Apollo
Apollo is the god of the sun, light, music,poetry, healing, plague, intellectual pursuits, truth, and prophecy. He is known to be the most "Greek" out of all the the gods because of he of his beauty and grace. Acquiring many talents, Apollo was also known to be very intelligent and creative.
History and Background
Apollo is the son of Zues and Leto; and the twin brother of Artemis, the virgin hunter. Shortly after Apollo was born, they were looking for a place for his temple. He was led to a land called Krisa. On this land, he encounters a giant python. He ends up killing the snake with his arrows, and calling the land Pythia. After he did this, he resulted to the land called Delphi to make his temple.
Apollo grew up loving music, sports, and poetry. Although Apollo was very handsome, he was never lucky with women. He had many encounters with different women, but he never did get married to any of them. He did have two children wit the names of Orpheus and Asklepios. Orpheus was known for he amazing singing voice; and Asklepios was known for her healing powers.
Apollo is also known to side with the Trojans during the Trojan War. In the Illiad it was said that he got angry with the Greeks for not returning the daughter of the priest Chyses. Out of anger, Apollo showered the Greeks with a plague. After this occurred, Apollo was known as the mouse god, referring the the animals in the plague.
Apollo grew up loving music, sports, and poetry. Although Apollo was very handsome, he was never lucky with women. He had many encounters with different women, but he never did get married to any of them. He did have two children wit the names of Orpheus and Asklepios. Orpheus was known for he amazing singing voice; and Asklepios was known for her healing powers.
Apollo is also known to side with the Trojans during the Trojan War. In the Illiad it was said that he got angry with the Greeks for not returning the daughter of the priest Chyses. Out of anger, Apollo showered the Greeks with a plague. After this occurred, Apollo was known as the mouse god, referring the the animals in the plague.
Powers, Attributes, and DomainApollo was the god of many things including prophecy, reason, music, intellectual pursuits, plague, and healing. Contrary to popular belief, he was not originally the sun god, but he did eventually develop a connection with the sun.. His most common attribute was a bow and arrow but some other common ones included the kithara, plectrum, sword, hawk, sacrificial tripod, swan, fawn, and grasshopper. He had some domain over a variety of small things
Weakness and Character TraitsApollo is commonly described as blonde and handsome. He is very creative and artistically gifted. He's usually kind and well-mannered. Apollo's main weakness was that he enjoyed the company of women and nymphs too much. His attempts at relationships were usually unsuccessful and didn't end well for the woman or nymph involved. Significant MythThe Musical Contest between Apollo and Marysas
Marysas, a Satyr, claimed he could play the double flute better than Apollo could. Upon hearing about this, Apollo challenged him to a musical contest. They agreed that the victor would be allowed to do whatever he pleased with the loser. Marysas played beautifully, but Apollo's playing was even more beautiful. He told Marysas to play his instrument upside down like he was doing, but Marysas could not. Apollo won the contest and chose to hang Marysas from a tree and peel all his skin off. Sources |
http://ancienthistory.about.com/cs/grecoromanmyth1/p/Apollo.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo#Other_stories
http://www.greek-gods.info/greek-gods/apollo/myths/apollo-marsyas-contest/
http://www.greek-gods-and-goddesses.com/greek-god-apollo.html http://gogreece.about.com/cs/mythology/a/mythapollo.htm
http://www.unexplainable.net/Info-Theories/Facts-About-Apollo-God-of-the-Sun.shtml
http://www.personal.psu.edu/djk189/apollo.htm
The Friendly Guide to Mythology (ebook)
http://www.greek-gods.info/greek-gods/apollo/myths/apollo-marsyas-contest/
http://www.greek-gods-and-goddesses.com/greek-god-apollo.html http://gogreece.about.com/cs/mythology/a/mythapollo.htm
http://www.unexplainable.net/Info-Theories/Facts-About-Apollo-God-of-the-Sun.shtml
http://www.personal.psu.edu/djk189/apollo.htm
The Friendly Guide to Mythology (ebook)