Apollo
The son of Zeus and Leto, and the twin brother of Artemis. Apollo
was the god of music (principally the lyre, and he directed the
choir of the Muses) and also of prophecy, colonization, medicine,
archery (but not for war or hunting), poetry, dance, intellectual
inquiry and the carer of herds and flocks. He was also a god of
light, known as "Phoebus" (radiant or beaming, and he
was sometimes identified with Helios the sun god). He was also the
god of plague and was worshiped as Smintheus (from sminthos, rat)
and as Parnopius (from parnops, grasshopper) and was known as the
destroyer of rats and locust, and according to Homer's Iliad, Apollo
shot arrows of plague into the Greek camp. Apollo being the god
of religious healing would give those guilty of murder and other
immoral deeds a ritual purification. Sacred to Apollo are the swan
(one legend says that Apollo flew on the back of a swan to the land
of the Hyperboreans, he would spend the winter months among them),
the wolf and the dolphin. His attributes are the bow and arrows,
on his head a laurel crown, and the cithara (or lyre) and plectrum.
But his most famous attribute is the tripod, the symbol of his prophetic
powers.
When the goddesss Hera, the wife of Zeus (it was he who had coupled
with Leto) found out about Leto's pregnancy, she was outraged with
jealousy. Seeking revenge Hera forced Leto to roam the earth in
search of a place to give birth. Sicne Hera had forbidden Leto to
stay anywhere on earth, either on terra-ferma or an island at sea,
the only place to seek shelter was Delos, being in the center of
the Aegean, and also difficult to reach, as there were strong under-currents,
because it was said to be a floating island. Because it was a floating
island, it was not considered either of Hera's prohibitions, and
so Leto was able to give birth to the divine twins Apollo and Artemis
(before Leto gave birth to Apollo, the island was encircled by a
flock of swans, this is why the swan was sacred to him). As a gesture
of thanks Delos was secured to the sea-bed by four columns to give
it stability, and from then on it became one of the most important
sanctuaries to Apollo. (A variation of Apollo's birth was that the
jealous Hera had incarcerated Ilithyia, the goddess of childbirth,
but the other gods intervened forcing Hera to release Ilithyia,
which allowed Leto to give birth ).
Apollo's first achievement was to rid Pytho (Delphi) of the serpent
(or dragon) Python. This monstrous beast protected the sanctuary
of Pytho from its lair beside the Castalian Spring. There it stood
guard while the "Sibyl" gave out her prophecies as she
inhaled the trance inducing vapors from an open chasm. Apollo killed
Python with his bow and arrows (Homer wrote "he killed the
fearsome dragon Python, piercing it with his darts"). Apollo
not only took charge of the oracle but rid the neighboring countryside
of widespread destruction, as Python had destroyed crops, sacked
villages and polluted streams and springs. However, to make amends
for killing Python, as the fearsome beast was the son of Gaia, Apollo
had to serve king Admetus for nine years (in some versions eight)
as a cowherd. This he did, and when he returned to Pytho he came
in the guise of a dolphin bringing with him priests from Crete (Apollo's
cult title "Delphinios" meaning dolphin or porpoise, is
probably how Delphi was so named). After killing Python and taking
possession of the oracle, the god of light (Phobus) became known
as "Pythian Apollo". He dedicated a bronze tripod to the
sanctuary and bestowed divine powers on one of the priestesses,
and she became known as the "Pythia". It was she who inhaled
the hallucinating vapors from the fissure in the temple floor, while
she sat on a tripod chewing laurel leaves. After she mumbled her
answer, a male priest would translate it for the supplicant. Delphi
became the most important oracle center of Apollo, there were several
including Clarus and Branchidae.
Apollo, as with Zeus his father, had many love affairs with goddesses
and mortals. Apollo's infatuation for the nymph Daphne, which had
been invoked by the young god of love Eros, because Apollo had mocked
him, saying his archery skills were pathetic, and Apollo's singing
had also irritated him. Daphne was the beautiful daughter of the
river god Ladon, and she was constantly pursued by Apollo. To escape
from Apollo's insistent behavior, she fled to the mountains, but
the persistent Apollo followed her. Annoyed by this, she asked the
river god Peneus for help, which he did. As soon as Apollo approached
Daphne, he tried to embrace her, but when he stretched out his arms
she transformed into a laurel tree. Apollo, distraught by what had
happened, made the laurel his sacred tree. Apollo also loved Cyrene,
she was another nymph, and she bore Apollo a son: Aristaeus, a demi-god,
who became a protector of cattle and fruit trees, and a deity of
hunting, husbandry and bee-keeping. He taught men dairy skills and
the use of nets and traps in hunting.
The most famous mortal loves of Apollo was Hecuba, she was the
wife of Priam, the king of Troy. She bore him Troilius. Foretold
by an oracle, as long as Troilius reached the age of twenty, Troy
could not be defeated. But the hero Achilles ambushed and killed
him, when the young prince and his sister Polyxena secretly visited
a spring. Apollo also fell in love with Cassandra, the sister of
Troilius, and daughter of Hecuba and Priam. He seduced Cassandra
on the promise that he would teach her the art of prophecy, but
having learnt the prophetic art she rejected him. Apollo, being
angry of her rejection punished her, by declaring her prophecies
never to be accepted or believed.
Asclepius, the god of healing, was also Apollo's offspring, after
his union with Coronis, who was daughter of Phlegyas, king of the
Lapiths. While she was pregnant by Apollo, Coronis fell in love
with Ischys, son of Elatus, but a crow informed Apollo of the affair.
Apollo sent his twin sister Artemis to kill Coronis, and Artemis
carried out he brothers wishes. While her body was burning on the
funeral pyre, Apollo removed the unborn child, and took him to Chiron,
who raised the child Asclepius.
Apollo also, as did his father Zeus, fall in love with one of his
own gender, Hyacinthus, a Spartan prince. He was very handsome and
athletic, which inflamed the passions of Apollo. One day while Apollo
and Hyacinthus were practicing throwing the discus, Zephyrus, the
god of the west wind, who was also attracted to the young prince,
and jealous of Apollo's amorous affection towards the boy, made
the discus veer off course by blowing an ill wind. The discus, which
Apollo had thrown, hit Hyacinthus, smashing his skull. Apollo rushed
to him, but he was dead. The god was overcome with grief, but to
immortalize the love he had for the beautiful youth, he had a flower
grow were his blood had stained the earth. Apollo also loved the
young boy Cyparissus, a descendant of Heracles. The impassioned
Apollo gave Cyparissus a sacred deer, as a love token. The young
deer became tame, and was the constant companion of the boy, until
a tragic accident occurred. As the young deer lay sleeping in the
shade of the undergrowth, Cyparissus threw his javelin, which by
chance hit, and killed the deer. Grief-stricken by what had happened,
Cyparissus wanted to die. He asked Apollo to let his tears fall
for all eternity. With apprehension Apollo transformed the boy into
a tree, the cypress, which became the symbol of sorrow, as the sap
on its trunk forms droplets, like tears.
Apollo could also be ruthless when he was angered. The mortal Niobe,
boasted to Apollo's mother Leto, that she had fourteen children
(in some versions six or seven), which must make her more superior
than Leto, who had only bore two. Apollo greatly angered by this
slew her sons, and Artemis killed Niobe's daughters. Niobe wept
so much that she turned into a pillar of stone. Apollo was infuriated
when the satyr Marsyas challenged Apollo to music contest. After
winning the competition, Apollo had Marsyas flayed alive, for being
so presumptuous, as to challenge a god.
Apollo was worshiped throughout the Greek world, at Delphi every
four years they held the Pythian Games in his honor. He had many
epithets, including "Pythian Apollo" (his name at Delphi),
"Apollo Apotropaeus" (Apollo who averts evil), and "Apollo
Nymphegetes" (Apollo who looks after the Nymphs). As the god
of shepherds he also had the cult titles "Lukeios" (from
lykos; wolf), protecting the flocks from wolfs, and "Nomius"
(of pastures, belonging to shepherds). Being the god of colonists,
Apollo influenced his priests at Delphi to give divine guidance,
as to where the expedition should proceed. This was during the height
of the colonizing era circa 750-550 BCE. Apollo's title was "Archigetes"
(leader of colonists). According to one legend, it was Apollo who
helped either Cretan or Arcadian colonists found the city of Troy.
In art Apollo is at most times depicted as a handsome young man,
clean shaven and carrying either a lyre, or his bow and arrows.
There are many sculptures of Apollo and one of the most famous is
the central figure from the west pediment of the Temple of Zeus,
at Olympia, showing Apollo declaring victory in favor of the Lapiths
in their struggle against the Centaurs.
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