The sun god Apollo pursues the terrified nymph Daphne in an attempt to rape her. She asks her father, the river god Peneus, for help and consequently turns into a laurel tree (laurea is Latin for Greek daphne). Like many of the transformations in 'Metamorphoses', this occurs as a result of divine intervention and is not necessarily a degradation. Here it can be interpreted as a form of escape, or even as an assertion of female agency. In keeping with Ovid’s descriptions, the artist has stressed the closeness of the pursuer to the pursued. The action is further intensified by showing Daphne in the process of metamorphosing while still in flight.