The poem is addressed to the naiad Daphne, evokes the ancient cult of Apollo at Delphi and forecasts that the gods of classical mythology will return. It revolves around the view that paganism has been dormant or clandestine during the Christian epoch and will see a resurgence. It was published in the magazine L'Artiste and Nerval's book Petits châteaux de Bohème (1853) before the complete Chimeras were published in The Daughters of Fire (1854).