Apollo

Greek God of the Sun, the Light, the Music and the Prophecy

Apollo is one of the most complex and important gods, and is the
god of many things, including: music, poetry, art, oracles, archery,
plague, medicine, sun, light and knowledge. He is the son of Zeus
and the Titan Leto, and was born in the Greek island of Delos, along
with his older twin sister Artemis – goddess of the hunt.

Apollo is the ideal of the kouros, which means he has a beardless,

Both medicine and healing are associated with Apollo and were
thought to sometimes be mediated through his son, Asclepius.
However, Apollo could also bring ill-health and deadly plague.

Apollo also became associated with dominion over colonists, and as the patron defender of herds and
flocks. He was the leader of the Muses (also known as Apollon Musegetes) and was director of their
choir – functioning as the patron god of music and poetry.

The god Hermes create the lyre for Apollo and this instrument became a known attribute for him. When
hymns were sung to Apollo they were called paeans

At the drinking parties held on Olympus, Apollo accompanied the Muses on his cithara, while the young
goddesses led the dance. Both Leto and Zeus were proud of their son, who was radiant with grace and
beauty.

Facts about Apollo

Apollo was the son of Leto and Zeus. He was born on the island of Delos.

He and his twin sister Artemis, also an Olympian, shared an aptitude for archery.

His forename, Phoebus, means “bright” or “pure” and connects him to his grandmother, the Titan
Phoebe.

Apollo, a masterful magician, was known for delighting Olympus with tunes played on his golden lyre. His
lyre, a stringed instrument that resembles a small harp, was made by Hermes.

The nine Muses were companions of his; they were goddesses known for inspiring art and music.

Apollo taught men the art of medicine, so he is often referred to as “The Healer.”

Apollo is alternately referred to as the God of Light and the God of Truth.
Apollo served as an intermediary between the gods and men.

Because of his truthfulness and integrity, he was granted the gift of prophecy and oracles.

Apollo defended the oracle at Delphi against Hercules, who was angry at the priestess for having denied
him a prophecy.

Apollo killed a serpent named Python as a result of a contest; it was conquered by a single arrow.

According to Homer’s Illiad, Apollo played a major part in the Trojan War. He infected the Greek
encampment with a plague and aided Paris in killing Achilles.

Ironically, Apollo was also a purifier, able to cleanse even those stained with the blood of their relatives.

The dolphin and swan were the animals sacred to him.

The laurel, used in Greece as a status symbol, was Apollo’s tree.

Apollo accidentally killed his dearest companion, Hyacinthus, in a discus throwing contest.

Apollo is credited with killing the Cyclops in retaliation for arming Zeus with the thunderbolt.

He had many love affairs with both mortals and goddesses. Perhaps the most famous of these women
was a mortal named Hecuba, who was married to the King of

Troy. The union between Apollo and Hecuba produced a son named Troilus.

Apollo’s affections were rejected by Cassandra, yet another mortal, so he punished her by arranging it so
that her prophecies would never be believed.

Asclepius is probably Apollo’s most well-known son, although he had many offspring.

god of : music, intelligence, civilization, truth, logic, reason, prophecy, purification, poetry, plague,
oracles, sun, healing, archery, light, and medicine

Symbols: Lyre, Laurel Wreath, Bow and Arrows, Tripod, Myrtle, Python, Crow, Wolf, Dolphin, Swan,
Mouse

Sacred animals:Wolf, Dolphin,Swan

Parents: Zeus and Leto

Consort: Daphne, Leucothea, Kyrene, Marpesia, Kastalia, Hekuba, Kassandra, Coronis, Thalia, Kalliope

Children:Asclepius, Troilus, Aristaeus, Orpheus

Birth
When Apollo's mother was in labor with him and his twin sister Artemis, she was looking for a place to
give birth, however, Hera had made all land shun her so she was unable to find a place to give birth. Hera
was very sour towards her because Zeus was her children's father and Hera disliked that Zeus kept
having children with other women and goddesses. But Poseidon took pity on Leto and showed her an
island that was not attached to the sea floor so it technically was not considered land. So Leto traveled
there and gave birth. The little floating island is called Delos.

god of Prophecy

Apollo was the god of prophecy he decided that he needed a place where mortals could come and ask
questions to him and he would use his gift of prophecy to answer them. He found a perfect place called
Pytho. The only bad part was that a terrible, giant snake called Python was living there and was
terrorizing all the other living creatures there. So he killed the snake and renamed the place Delphi. He
created his temple and the oracles spoke to the mortals prophecies in which Apollo would give to them
to give to mortals.

More About Apollo

Eros was a very mischievous person and liked to cause all sorts of trouble. So one day he shot Apollo
with a golden arrow to make him fall in love with a beautiful nymph named Daphne. But Eros shot
Daphne with a lead arrow making her feel hatred for Apollo. Apollo ran after her and she ran away.
Daphne was frightened so she called to her father, Peneus, and he transformed her into a Laurel tree. As
she turned into a tree, Apollo embraces her. Apollo, saddened by her running away from him, took some
of the leaves and made a laurel wreath so that she would always be close to him.There is a version of this
myth saying that Apollo caused this trouble with Eros. It says that he saw Eros playing with his bow, and
he insulted him, telling him to "play with his own little bows and arrows" because he had slain a mighty
serpent with his bow. Eros was offended, and decided to play a trick on him, and that is why he caused
the trouble with Daphne.

Music Contest

There was once a satyr named Marsyas. He was a wonderful player of the double flute, an instrument he
found abandoned by Athena, and all the forests came to listen to him play the flute. One day Marsyas
said that he was a better musician that the god of music himself, Apollo. This angered Apollo and so
Apollo challenged Marsyas to a music competition. The winner could do anything they want to the loser.
Marsyas played his pipes and he was wonderful but when Apollo played the lyre...he was better. So
Apollo won and because Marsyas had dared to even say that he was even close to being as good at him,
he skinned him alive and hung him from a tree.

Niobe's Tragedy

Niobe was a mortal woman, the queen of Thebes and wife of Amphion, who once boasted that she was
better than Leto as she had fourteen children while Leto only had two. Unfortunately, Niobe's claims had
enraged the twin gods themselves, Apollo and Artemis, who were extremely protective of their mother
and her honor and the two descended to Earth to punish Niobe.

The very next day, Niobe's son's were killed by Apollo and her daughters were killed by Artemis, though
in some myths, the twins spared one of the innocent children, usually being Meliboea, the youngest of
Niobe's children. It is said that she was so horrified by the deaths of her siblings that her skin turned a
sickly shade of white for the rest of her life.

Devastated by the death of her children, Niobe fled to Mount Sipylus where she wept for days without
stopping. Zeus eventually took pity on the devastated mother and turned her to stone in order to spare
her of any more agony. However, Niobe's stone body continued to weep and it is said that her endless
tears formed the river, Achelous.

The bodies of Niobe's children were left un-buried for nine days as Zeus had also turn everyone in the
city to stone. On the tenth day, the Gods finally took pity and entombed the children's bodies
themselves.

In some myths one of the fourteen children prayed to Apollo to not kill him but it was too late as Apollo
had already shot the arrow.

Agamemnon's Mistake

Chryses was a priest of Apollo. He respected Apollo and didn't ever disrespect him. But one day the
Greek hero, Agamemnon, insulted the old man and refused to return his daughter, Chryseis, so he was
angry. So Chryses prayed to Apollo to get revenge on the man for the insult. And Apollo, grateful for the
man's service as a priest, went to the Greek camp for nine days and shot poisoned arrows at the men
and all their animals, spreading a plague on the Greeks in the Trojan War.

Apollo and Cassandra

Apollo once fell in love with a princess Cassandra. She was the daughter of Priam, the king of Troy, and
Hecuba. Because he liked her, he gifted her with the gift of prophecy. Even though Apollo gave her the
gift of prophecy she still disliked him. So he made it so that nobody would believe whatever she said
about the future. She foretold the downfall of Troy, but nobody believed her. She foretold the dangers of
the Trojan Horse, but nobody believed her. Then finally she foretold that Clytemnestra, the wife of
Agamemnon, was going to kill him, but he didn't believe her. As Agamemnon returned to his wife, she
and her new husband, Aegisthus, murdered him and Cassandra.

The Erymanthian Boar

Apollo once fell in love with a princess Cassandra. She was the daughter of Priam, the king of Troy, and
Hecuba. Because he liked her, he gifted her with the gift of prophecy. Even though Apollo gave her the
gift of prophecy she still disliked him. So he made it so that nobody would believe whatever she said
about the future. She foretold the downfall of Troy, but nobody believed her. She foretold the dangers of
the Trojan Horse, but nobody believed her. Then finally she foretold that Clytemnestra, the wife of
Agamemnon, was going to kill him, but he didn't believe her. As Agamemnon returned to his wife, she
and her new husband, Aegisthus, murdered him and Cassandra.

Telphousa

After Leto gave birth to Apollo, she fed him ambrosia and nectar which enabled him to travel around the
earth at a young age. When he was searching all over the world for a place to found his shrine, he came
across a place called Haliartos in western Boiotia. When he wanted to use this spring, the nymph of the
spring Telphousa knew and did not want to share her spot, so she told Apollo to move to Krisa, a place
on the southern slopes of Mount Parnassos and she said that it was far more peaceful than her spring.
So Apollo went there and chose the spot called Delphi but it was plagued by a gigantic snake called
Python. After killing Python, Apollo was furious as Telphousa led him to the lair of a monster so he went
back to the spring and covered it with rocks and subordinated her cult to his own by building an altar to
Telphousian Apollo in a nearby grove. A long time later, the famous seer called Tiresias came to
Telphousa's spring and drank from it but died.