The ancient Greeks believed that sunflowers turned towards the sun because of the nymph Clytie's adoration of Apollo, the God of the Sun. At first he loved her too but then he turned his affections towards another nymph. In a jealous rage, Clytie told the other nymph's father and as punishment he buried her alive. Outraged, Apollo turned Clytie into a sunflower, but her love for him was so strong she watched him move across the sky each day - just as sunflowers follow the sun. The scientific name for the sunflower is Helianthus. It comes from the Greek words "helios", meaning sun, and "anthus", meaning flower.