jeweled crown. Apollo smiled upon them, and they were happy. When night came, they returned to their river, where they could not think of nothing else but Apollo and his golden chariot. Before morning they fell into quarreling, as sisters sometimes will. Clytie told King Oceanus how Leucothea had broken the law of the water nymphs but didn&say she had broken it also. King Oceanus was very angry and shut Leucothea up in a cave. Just before daylight, Clytie went up to dance with the other nymphs, as usual, and once more she remained on the shore...