He took his weapons from Vulcan, the craftsman deity, who made Apollo his signature silver bow. Apollo’s first order of business was to hunt and slay the Python, the beast that Juno had spawned to murder Leto and her unborn children. He was fed nectar and ambrosia by the goddess of law, and within days he had wondrously developed into a full grown man. When Juno discovered Leto’s condition, she imprisoned Lucina, the goddess of childbirth and midwifery, preventing her from attending to Leto. More Greek Olympians Indeed, almost all of Apollo’s major temples in ancient Greece highlighted his prophetic function, with the exception of the temple on Delos. Many of these ancient temples, moreover, were actually built over cult sites in use since the Mycenaean Period (ca. 1600–1100 BCE). Thus, they piled two mountains on top of each other and attacked the gods on Olympus. Apollo was also usually depicted as the god who killed the Aloadae, Otus and Ephialtes. Apollo was a powerful Greek god and one of the Twelve Olympians. While in hiding, Mercury killed a tortoise and used its entrails and shell to fashion a lyre, the very first instrument of its kind. An 18th century depiction of Apollo slaying the Python with his silver bow and arrows. A terrified Leto wandered from island to island, seeking refuge and a community that would support her. Apollo’s other children included Delphos, Miletos, Tenes, Epidaurus, Ceos, Lycoras, Syrus, Pisus, Marathus, and Chaeron. In other sources, however, two children survived, a boy and a girl called Amyclas and Chloris. In some versions, however, at least one of Niobe’s children was spared. Niobe’s husband Amphion was killed too (though the details of how and why vary). Apollo shot down the sons with his bow, while Artemis shot down the daughters with hers. To punish Niobe, Leto sent Apollo and Artemis to kill Niobe’s children. One day, Niobe loudly boasted that she was more blessed than even the divine Leto, for she had fourteen beautiful children, while Leto had only two. Niobe, the wife of King Amphion of Thebes, offers another famous cautionary tale about the consequences of hubris. Apollo hung Marsyas from a tree and flayed the skin from his body. Marsyas played well, but the combination of Apollo’s lyre and voice won the day. Pan blew a pleasant tune on the pipes, but Apollo played his lyre with such astonishing beauty that he was immediately selected as the victor. Apollo and the Greeks To repay the debt he thought he owed, Augustus dedicated spoils to Apollo and constructed a new temple in his honor on the Palatine Hill. Much of this could be attributed to the emperor himself, who believed Apollo favored his cause in the long civil war against the republicans and Marcus Antonius. Only three Corinthian pillars remain of the once great temple. All bare, and raw, one large continu’d wound, With streams of blood his body bath’d the ground.A Roman copy of a Greek original, the famous Apollo Belvedere was sculpted in the early second century CE.Apollo also had a major sanctuary on the tiny island of Delos, where he was said to have been born.Like the other Olympian gods, Apollo had a rich temple cult and was honored with regular festivals throughout the Greek world, including the Pythian Games at Delphi.Seeking to make a name for himself, the young Apollo decided to hunt the beast known as Python.Thus, even though Cassandra repeatedly warned her people that the city of Troy would fall, nobody listened.Uniquely for the ancient Greek world, women were allowed to compete in most events.According to the third-century BCE poet Callimachus, Hera even sent her son Ares to threaten any person or city that received Leto with utter destruction. When Achilles finally vanquished Hector, Apollo used his protective mist to cover the body, which Achilles had wanted to mutilate in his triumph and rage. The arrows rattled on the shoulders of the angry god as he moved, and his coming was like the night. Down from the peaks of Olympus he strode, angered at heart, bearing on his shoulders his bow and covered quiver. In some versions, however, at least one of Niobe’s children was spared.An 18th century depiction of Apollo slaying the Python with his silver bow and arrows.In another story, Apollo, this time together with his sister Artemis, killed the monster Tityus when he attempted to rape their mother, Leto.Apollo shot down the sons with his bow, while Artemis shot down the daughters with hers.Another important festival of Apollo was the Delia, celebrated on the sacred island of Delos every four years.It would forever remain fixed in place as Apollo’s sacred island. Apollo, the Killer Musician One challenge occurred when Pan compared his own music to Apollo’s, sparking the god’s outrage. While there, Hermes killed a tortoise and fashioned the first lyre from its entrails and shell. According to the most common tradition, Apollo tracked the beast to Delphi and killed it with his bow and arrows. But after the twin gods were born, Delos became rooted to its spot. The “Delphic tripod” was the famous tripod on which Apollo’s priestesses at Delphi sat and delivered the god’s prophecies. Niobe, the wife of King Amphion of Thebes, offers another famous cautionary tale about the consequences of hubris.The young god was so attracted to the object that he agreed to accept it in lieu of the cattle.Drawing on his association with the sun (an association that, contrary to popular belief, did not enter Apollo’s theology until relatively late), NASA named their famous moon-bound space program after Apollo.But after the twin gods were born, Delos became rooted to its spot.According to some sources, it was Apollo himself, whispering to his mother from inside the womb, who told Leto to seek shelter on this island.Wielding a silver bow, he fired plague arrows at all who crossed him, including the Achaeans during the battle of Troy.Apollo and his lyre are the subject of this colorful fresco adorning a Roman house in Pompeii.This was a very ancient name—perhaps even more ancient than the name Apollo.After receiving a silver bow from Vulcan, Apollo tracked the beast to Delphi and slayed it with an expert shot.He was fed nectar and ambrosia by the goddess of law, and within days he had wondrously developed into a full grown man. Though the two were married when Jupiter impregnated Leto, their marriage ended before their children were born. Described as “shining” and “the sun,” he was sometimes depicted with rays of light emanating from his body. Apollo usually carried a lyre, his favorite musical instrument, and was often portrayed as a beardless youth. Apollo and his lyre are the subject of this colorful fresco adorning a Roman house in Pompeii. Wielding a silver bow, he fired plague arrows at all who crossed him, including the Achaeans during the battle of Troy. Hippocratic and Galenic ideas would form the basis of medical theory and practice until the eighteenth century. Apollo’s role as the preserver of the body politic was mirrored in his role as the healer of bodies. He was thought to reside at Delphi, the center of oracular thought in the ancient Mediterranean. Borrowed directly from Greek mythology, Apollo was a Roman god that inspired music, poetry, and artistic creativity. This was a very ancient name—perhaps even more ancient than the name Apollo. Apollo was often called “Paean,” a name that emphasized his ritual function as a god of healing and protection. Henceforth, the priestess of Apollo at Delphi was known as the “Pythia” to commemorate the god’s victory. Apollo also had a major sanctuary on the tiny island of Delos, where he was said to have been born. Ruins of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, Greece (fourth century BCE). It was said that the pythia became inspired by breathing vapors arising from a spring that flowed underneath the temple. Perhaps the most important of Apollo’s temples was his temple and oracle at Delphi. But Apollo was also widely worshipped as the god of music and the arts, colonization, and healing and medicine. Seeking to make a name for himself, the young Apollo decided to hunt the beast known as Python. It would forever remain fixed in place as Apollo’s sacred island. According to many sources, Delos was a wandering island before Apollo and Artemis were born on it; like Leto, it roamed the world without a place to call its own. The young Apollo was then wrapped in resplendent robes and fed nectar and ambrosia by Themis, the goddess of law and order. After a long and painful labor (which Hera extended by preventing her daughter Eileithyia, the goddess of childbirth, from attending Leto), Apollo and Artemis were finally born. Not all of these ended happily, and indeed, many of Apollo’s most famous affairs are tales of disappointment, betrayal, or unrequited love.Other names commonly used to identify Apollo include “Loxias” (referring to the god’s ambiguous oracles, called loxia) and “Lyceus” (a word that simultaneously evokes light, wolves, and the region of Lycia).While Coronis’ body was being burned on the funeral pyre, Apollo remembered that the girl was pregnant with his child and removed the baby from the burning body (the first caesarean section).Hippocratic and Galenic ideas would form the basis of medical theory and practice until the eighteenth century.The “Delphic tripod” was the famous tripod on which Apollo’s priestesses at Delphi sat and delivered the god’s prophecies.Apollo was a powerful Greek god and one of the Twelve Olympians.Another alternative name for Apollo was Phoebus, one of the god’s most popular epithets.Borrowed directly from Greek mythology, Apollo was a Roman god that inspired music, poetry, and artistic creativity. The Walls of Troy This rift began when Agamemnon carried off Chryseis, the daughter of Apollo’s priest Chryses, as a war captive. In the early stages of the war, Apollo’s rage threatened to undo the Achaeans by causing a rift between the mighty heroes Agamemnon and Achilles. Apollo and Poseidon performed the work as instructed, though ancient sources disagree on the division of labor. In one myth, Apollo (together with Poseidon) helped Laomedon, king of Troy, erect the fortifications of his great city. In another story, Apollo’s son Asclepius had discovered and implemented a cure for death, but Zeus killed him for overstepping the bounds of medicine. In another story, Apollo’s son Asclepius had discovered and implemented a cure for death, but Zeus killed him for overstepping the bounds of medicine.Apollo was the son of Zeus, the supreme god of the Greek pantheon, and Leto, a descendant of the Titans.Apollo was the child of Jupiter, the king of all gods, and Leto, a Greek Titan.But he was also regarded as the god of medicine and plague, livestock, colonization, and virtue.To punish Niobe, Leto sent Apollo and Artemis to kill Niobe’s children.The final battle of the Roman civil war, the naval battle of Actium in 31 BCE, took place next to one of Apollo’s temples in mainland Greece.He took his weapons from Vulcan, the craftsman deity, who made Apollo his signature silver bow.Pindar even suggests that the two gods were assisted by a mortal named Aeacus.Henceforth, the priestess of Apollo at Delphi was known as the “Pythia” to commemorate the god’s victory.While Apollo had many children, the best known were Asclepius, a famous physician whom Apollo delivered with a caesarean procedure, and Orpheus, a legendary musician and prophet. In addition to the bow, lyre, and cithara, Apollo was also represented by the tripod, a tall, three-footed structure (sometimes elaborately decorated) used for sacrifices and religious rituals. This led to the pairing of the “Apollonian” and “Dionysian” as the two opposing poles of artistic creation (an opposition made especially famous by the nineteenth-century German philosopher and philologist Friedrich Nietzsche). Many ancient sources call the god “Phoebus Apollo” or even just “Phoebus.” The Romans, for example, referred to the god as “Phoebus” at least as often as they referred to him as “Apollo.” He was distinguished by various symbols of his roles and powers, including the bow, lyre, and cithara, and was often depicted wearing a laurel wreath. Apollo rewarded the island by making it one of the centers of his worship. In ancient art, he could be seen carrying a lyre or a bow and arrow. The final battle of the Roman civil war, the naval battle of Actium in 31 BCE, took place next to one of Apollo’s temples in mainland Greece. Other individuals loved by Apollo did not return the god’s love.While in hiding, Mercury killed a tortoise and used its entrails and shell to fashion a lyre, the very first instrument of its kind.While there, Hermes killed a tortoise and fashioned the first lyre from its entrails and shell.Apollo hung Marsyas from a tree and flayed the skin from his body.According to many sources, Delos was a wandering island before Apollo and Artemis were born on it; like Leto, it roamed the world without a place to call its own.Apollo was also usually depicted as the god who killed the Aloadae, Otus and Ephialtes.When Apollo found out about Coronis’ infidelity, he killed her in a jealous rage.Settling on the island, Leto soon found herself in the throes of labor. Mythological Handbooks (Greek and Roman) In myth, he and his twin sister Artemis were born on the island of Delos, the only place on earth that would give Leto shelter when Hera, Zeus’ jealous wife, sought to prevent her from giving birth. Apollo was the son of Zeus, the supreme god of the Greek pantheon, and Leto, a descendant of the Titans. Apollo belonged to the second generation of Olympians, along with his twin sister Artemis, goddess of the wild and hunting. Settling on the island, Leto soon found herself in the throes of labor. As she continued to flee, she heard the voice of an unborn Apollo whisper to her from within the womb, advising her to seek the small and uninhabited island of Delos. This 18th century engraving was modeled after an Italian fresco by Domenichino, an artist of the Baroque period. In the Greek world, Apollo was first and foremost a god of prophecy and divination. Apollo had numerous temples, sanctuaries, and shrines throughout Greece. There were countless other festivals of Apollo that were celebrated throughout the cities of ancient Greece. Another important festival of Apollo was the Delia, celebrated on the sacred island of Delos every four years. Uniquely for the ancient Greek world, women were allowed to compete in most events. While Apollo had many children, the best known were Asclepius, a famous physician whom Apollo delivered with a caesarean procedure, and Orpheus, a legendary musician and prophet. Widely considered the finest sculpture of the Classical Era, the marble sculpture depicts the god as a nude and beardless youth with a laurel crown and lyre in hand. A Roman copy of a Greek original, the famous Apollo Belvedere was sculpted in the early second century CE. However, he was virtually unheard of in Rome until relatively late, and his first temples there only appear around the fifth century BCE. Apollo appealed to Jupiter, who often settled disputes among the gods, and the king of the gods ordered Mercury to return the stolen cattle. Apollo was the child of Jupiter, the king of all gods, and Leto, a Greek Titan. In most sources, Apollo was one of the gods who battled a Giant named Ephialtes, and according to Pindar, it was he who killed the Giant Porphyrion with his arrows. The god was most commonly identified by either a bow or a musical instrument (usually a lyre, but sometimes a more specialized stringed instrument called a cithara). Like the other Olympian gods, Apollo had a rich temple cult and was honored with regular festivals throughout the Greek world, including the Pythian Games at Delphi. Drawing on his association with the sun (an association that, contrary to popular belief, did not enter Apollo’s theology until relatively late), NASA named their famous moon-bound space program after Apollo. Apollo has been regularly featured in popular culture, though these depictions are often brief and superficial, failing to capture the complexity of his ancient personae. Apollo also had important temples at Gortyn and Dreros in Crete and at Syracuse and Selinus in Sicily. According to the most common tradition, Apollo tracked the beast to Delphi and killed it with his bow and arrows.Apollo usually carried a lyre, his favorite musical instrument, and was often portrayed as a beardless youth.Just as the god was about to grab her in his arms, Daphne was transformed into a laurel tree.In the Greek world, Apollo was first and foremost a god of prophecy and divination.This led to the pairing of the “Apollonian” and “Dionysian” as the two opposing poles of artistic creation (an opposition made especially famous by the nineteenth-century German philosopher and philologist Friedrich Nietzsche).Described as “shining” and “the sun,” he was sometimes depicted with rays of light emanating from his body.Apollo’s role as the preserver of the body politic was mirrored in his role as the healer of bodies. Thus, even though Cassandra repeatedly warned her people that the city of Troy would fall, nobody listened. Because Troy was destined to eventually fall, it could not be built by gods alone (such a city would be truly impregnable); consequently, the segment of the wall built by the mortal Aeacus would always be the weak point. Pindar even suggests that the two gods were assisted by a mortal named Aeacus. In other traditions, however, the two gods went willingly, wishing to test the hubris of Laomedon.#33 Just as the god was about to grab her in his arms, Daphne was transformed into a laurel tree. Other individuals loved by Apollo did not return the god’s love. The heartbroken god transformed his deceased lover into a flower, the hyacinth, whose petals formed the Greek word aiai, meaning “alas.” Another famous myth is that of Apollo’s homesexual relationship with the handsome youth Hyacinthus. Family Tree While Coronis’ body was being burned on the funeral pyre, Apollo remembered that the girl was pregnant with his child and removed the baby from the burning body (the first caesarean section). When Apollo found out about Coronis’ infidelity, he killed her in a jealous rage. Not all of these ended happily, and indeed, many of Apollo’s most famous affairs are tales of disappointment, betrayal, or unrequited love. In one myth, Apollo (together with Poseidon) helped Laomedon, king of Troy, erect the fortifications of his great city.Another famous myth is that of Apollo’s homesexual relationship with the handsome youth Hyacinthus.Down from the peaks of Olympus he strode, angered at heart, bearing on his shoulders his bow and covered quiver.Perhaps the most important of Apollo’s temples was his temple and oracle at Delphi.When Juno discovered Leto’s condition, she imprisoned Lucina, the goddess of childbirth and midwifery, preventing her from attending to Leto.The arrows rattled on the shoulders of the angry god as he moved, and his coming was like the night. According to the third-century BCE poet Callimachus, Hera even sent her son Ares to threaten any person or city that received Leto with utter destruction. This object represented Apollo in his function as god of prophecy. But he was also regarded as the god of medicine and plague, livestock, colonization, and virtue. Other names commonly used to identify Apollo include “Loxias” (referring to the god’s ambiguous oracles, called loxia) and “Lyceus” (a word that simultaneously evokes light, wolves, and the region of Lycia). Another alternative name for Apollo was Phoebus, one of the god’s most popular epithets. Pan blew a pleasant tune on the pipes, but Apollo played his lyre with such astonishing beauty that he was immediately selected as the victor.The god was most commonly identified by either a bow or a musical instrument (usually a lyre, but sometimes a more specialized stringed instrument called a cithara).Ruins of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, Greece (fourth century BCE).In myth, he and his twin sister Artemis were born on the island of Delos, the only place on earth that would give Leto shelter when Hera, Zeus’ jealous wife, sought to prevent her from giving birth.As she continued to flee, she heard the voice of an unborn Apollo whisper to her from within the womb, advising her to seek the small and uninhabited island of Delos.He was thought to reside at Delphi, the center of oracular thought in the ancient Mediterranean.One challenge occurred when Pan compared his own music to Apollo’s, sparking the god’s outrage. Thus, Leto gave birth to the twins Apollo and Artemis on the island, and in return Delos became one of Apollo’s sacred sites. According to some sources, it was Apollo himself, whispering to his mother from inside the womb, who told Leto to seek shelter on this island. In the end, Leto arrived on Delos, a tiny, barren island in the Aegean Sea. With so many temples, statues, and other monuments built in Apollo’s honor, admiration for the deity cannot be overstated. Other noteworthy myths describe Apollo’s role in the Gigantomachy, the terrible war between the Olympians and the Giants. Apollo gave Cassandra the gift of prophecy, hoping she would sleep with him in return; when Cassandra refused, Apollo cursed her so that nobody would believe her prophecies. The young god was so attracted to the object that he agreed to accept it in lieu of the cattle. In some versions of this story, however, Tityus was killed by Zeus, while in others it was Leto herself who killed him. In another story, Apollo, this time together with his sister Artemis, killed the monster Tityus when he attempted to rape their mother, Leto. According to the Roman mythographer Hyginus, however, Apollo’s killing of Python was an act of revenge because Python had pursued his mother, Leto, while she was looking for a place to give birth. A son of the primordial earth goddess Gaia, Python was a giant, terrifying dragon. It was rebuilt several times over the centuries, most notably by Gaius Sosius in the first century BCE. All bare, and raw, one large continu’d wound, With streams of blood his body bath’d the ground. After hanging Marsyas from a tree, Apollo flayed his skin from his body. This 1581 German engraving combines Apollo's famous musical competitions into one image. The shining god became incensed at the comparison and challenged Pan to a contest. Some time later, the rustic god Pan compared his music to Apollo’s. When Mercury came to return the cattle, Apollo noticed him playing the lyre and was so attracted to the instrument that he agreed to accept it in lieu of his herd. Shortly after Apollo’s birth, the wily messenger god Mercury stole Apollo’s cattle and hid them in a cave. After receiving a silver bow from Vulcan, Apollo tracked the beast to Delphi and slayed it with an expert shot.