Mythman's Major Olympian Gods
ALL ABOUT THE GODS OF MOUNT OLYMPUS

APOLLO - GOD OF PROPHECY, ARCHERY, LIGHT & MUSIC

LATIN - APOLLO, PHOEBUS

Alyana's Apollo
APOLLO By ALYANA


Apollo
APOLLO
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APOLLO PAGE ONE

I will remember and not be unmindful of Apollo who shoots afar. As he goes through the house of Zeus, the gods tremble before him and all spring up from their seats when he draws near, as he bends his bright bow.

But Leto alone stays by the side of Zeus who delights in thunder; and then she unstrings his bow, and closes his quiver, and takes his archery from his strong shoulders in her hands and hangs them on a golden peg against a pillar of his father's house.

Then she leads him to a seat and makes him sit: and the Father gives him nectar in a golden cup welcoming his dear son, while the other gods make him sit down there, and queenly Leto rejoices because she bear a mighty son and an archer.

Rejoice, blessed Leto, for you bear glorious children, the lord Apollo and Artemis who delights in arrows...

HOMERIC HYMN TO APOLLO

Apollo and his twin sister Artemis were the children of Zeus and the Titaness Leto. He was born in the little island of Delos and has been called "the most Greek of all the gods".

Apollo is one of the most important deities of both the Greek and Roman religion, immortalized throughout the centuries by countless poets, writers and artists. Prophecy, Archery, Light and Music were his domains, and he was unsurpassed in those areas.

He is a beautiful figure in Greek poetry, the master musician who, along with his "choir", the Nine Muses, delights the gods of Olympus with his golden lyre at their royal banquets.

He is the Archer-god, master of the silver bow, Apollo the Far-Shooter, who can rain down death with his deadly arrows. But he is also the god of Light - In all the Olympian gods, like in mortal men, there is a continuous struggle between good and evil, their light and dark sides, whatever the proportion of one to the other might be; it must be noted that in Apollo there was almost no darkness at all, his primitive and cruel side was shown only briefly and in very few myths, such as the Flaying of Marsyas.

He is also the god of Truth - legend has it that no false word ever fell from his lips, and he foretold the future with the same unerring accuracy as that of his arrows. Because of this his oracle at Delphi was very important to people, serving as a link between men and gods. It's interesting to note how Apollo's famous seat at Delphi came to be:

When Apollo was only four days old (Greek gods sure grew up fast!) he gained revenge by killing Python, the terrible earth-serpent sent by Hera to torment his mother.

Python was an offspring of Gaea, Mother Earth, and issued revelations through a fissure in the rock at Delphi, named after the mate of Python, the monster Delphyne. The priestess called Pythia would interpret these utterances, and give cryptic answers to any questions asked.

Themis the Titaness fed him on nectar and ambrosia and on the fourth day of his birth Apollo called for bows and arrows, which were at once provided him by Hephaestus, the god of smiths and the forge. He came upon the beast at Parnassus and managed to wound it with his arrows, then followed it to Delphi, where he killed Python in the shrine.

By slaying the monster he captured Delphi, even though he had to do penance in the region of Thessaly for the killing. Twice Zeus forced Apollo to be the slave of a mortal man to pay for his crime (see more on Python next).

APOLLO CONTINUES ON PAGE TWO
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