Birth In myth, Apollo is the son of
Zeus, the king of the gods, and
Leto.
Homeric Hymn to Apollo Pregnant with the offspring of Zeus, Leto wandered through many lands wanting to give birth to Apollo, but she was rejected everywhere out of fear. Upon reaching Delos, Leto requested the island to shelter her, and that in return her son would bring fame and prosperity to the island. Delos then revealed to Leto that Apollo was rumoured to be the god who will "greatly lord it among gods and men all over the fruitful earth". For this reason, people were fearful, and Delos worried that Apollo would cast her aside once he was born. Hearing this, Leto swore on the river Styx that if she was allowed to give birth on the island, her son would honor Delos the most among all the other lands. Assured by this, Delos agreed to assist Leto. All goddesses except Hera also came to aid Leto.
Callimachus's Hymn to Delos The island Delos used to be
Asteria, a goddess who jumped into the waters to escape the advances of Zeus and became a free-floating island of the same name. When Leto got pregnant, Hera was told that Leto's son would become more dear to Zeus than Ares. Enraged by this, Hera watched over the heavens and sent out Ares and Iris to prevent Leto from giving birth on the earth. Ares, stationed over the mainland, and Iris, over the islands, threatened all the lands and prevented them from helping Leto. |left
Pindar Pindar is the earliest source who explicitly calls Apollo and Artemis twins. Wanting to escape Zeus's advances, Leto's sister Asteria flung herself into the sea and became a floating rock called Ortygia until the twins were born. When Leto stepped on the rock, four pillars with adamantine bases rose from the earth and held up the rock. When Apollo and Artemis were born, their bodies shone radiantly and a chant was sung by Eileithyia and
Lachesis, one of the three
Moirai.
Hyginus Scorning the advances of Zeus, Asteria transformed herself into a bird and jumped into a sea. From her, an island rose which was called Ortygia. When Hera discovered that Leto was pregnant with Zeus's child, she decreed that Leto can give birth only in a place where sun does not shine. During this time, the monster Python also started hounding Leto with an intent of killing her, because he had foreseen his death coming at the hands of Leto's offspring. However, on Zeus's orders,
Boreas carried away Leto and entrusted her to
Poseidon. To protect her, Poseidon took her to the island Ortygia and covered it with waves so that the sun would not shine on it. Leto gave birth clinging to an
olive tree and henceforth the island was called Delos.
Other variations Aelian states that it took Leto twelve days and twelve nights to travel from Hyperborea to Delos. Leto changed herself into a she-wolf before giving birth. This is given as the reason why Homer describes Apollo as the "wolf-born god". According to Strabo, the
Curetes helped Leto by creating loud noises with their weapons and thus frightening Hera, they concealed Leto's childbirth. Theognis wrote that the island was filled with ambrosial fragrance when Apollo was born, and the Earth laughed with joy. In some versions,
Artemis was born first and subsequently assisted with the birth of Apollo. While in some accounts Apollo's birth itself fixed the floating Delos to the earth, there are accounts of Apollo securing Delos to the bottom of the ocean a little while later. This island became sacred to Apollo and was one of the major cult centres of the god. Apollo was born on the seventh day (,
hebdomagenes) of the month
Thargelion—according to Delian tradition—or of the month
Bysios—according to Delphian tradition. The seventh and twentieth, the days of the new and full moon, were ever afterwards held sacred to him.
Hyperborea ,
Turkey Hyperborea, the mystical land of eternal spring, venerated Apollo above all the gods. The Hyperboreans always sang and danced in his honor and hosted
Pythian games. There, a vast forest of beautiful trees was called "the garden of Apollo". Apollo spent the winter months among the Hyperboreans, He returned to the world during the beginning of the spring. The
Theophania festival was held in
Delphi to celebrate his return. However, Diodorus Silculus states that Apollo visited Hyperborea every nineteen years. This nineteen-year period was called by the Greeks as the 'year of Meton', the time period in which the stars returned to their initial positions. And that visiting Hyperborea at that time, Apollo played on the cithara and danced continuously from the vernal equinox until the rising of the
Pleiades (constellations). Hyperborea was also Leto's birthplace. It is said that Leto came to Delos from Hyperborea accompanied by a pack of wolves. Henceforth, Hyperborea became Apollo's winter home and wolves became sacred to him. His intimate connection to wolves is evident from his epithet
Lyceus, meaning
wolf-like. But Apollo was also the wolf-slayer in his role as the god who protected flocks from predators. The Hyperborean worship of Apollo bears the strongest marks of Apollo being worshipped as the sun god. Shamanistic elements in Apollo's cult are often liked to his Hyperborean origin, and he is likewise speculated to have originated as a solar shaman. Shamans like
Abaris and
Aristeas were also the followers of Apollo, who hailed from Hyperborea. In myths, the tears of amber Apollo shed when his son Asclepius died mixed with the waters of the river Eridanos, which surrounded Hyperborea. Apollo also buried in Hyperborea the arrow which he had used to kill the
Cyclopes. He later gave this arrow to Abaris.
Childhood and youth Growing up, Apollo was nursed by the nymphs Korythalia and
Aletheia, the personification of truth.
Phoebe, his grandmother, gave the oracular shrine of
Delphi to Apollo as a birthday gift. As a four-year-old child, Apollo built a foundation and an altar on Delos using the horns of the goats that his sister Artemis hunted. Since he learnt the art of building when young, he came to be known as
Archegetes, (
the founder of towns) and guided men to build new cities. To keep the child amused, the Delian nymphs ran around the altar beating it, and then with their hands tied behind their backs, bit an olive branch. It later became a custom for all the sailors who passed by the island to do the same. From his father Zeus, Apollo received a golden headband and a chariot driven by swans. In his early years when Apollo spent his time herding cows, he was reared by the
Thriae, who trained him and enhanced his prophetic skills. The god Pan was also said to have mentored him in the prophetic art. Apollo is also said to have invented the lyre, and along with Artemis, the art of archery. He then taught the humans the art of healing and archery.
Slaying of Python |left
Python, a
chthonic serpent-dragon, was a child of Gaia and the guardian of the
Delphic Oracle. In Callimachus's hymn to Delos, fetal Apollo foresees the death of Python at his hands. Other authors have Apollo kill the monster using a hundred arrows or a thousand arrows. According to Euripides, Leto had brought her twins to the cliffs of Parnassus shortly after giving birth to them. Upon seeing the monster there, Apollo, still a child being carried in his mother's arms, leapt forth and killed Python. Some authors also mention that Python was killed for displaying lustful affections towards Leto. In another account, Python chased pregnant Leto with an intent of killing her because his death was fated to come at the hands of Leto's child. However, he had to stop the chase when Leto came under the protection of Poseidon. After his birth, four days old Apollo killed the serpent with the bow and arrows gifted to him by Hephaestus and avenged the trouble given to his mother. The god then put the bones of the slain monster in a cauldron and deposited it in his temple. This legend is also narrated as the origin of the cry "
Hië paian". According to Athenaeus, Python attacked Leto and her twins during their visit to Delphi. Taking Artemis into her arms, Leto climbed upon a rock and cried at Apollo to shoot the monster. The cry let out by her, "ιε, παῖ" ("Shoot, boy") later got slightly altered as "ἰὴ παιών" (
Hië paian), an exclamation to avert evils. Callimachus attributes the origin of this phrase to the Delphians, who let out the cry to encourage Apollo when the young god battled with Python. Strabo has recorded a slightly different version where Python was actually a cruel and lawless man who was also known by the name "Drakon". When Apollo was teaching the humans to cultivate fruits and civilise themselves, the residents of Parnassus complained to the god about Python. In response to their pleas, Apollo killed the man with his arrows. During the fight, the Parnassians shouted
"Hië paian" to encourage the god.
Establishment of worship in Delphi Continuing from his victory over Python, the Homeric hymn describes how the young god established his worship among the humans. As Apollo was pondering about what kind of men he should recruit to serve him, he spotted a ship full of Cretan merchants or pirates. He took the form of a dolphin and sprang aboard the ship. Whenever the oblivious crew members tried throwing the dolphin overboard, the god shook the ship until the crew was awed into submission. Apollo then created a breeze that directed the ship to Delphi. Upon reaching the land, he revealed himself as a god and initiated them as his priests. He instructed them to guard his temple and always keep righteousness in their hearts. Alcaeus narrates the following account: Zeus, who had adorned his newborn son with a golden headband, also provided him with a chariot driven by swans and instructed Apollo to visit Delphi to establish his laws among the people. But Apollo disobeyed his father and went to the land of
Hyperborea. The Delphians continuously sung paeans in his honour and pleaded him to come back to them. The god returned only after a year and then carried out Zeus's orders. In other variations, the shrine at Delphi was simply handed over to Apollo by his grandmother Phoebe as a gift, gifts the oracular tripod to Apollo, by
John Flaxman However, in many other accounts, Apollo had to overcome certain obstacles before he was able to establish himself at Delphi. Gaea came in conflict with Apollo for killing Python and claiming the Delphic oracle for himself. According to Pindar, she sought to banish Apollo to Tartarus as a punishment. According to Euripides, soon after Apollo took the ownership of the oracle, Gaea started sending prophetic dreams to the humans. As a result, people stopped visiting Delphi to obtain prophecies. Troubled by this, Apollo went to Olympus and supplicated to Zeus. Zeus, admiring the ambitions of his young son, granted his request by putting an end to the dream visions. This sealed the role of Apollo as the oracular deity of Delphi. Since Apollo had committed a blood crime, he also had to be purified. Pausanias has recorded two of the many variations of this purification. In one of them, both Apollo and Artemis fled to Sicyon and were purified there. In the other tradition that had been prevalent among the Cretans, Apollo alone travelled to Crete and was purified by
Carmanor. In another account, the Argive king
Crotopus was the one who performed the purification rites on Apollo alone. According the Aristonous and Aelian, Apollo was purified by the will of Zeus in the
Vale of Tempe. Aristonous has continued the tale, saying that Apollo was escorted back to Delphi by Athena. As a token of gratitude, he later built a temple for Athena at Delphi, which served as a threshold for his own temple. Upon reaching Delphi, Apollo convinced Gaea and Themis into handing over the seat of oracle to him. To celebrate this event, other immortals also graced Apollo with gifts – Poseidon gave him the land of Delphi, the Delphian nymphs gifted him the Corycian cave, and Artemis set her dogs to patrol and safeguard the land. Plutarch, however, has mentioned a variation where Apollo was neither purified in Tempe nor banished to Earth as a servant for nine years, but was driven out to another world for nine great years. The god who returned was cleansed and purified, thus becoming a "true Phoebus – that is to say, clear and bright". He then took over the Delphic oracle, which had been under the care of Themis in his absence. Henceforth, Apollo became the god who cleansed himself from the sin of murder, made men aware of their guilt and purified them. The Pythian games were also established by Apollo, either as funeral games to honor Python
Tityus (centre), Attic red-figure kylix, 460–450 BC
Tityus was another giant who tried to rape Leto, either on his own accord when she was on her way to Delphi or at the order of Hera. Leto called upon on her children who instantly slew the giant. Apollo, still a young boy, shot him with his arrows. In some accounts, Artemis also joined him in protecting their mother by attacking Tityos with her arrows.
Admetus , by
Felice Gianni Admetus was the king of
Pherae, who was known for his hospitality. When Apollo was exiled from Olympus for killing Python, he served as a herdsman under Admetus, who was then young and unmarried. Apollo is said to have shared a romantic relationship with Admetus during his stay. After completing his years of servitude, Apollo went back to Olympus as a god. The servitude was said to have lasted for either one year, or one great year (a cycle of eight years), or nine years. Because Admetus had treated Apollo well, the god conferred great benefits on him in return. Apollo's mere presence is said to have made the cattle give birth to twins. by taming a lion and a boar to draw Admetus's chariot. He was present during their wedding to give his blessings. When Admetus angered the goddess Artemis by forgetting to give her the due offerings, Apollo came to the rescue and calmed his sister. Apollo would have been banished to
Tartarus for this, but his mother
Leto intervened, and reminding Zeus of their old love, pleaded with him not to kill their son. Zeus obliged and sentenced Apollo to one year of
hard labor once again under Admetus.
Building the walls of Troy Once Apollo and
Poseidon served under the Trojan king
Laomedon in accordance with Zeus's words. Apollodorus states that the gods willingly went to the king disguised as humans in order to check his hubris. Apollo guarded the cattle of Laomedon in the valleys of Mount Ida, while Poseidon built the walls of Troy. Other versions make both Apollo and Poseidon the builders of the wall. In Ovid's account, Apollo completes his task by playing his tunes on his lyre. In
Pindar's odes, the gods took a mortal named
Aeacus as their assistant. When the work was completed, three snakes rushed against the wall, and though the two that attacked the sections of the wall built by the gods fell down dead, the third forced its way into the city through the portion of the wall built by Aeacus. Apollo immediately prophesied that
Troy would fall at the hands of Aeacus's descendants, the
Aeacidae (i.e. his son Telamon joined
Heracles when he sieged the city during Laomedon's rule. Later, his great-grandson
Neoptolemus was present in the wooden horse that leads to the downfall of Troy). However, the king not only refused to give the gods the wages he had promised, but also threatened to bind their hands and feet, as well as to sell them as slaves. Angered by the unpaid labour and the insults, Apollo infected the city with a pestilence and Poseidon sent the sea monster
Cetus. To deliver the city from it, Laomedon had to sacrifice his daughter
Hesione (who would later be saved by
Heracles). During his stay in Troy, Apollo had a lover named Ourea, who was a nymph and daughter of Poseidon. Together they had a son named Ileus, whom Apollo loved dearly.
Trojan War Apollo sided with the Trojans during the
Trojan War. During the war, the Greek king
Agamemnon captured
Chryseis, the daughter of Apollo's priest
Chryses, and refused to return her. Angered by this, Apollo shot arrows infected with the plague into the Greek encampment. He demanded that they return the girl, and the Greeks complied, indirectly causing the
anger of Achilles, which is the theme of the
Iliad. with his
aegis, and dispersing the Greeks, by
John Flaxman Receiving the
aegis from Zeus, Apollo entered the battlefield on his father's command, causing great terror to the enemy with his war cry. He pushed the Greeks back and destroyed many of the soldiers. He is described as "the rouser of armies" because he rallied the Trojan army when they were falling apart. When Zeus allowed the other gods to get involved in the war, Apollo was provoked by Poseidon to a duel. However, Apollo declined to fight him, saying that he would not fight his uncle for the sake of mortals. from pursuing
Aeneas When the Greek hero
Diomedes injured the Trojan hero
Aeneas,
Aphrodite tried to rescue him, but Diomedes injured her as well. Apollo then enveloped Aeneas in a cloud to protect him. He repelled the attacks Diomedes made on him and gave the hero a stern warning to abstain from attacking a god. Aeneas was then taken to Pergamos, a sacred spot in
Troy, where he was healed. After the death of
Sarpedon, a son of Zeus, Apollo rescued the corpse from the battlefield as per his father's wish and cleaned it. He then gave it to Sleep (
Hypnos) and Death (
Thanatos). Apollo had also once convinced Athena to stop the war for that day, so that the warriors can relieve themselves for a while. The Trojan hero
Hector (who, according to some, was the god's own son by
Hecuba) was favored by Apollo. When he got severely injured, Apollo healed him and encouraged him to take up his arms. During a duel with
Achilles, when Hector was about to lose, Apollo hid Hector in a cloud of mist to save him. When the Greek warrior
Patroclus tried to get into the fort of Troy, he was stopped by Apollo. Encouraging Hector to attack Patroclus, Apollo stripped the armour of the Greek warrior and broke his weapons. Patroclus was eventually killed by Hector. At last, after Hector's fated death, Apollo protected his corpse from Achilles's attempt to mutilate it by creating a magical cloud over the corpse, shielding it from the rays of the
sun. Apollo held a grudge against Achilles throughout the war because Achilles had murdered his son
Tenes before the war began and brutally assassinated his son
Troilus in his own temple. Not only did Apollo save Hector from Achilles, he also tricked Achilles by disguising himself as a Trojan warrior and driving him away from the gates. Finally, Apollo caused Achilles's death by guiding an arrow shot by
Paris into
Achilles' heel. In some versions, Apollo himself killed Achilles by taking the disguise of Paris. Apollo helped many Trojan warriors—including
Agenor,
Polydamas, and
Glaucus—in the battlefield. Though he greatly favored the Trojans, Apollo was bound to follow the orders of Zeus and served his father loyally during the war.
Nurturer of the young Apollo
Kourotrophos is the god who nurtures and protects children and the young, especially boys. He oversees their education and their passage into adulthood. Education is said to have originated from Apollo and the
Muses.
Chiron, the abandoned
centaur, was fostered by Apollo, who instructed him in fields including medicine, prophecy, and archery.
Anius, Apollo's son by
Rhoeo, was abandoned by his mother soon after his birth. Apollo brought him up and educated him in mantic arts. Anius later became the priest of Apollo and the king of Delos.
Iamus was the son of Apollo and
Evadne. When Evadne went into labour, Apollo sent the
Moirai to assist his lover. After the child was born, Apollo sent snakes to feed the child some honey. When Iamus reached the age of education, Apollo took him to Olympia and taught him many arts, including the ability to understand and explain the languages of birds.
Idmon was educated by Apollo to be a seer. Even though he foresaw his death that would happen in his journey with the
Argonauts, he embraced his destiny and died a brave death. To commemorate his son's bravery, Apollo commanded Boeotians to build a town around the tomb of the hero, and to honor him.
God of music and
Cyparissus singing and playing, by
Alexander Ivanov 1831–1834 Immediately after his birth, Apollo demanded a lyre and invented the
paean, thus becoming the god of music. As the divine singer, he is the patron of poets, singers and musicians. The invention of string music is attributed to him.
Plato said that the innate ability of humans to take delight in music, rhythm and harmony is the gift of Apollo and the Muses. According to
Socrates, ancient Greeks believed that Apollo is the god who directs the harmony and makes all things move together, both for the gods and the humans. For this reason, he was called
Homopolon before the
Homo was replaced by
A. Apollo's harmonious music delivered people from their pain, and hence, like Dionysus, he is also called the liberator. Among the
Pythagoreans, the study of mathematics and music were connected to the worship of Apollo, their principal deity. Their belief was that music purifies the soul, just as medicine purifies the body. They also believed that music was delegated to the same mathematical laws of harmony as the mechanics of the cosmos, evolving into an idea known as the
music of the spheres. Apollo appears as the companion of the
Muses, and as
Musagetes ("leader of Muses") he leads them in dance. They spend their time on
Parnassus, which is one of their sacred places. Apollo is also the lover of the Muses and by them he became the father of famous musicians like
Orpheus and
Linus. Apollo is often found delighting the immortal gods with his songs and music on the
lyre. In his role as the god of banquets, he was always present to play music at weddings of the gods, like the marriage of
Eros and
Psyche,
Peleus and
Thetis. He is a frequent guest of the
Bacchanalia, and many ancient ceramics depict him being at ease amidst the
maenads and satyrs. Apollo also participated in musical contests when challenged by others. He was the victor in all those contests, but he tended to punish his opponents severely for their
hubris.
Apollo's lyre The invention of the lyre is attributed either to
Hermes or to Apollo himself. Distinctions have been made that Hermes invented lyre made of tortoise shell, whereas the lyre Apollo invented was a regular lyre. The
Homeric Hymn to Hermes tells that the infant Hermes stole a number of Apollo's cows and took them to a cave in the woods near
Pylos, covering their tracks. In the cave, he found a
tortoise and killed it, then removed the insides. He used seven gut strings from sheep and the tortoise shell and made his
lyre. Upon discovering the theft, Apollo confronted Hermes and asked him to return his cattle. When Hermes acted innocent, Apollo took the matter to Zeus. Zeus, having seen the events, sided with Apollo, and ordered Hermes to return the cattle. Hermes then began to play music on the lyre he had invented. Apollo fell in love with the instrument and offered to exchange the cattle for the lyre. Hence, Apollo then became the master of the lyre. According to other versions, Apollo had invented the lyre himself, whose strings he tore in repenting of the excess punishment he had given to
Marsyas. Hermes's lyre, therefore, would be a reinvention.
Musical contests Once
Pan had the audacity to compare his music with that of Apollo and to challenge the god of music to a contest. The mountain-god
Tmolus was chosen to umpire. Pan blew on his pipes, and with his rustic melody gave great satisfaction to himself and his faithful follower,
Midas, who happened to be present. Then, Apollo struck the strings of his lyre. It was so beautiful that Tmolus at once awarded the victory to Apollo, and everyone was pleased with the judgement. Only Midas dissented and questioned the justice of the award. Apollo did not want to suffer such a depraved pair of ears any longer, and caused them to become the ears of a donkey.
Marsyas was a
satyr who was punished by Apollo for his
hubris; he thought he was better than the god, and challenged him to a musical contest. This contest was judged by the
Muses, or the nymphs of
Nysa. Marsyas taunted Apollo for "wearing his hair long, for having a fair face and smooth body, for his skill in so many arts". The contestants agreed to take turns displaying their skills and the rule was that the victor could "do whatever he wanted" to the loser. , by
Palma il Giovane|left According to one account, after the first round, they both were deemed equal by the
Nysiads. But in the next round, Apollo decided to play on his lyre and add his melodious voice to his performance. Marsyas argued against this, saying that Apollo would have an advantage and accused Apollo of cheating. But Apollo replied that since Marsyas played the flute, which needed air blown from the throat, it was similar to singing, and that either they both should get an equal chance to combine their skills or none of them should use their mouths at all. The nymphs decided that Apollo's argument was just. Apollo then played his lyre and sang at the same time, mesmerising the audience. Marsyas could not do this. Apollo was declared the winner and, angered with Marsyas's haughtiness and his accusations, decided to flay the satyr. According to another account, Marsyas played his flute out of tune at one point and accepted his defeat. Out of shame, he assigned to himself the punishment of being skinned for a wine sack. Another variation is that Apollo played his instrument upside down. Marsyas could not do this with his instrument. So the Muses who were the judges declared Apollo the winner. Apollo hung Marsyas from a tree to flay him. Apollo
flayed the limbs of Marsyas alive in a cave near
Celaenae in
Phrygia for his
hubris to challenge a god. He then gave the rest of his body for proper burial and nailed Marsyas's flayed skin to a nearby pine-tree as a lesson to the others. Marsyas's blood turned into the river Marsyas. But Apollo soon repented and being distressed at what he had done, he tore the strings of his lyre and threw it away. The lyre was later discovered by the Muses and Apollo's sons
Linus and
Orpheus. The Muses fixed the middle string, Linus the string struck with the forefinger, and Orpheus the lowest string and the one next to it. They took it back to Apollo, but the god, who had decided to stay away from music for a while, laid away both the lyre and the pipes at Delphi and joined
Cybele in her wanderings to as far as
Hyperborea.
Agamemnon invoked Apollo against Cinyras, a ruler of
Cyprus, asking the god to avenge a broken promise. Apollo then had a
lyre-playing contest with Cinyras, defeating him. Cinyras either committed suicide when he lost or was killed by Apollo.
Patron of sailors Apollo functions as the patron and protector of sailors, one of the duties he shares with
Poseidon. When Apollo spotted a ship of Cretan sailors that were caught in a storm, he quickly assumed the shape of a dolphin and guided their ship safely to Delphi. When the
Argonauts faced a terrible storm,
Jason prayed to his patron, Apollo, to help them. Apollo used his bow and golden arrow to shed light upon an island, where the Argonauts soon took shelter. This island was renamed "
Anaphe", which means "He revealed it". Apollo helped the Greek hero
Diomedes, to escape from a great tempest during his journey homeward. As a token of gratitude, Diomedes built a temple in honor of Apollo under the epithet Epibaterius ("the embarker"). During the Trojan War,
Odysseus came to the Trojan camp to return Chriseis, the daughter of Apollo's priest
Chryses, and brought many offerings to Apollo. Pleased with this, Apollo sent gentle breezes that helped Odysseus return safely to the Greek camp.
Wars When Zeus suggested that
Dionysus defeat the Indians in order to earn a place among the gods, Dionysus declared war against the Indians and travelled to India along with his army of
Bacchantes and
satyrs. Among the warriors was
Aristaeus, Apollo's son. Apollo armed his son with his own hands and gave him a bow and arrows and fitted a strong shield to his arm. After Zeus urged Apollo to join the war, he went to the battlefield. Seeing several of his
nymphs and Aristaeus drowning in a river, he took them to safety and healed them. He taught Aristaeus more useful healing arts and sent him back to help the army of Dionysus. During the war between the sons of
Oedipus, Apollo favored
Amphiaraus, a seer and one of the leaders in the war. Though saddened that the seer was fated to be doomed in the war, Apollo made Amphiaraus's last hours glorious by "lighting his shield and his helm with starry gleam". When
Hypseus tried to kill the hero with a spear, Apollo directed the spear towards the charioteer of Amphiaraus instead. Apollo then replaced the charioteer and took the reins in his hands. He deflected many spears and arrows away from them. He also killed many of the enemy warriors like
Melaneus,
Antiphus, Aetion, Polites and
Lampus. At last, when the moment of departure came, Apollo expressed his grief with tears in his eyes and bid farewell to Amphiaraus, who was soon engulfed by the Earth. During the
Gigantomachy, Apollo and
Heracles blinded the giant Ephialtes by shooting him in his eyes, Apollo shooting his left and Heracles his right. He also killed
Porphyrion, the king of giants, using his bow and arrows. The
Aloadae, namely Otis and Ephialtes, were twin giants who decided to wage war upon the gods. They attempted to storm Mt. Olympus by piling up mountains, and threatened to fill the sea with mountains and inundate dry land. They even dared to seek the hand of Hera and Artemis in marriage. Angered by this, Apollo killed them by shooting them with arrows. According to another tale, Apollo killed them by sending a deer between them; as they tried to kill it with their javelins, they accidentally stabbed each other and died.
Phorbas was a savage giant king of
Phlegyas, described as having swine-like features. He wished to plunder Delphi for its wealth, and captured its old people and children, sending them to his army to hold them for ransom. He challenged the young and sturdy men to a boxing match, only to behead them when they were defeated; he hung the decapitated heads to an oak tree. Finally, Apollo entered a boxing contest with Phorbas and killed him with a single blow.
Other stories In the first
Olympic games, Apollo defeated
Ares and became the victor in wrestling. He outran
Hermes in the race and won first place. Apollo divides months into summer and winter. He rides on the back of a swan to the land of the
Hyperboreans during the winter months, and the absence of warmth in winter is due to his departure. During his absence, Delphi was under the care of
Dionysus, and no prophecies were given during winters.
Molpadia and Parthenos Molpadia and Parthenos were the sisters of
Rhoeo, a former lover of Apollo. One day, they were put in charge of watching their father's ancestral wine jar but they fell asleep while performing this duty. While they were asleep, the wine jar was broken by the swine their family kept. When the sisters woke up and saw what had happened, they threw themselves off a cliff in fear of their father's wrath. Apollo, who was passing by, caught them and carried them to two different cities in Chersonesus, Molpadia to Castabus and Parthenos to Bubastus. He turned them into goddesses and they both received divine honors. Molpadia's name was changed to
Hemithea upon her deification.
Heracles After
Heracles (then named Alcides) was struck with madness and killed his family, he sought to purify himself and consulted the oracle of Apollo. Apollo, through the Pythia, commanded him to serve king
Eurystheus for twelve years and complete the ten tasks the king would give him. Only then would Alcides be absolved of his sin. Apollo also renamed him Heracles. To complete his third task, Heracles had to capture the
Ceryneian Hind, a hind sacred to Artemis, and bring back it alive. After chasing the hind for one year, the animal eventually got tired, and when it tried crossing the river Ladon, Heracles captured it. While he was taking it back, he was confronted by Apollo and Artemis, who were angered at Heracles for this act. However, Heracles soothed the goddess and explained his situation to her. After much pleading, Artemis permitted him to take the hind and told him to return it later. After he was freed from his servitude to Eurystheus, Heracles fell in conflict with Iphytus, a prince of Oechalia, and murdered him. Soon after, he contracted a terrible disease. He consulted the oracle of Apollo once again, in the hope of ridding himself of the disease. The Pythia, however, denied to give any prophesy. In anger, Heracles snatched the sacred tripod and started walking away, intending to start his own oracle. However, Apollo did not tolerate this and stopped Heracles; a duel ensued between them. Artemis rushed to support Apollo, while Athena supported Heracles. Soon, Zeus threw his thunderbolt between the fighting brothers and separated them. He reprimanded Heracles for this act of violation and asked Apollo to give a solution to Heracles. Apollo then ordered the hero to serve under
Omphale, queen of
Lydia for one year in order to purify himself. After their reconciliation, Apollo and Heracles together founded the city of Gythion.
The rock of Leukas Leukatas was believed to be a white-colored rock jutting out from the island of
Leukas into the sea. It was present in the sanctuary of Apollo Leukates. A leap from this rock was believed to have put an end to the longings of love. Once, Aphrodite fell deeply in love with
Adonis, a young man of great beauty who was later accidentally killed by a boar. Heartbroken, Aphrodite wandered looking for the rock of Leukas. When she reached the sanctuary of Apollo in Argos, she confided in him her love and sorrow. Apollo then brought her to the rock of Leukas and asked her to throw herself from the top of the rock. She did so and was freed from her love. When she sought the reason behind this, Apollo told her that Zeus, before taking another lover, would sit on this rock to free himself from his love for Hera. It was an ancestral custom among the Leukadians to fling a criminal from this rock every year at the sacrifice performed in honor of Apollo for the sake of averting evil. However, a number of men would be stationed all around below rock to catch the criminal and take him out of the borders in order to exile him from the island. By
Calliope, he had
Hymenaios,
Ialemus,
Orpheus and
Linus. Alternatively, Linus was said to be the son of Apollo and either
Urania or
Terpsichore. In the Great Eoiae that is attributed to
Hesiod, Scylla is the daughter of Apollo and Hecate.
Cyrene was a Thessalian princess whom Apollo loved. In her honor, he built the city Cyrene and made her its ruler. She was later granted longevity by Apollo who turned her into a nymph. The couple had two sons,
Aristaeus, and
Idmon.
Evadne was a nymph daughter of Poseidon and a lover of Apollo. They had a son,
Iamos. During the time of the childbirth, Apollo sent
Eileithyia, the goddess of childbirth to assist her.
Rhoeo, a princess of the island of Naxos was loved by Apollo. Out of affection for her, Apollo turned her sisters into goddesses. On the island Delos she bore Apollo a son named
Anius. Not wanting to have the child, she entrusted the infant to Apollo and left. Apollo raised and educated the child on his own. Ourea, a daughter of
Poseidon, fell in love with Apollo when he and Poseidon were serving the Trojan king
Laomedon. They both united on the day the walls of
Troy were built. She bore to Apollo a son, whom Apollo named Ileus, after the city of his birth, Ilion (
Troy). Ileus was very dear to Apollo.
Thero, daughter of
Phylas, a maiden as beautiful as the moonbeams, was loved by the radiant Apollo, and she loved him in return. Through their union, she became the mother of Chaeron, who was famed as "the tamer of horses". He later built the city
Chaeronea. Hyrie or Thyrie was the mother of
Cycnus. Apollo turned both the mother and son into swans when they jumped into a lake and tried to kill themselves.
Hecuba was the wife of King
Priam of
Troy, and Apollo had a son with her named
Troilus. An
oracle prophesied that Troy would not be defeated as long as Troilus reached the age of twenty alive. He was ambushed and killed by
Achilleus, and Apollo avenged his death by killing Achilles. After the sack of Troy, Hecuba was taken to Lycia by Apollo.
Coronis was daughter of
Phlegyas, King of the
Lapiths. While pregnant with
Asclepius, Coronis fell in love with
Ischys, son of
Elatus and slept with him. When Apollo found out about her infidelity through his prophetic powers or thanks to his
raven who informed him, he sent his sister, Artemis, to kill Coronis. Apollo rescued the baby by cutting open Coronis's belly and gave it for Chiron to raise.
Dryope, the daughter of Dryops, was impregnated by Apollo in the form of a snake. She gave birth to a son named Amphissus. In
Euripides's play
Ion, Apollo fathered
Ion by
Creusa, wife of
Xuthus. He used his powers to conceal her pregnancy from her father. Later, when Creusa left Ion to die in the wild, Apollo asked
Hermes to save the child and bring him to the oracle at
Delphi, where he was raised by a priestess. Apollo loved and kidnapped an Oceanid nymph,
Melia. Her father
Oceanus sent one of his sons,
Caanthus, to find her, but Caanthus could not take her back from Apollo, so he burned Apollo's sanctuary. In retaliation, Apollo shot and killed Caanthus.
Male lovers , 1850–1900 Hyacinth (or Hyacinthus), a beautiful and athletic
Spartan prince, was one of Apollo's favourite lovers. The pair was practicing throwing the
discus when a discus thrown by Apollo was blown off course by the jealous
Zephyrus and struck Hyacinthus in the head, killing him instantly. Apollo is said to be filled with grief. Out of Hyacinthus's blood, Apollo created a
flower named after him as a memorial to his death, and his tears stained the flower petals with the interjection , meaning
alas. He was later resurrected and taken to heaven. The festival
Hyacinthia was a national celebration of Sparta, which commemorated the death and rebirth of Hyacinthus. Another male lover was
Cyparissus, a descendant of
Heracles. Apollo gave him a tame deer as a companion but Cyparissus accidentally killed it with a
javelin as it lay asleep in the undergrowth. Cyparissus was so saddened by its death that he asked Apollo to let his tears fall forever. Apollo granted the request by turning him into the
Cypress named after him, which was said to be a sad tree because the sap forms droplets like tears on the trunk. , by
Jean-Pierre Granger (1779–1840)
Admetus, the king of Pherae, was also Apollo's lover. During his exile, Apollo served Admetus as a herdsman. The romantic nature of their relationship was first described by
Callimachus, who wrote that Apollo was "fired with love" for Admetus. The Latin poet
Ovid in his said that even though he was a god, Apollo forsook his pride and stayed in as a servant for the sake of Admetus.
Tibullus describes Apollo's love to the king as
servitium amoris (slavery of love) and asserts that Apollo became his servant not by force but by choice. He would also make cheese and serve it to Admetus. His domestic actions caused embarrassment to his family. , 19th century When Admetus wanted to marry princess
Alcestis, Apollo provided a chariot pulled by a lion and a boar he had tamed. This satisfied Alcestis's father and he let Admetus marry his daughter. Further, Apollo saved the king from Artemis's wrath and also convinced the
Moirai to postpone Admetus's death once.
Branchus, a shepherd, one day came across Apollo in the woods. Captivated by the god's beauty, he kissed Apollo. Apollo requited his affections and wanting to reward him, bestowed prophetic skills on him. His descendants, the Branchides, were an influential clan of prophets. Other male lovers of Apollo include: •
Adonis, who is said to have been the lover of both Apollo and Aphrodite. He behaved as a man with Aphrodite and as a woman with Apollo. •
Atymnius, otherwise known as a beloved of
Sarpedon •
Boreas, the god of North winds •
Cinyras, king of Cyprus and the priest of Aphrodite •
Helenus, a Trojan prince (son of
Priam and
Hecuba). He received from Apollo an ivory bow with which he later wounded Achilles in the hand. • Hippolytus of
Sicyon (not the same as
Hippolytus, the son of Theseus) •
Iapis, to whom Apollo taught the art of healing •
Phorbas, the dragon slayer (probably the son of Triopas)
Children Apollo sired many children, by mortal women, nymphs, and goddesses.
Asclepius, one of his sons, was killed by Zeus for bringing back the dead, but was resurrected as a god upon Apollo's request.
Aristaeus, another of his sons, was placed under the care of Chiron after his birth, and became the god of beekeeping, cheese-making, animal husbandry, among other functions. He was ultimately given immortality for the benefits he bestowed upon humanity. with the education of Aescalapius The sons of Apollo who participated in the Trojan War include the Trojan princes
Hector and
Troilus, as well as
Tenes, the king of
Tenedos, all three of whom were killed by Achilles over the course of the war. Apollo's children who became musicians and bards include
Orpheus,
Linus,
Ialemus,
Hymenaeus,
Philammon,
Eumolpus and
Eleuther. Apollo fathered 3 daughters,
Apollonis,
Borysthenis and
Cephisso, who formed a group of minor Muses, the "Musa Apollonides". He also had a son by Agathippe who was named Chrysorrhoas who was a mechanic artist. His other daughters include
Eurynome,
Chariclo wife of Chiron,
Eurydice the wife of Orpheus,
Eriopis, famous for her beautiful hair,
Melite the heroine,
Pamphile the silk weaver, Parthenos, and by some accounts, Phoebe, Hilyra and
Scylla. Apollo turned Parthenos into a constellation after her early death. Additionally, Apollo fostered and educated Chiron, who later became the greatest teacher and educated many demigods, including Apollo's sons. Apollo also fostered
Carnus, the son of
Zeus and
Europa.
List of offspring and their mothers The following is a list of Apollo's offspring, by various mothers. Beside each offspring, the earliest source to record the parentage is given, along with the century to which the source (in some cases approximately) dates.
Failed love attempts Love affairs ascribed to Apollo are a late development in Greek mythology. Their vivid anecdotal qualities have made some of them favorites of painters since the Renaissance, the result being that they stand out more prominently in the modern imagination. '' by
Bernini in the
Galleria Borghese|left
Daphne was a nymph who scorned Apollo's advances and ran away from him. When Apollo chased her in order to persuade her, she changed herself into a laurel tree. According to other versions, she cried for help during the chase, and
Gaia helped her by taking her in and placing a laurel tree in her place. According to Roman poet
Ovid, the chase was brought about by
Cupid, who hit Apollo with a golden arrow of love and Daphne with a leaden arrow of hatred. The myth explains the origin of the
laurel and the connection of Apollo with the laurel and its leaves, which his priestess employed at
Delphi. The leaves became the symbol of victory and laurel wreaths were given to the victors of the
Pythian games.
Marpessa was kidnapped by
Idas but was loved by Apollo as well.
Zeus made her choose between them, and she chose Idas on the grounds that Apollo, being immortal, would tire of her when she grew old.
Sinope, a nymph, was approached by the amorous Apollo. She made him promise that he would grant to her whatever she would ask for, and then cleverly asked him to let her stay a virgin. Apollo kept his promise and went back.
Bolina was admired by Apollo but she refused him and jumped into the sea. To avoid her death, Apollo turned her into a nymph, saving her life.
Castalia was a nymph whom Apollo loved. She fled from him and dove into the
spring at Delphi, at the base of
Mt. Parnassos, which was then named after her. Water from this spring was sacred; it was used to clean the Delphian temples and inspire the priestesses.
Cassandra was a daughter of Hecuba and Priam. Apollo wished to court her. Cassandra promised to return his love on one condition – he should give her the power to see the future. Apollo fulfilled her wish, but she went back on her word and rejected him soon after. Angered that she broke her promise, Apollo cursed her that even though she would see the future, no one would ever believe her prophecies. The
Sibyl of Cumae, like Cassandra, promised Apollo her love in exchange for a boon. asking for as many years of life as the grains of sand in her hand. Apollo granted her wish, but she broke her word. While she lived longer, Apollo did not grant her agelessness, causing her to wither until only her voice remained.
Hestia, the goddess of the hearth, rejected both Apollo's and Poseidon's marriage proposals and swore that she would always stay unmarried. In one version of the prophet
Tiresias's origins, he was originally a woman who promised Apollo to sleep with him if he would give her music lessons. Apollo gave her her wish, but then she went back on her word and refused him. Apollo in anger turned her into a man.
Female counterparts Artemis , by
Brygos (potter signed). Tondo of an Attic red-figure cup –470 BC,
Louvre. Artemis as the sister of Apollo, is
thea apollousa, that is, she as a female divinity represented the same idea that Apollo did as a male divinity. However, this relationship was never sexual but spiritual, which is why they both are seen being unmarried in the
Hellenic period. Artemis, like her brother, is armed with a bow and arrows. She is the cause of sudden deaths of women. She also is the protector of the young, especially girls. Though she has nothing to do with oracles, music or poetry, she sometimes led the female chorus on Olympus while Apollo sang. The laurel (
daphne in Greek) was sacred to both.
Artemis Daphnaia had her temple among the Lacedemonians, at a place called Hypsoi.
Apollo Daphnephoros had a temple in
Eretria, a "place where the citizens are to take the oaths". In later times when Apollo was regarded as identical with the sun or
Helios, Artemis was naturally regarded as
Selene or the moon.
Hecate Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft and magic, is the chthonic counterpart of Apollo. One of Apollo's epithets,
Hecatos, is the masculine form of Hecate, and both names mean "working from afar". If Hecate is the "gate-keeper", Apollo
Agyieus is the "door-keeper". Hecate is the goddess of crossroads and Apollo is the god and protector of streets. The oldest evidence found for Hecate's worship is at Apollo's temple in Miletos. There, Hecate was taken to be Apollo's sister counterpart in the absence of Artemis. In the Trojan War, as Zeus's executive, Apollo is seen holding the
aegis like Athena usually does.
Roman Apollo The Roman worship of Apollo was adopted from the Greeks, and had no direct Roman equivalent, although later Roman poets often referred to him as
Phoebus. There was a tradition that the Delphic oracle was consulted as early as the period of the
kings of Rome during the reign of
Tarquinius Superbus. On the occasion of a pestilence in the 430s BCE, Apollo's
first temple at Rome was established in the Flaminian fields, replacing an older cult site there known as the "Apollinare". During the
Second Punic War in 212 BCE, the
Ludi Apollinares ("Apollonian Games") were instituted in his honor, on the instructions of a prophecy attributed to one Marcius. In the time of
Augustus, who considered himself under the special protection of Apollo and was even said to be his son, his worship developed and he became one of the chief gods of Rome. After the
Battle of Actium, which was fought near a sanctuary of Apollo, Augustus enlarged Apollo's temple, dedicated a portion of the spoils to him, and instituted
quinquennial games in his honour. He also erected
a new temple to the god on the
Palatine hill. Sacrifices and prayers on the Palatine to Apollo and
Diana formed the culmination of the
Secular Games, held in 17 BCE to celebrate the dawn of a new era. ==Festivals==