APOLLO

Juli 30, 2011 at 10:05 am (Uncategorized) (GREEK MYTH, THE GODS)

Most people know of Apollo only as a sun god, but he’s much more. Apollo, sometimes called Phoebus with or without Apollo, is a Greek and Roman god with many, and sometimes conflicting attributes. He is a patron of intellectual pursuits, the arts, and prophesy. He leads the Muses, for which reason he is called Apollo Musagetes. Apollo is sometimes called Apollo Smitheus. It is thought that this refers to a connection between Apollo and mice, which makes sense since Apollo shoots plague arrows to punish disrespectful humans.
There is much to say about Apollo. If he’s unfamiliar, start with the glossary entry on Apollo.

Apollo is thought to inspire the priestess of Delphi to pronounce oracles. Apollo is associated with the laurel, which is used in certain games to crown the victor. He is a god of music, prophecy, and later, the sun.

The Greek god Apollo is the brother of Artemis (huntress and sometimes thought of as the moon goddess), and the son of Zeus and Leda.

Apollo is associated with the prophecies coming from the Delphic oracle and the laurel, since when he pursued Daphne she was turned into a laurel tree to escape from him.

Apollo had few children and many romances. The healing god Asclepius was one of these children. Because of his gifts, Asclepius not only could, but did bring mortals back to life. Zeus was horrified and so stopped him by killing him.

In Euripides’ play Alcestis, Apollo has been forced by Zeus to labor as punishment for his grief-stricken misbehavior when Zeus killed Asclepius.

The Romans did not have a noticeably different version of the name Apollo.