Giulio Romano, Apollo and Kyparissos (1596), Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, Sweden

In Greek mythology, the Chian myth tells of Cyparissus (greek: κυπάρρισσος; latin: cupressus) ), a young boy and son of Telephus, was one of Apollo's lovers. Apollo gave the boy a tame deer as a companion but Cyparissus accidentally killed it with a javelin as it lay asleep in the undergrowth. Cyparissus asked Apollo to let his tears fall forever. Apollo turned the sad boy into a cypress tree, which was said to be a sad tree because the sap forms droplets like tears on the trunk. He was one of the trees Orpheus charmed.