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.
A song sung in honor of Apollo is called a "paean. "