☆ ¸. ¸ ★. . • ○ ° ★. *. . ¸. ° ¸. * ● ¸. ° ° ☾ ¸. ● ¸. ★ °. . • °. *. . ¸. ● ¸ ★ ★ Apollo Sun God of Great Antiquity-☆ ¸. ¸ ★. . • ○ ° ★. *. . ¸. ° ¸. * ● ¸. ° ° ☾ ¸. ● ¸. ★ °. . • °. *. . ¸. ● ¸ ★ ★

Apollo Sun God of Great Antiquity-

History of Apollo-

Apollo was the Great Sun God of his Time, but he also represented a god of youth eternal, wisdom  and of great

beauty. Besides being that of a God of great beauty, he was also an represented of the moral excellence. He even had a cult, called Delphi, which at the time, had enormous influence on matters of the state, religion, everyday Law.  His influence within his cult Delphi, helped to spread tolerance in all types of social ranks. Apollo besides being the God of Sun and Beauty was also a god of Justice, law and order too.

Apollo was one of the most important and complex of the

Olympian deities in ancient Greek and Roman religion. It seems that Apollo, one of the Olympian deities was the ideal Kouros – [a beardless, athletic youth]. He was recognized as a god of light, sun, truth, prophecy, healing, plague, music, poetry and he and many more talents. 

He Is one of the many sons of Zeus. And his mother was Leto. He also had a twin sister, the chaste huntress Artemis. Apollo is known in Greek Mythology as the Apulu.  Like all other Gods [Greek deities of the original Olympians, Apollo had a number of epithets applied to him, reflecting the variety of types of roles, duties and aspects ascribed to him.

 

As the leader of the Delphi Cult, Apollo, was called an Oracular God, the prophetic deity of the Delphic Oracle. As

leader of this Cult he had great skills in medicine and healing even though being that of a god himself. Yet there is another side of Apollo, that his healing ability would change all of that. He can also bring ill-health and deadly plague to all.

 

The Romans would worship the God Apollo. And Apollo was

adopted from the Greeks as a quintessentially Greek god, Apollo had no direct Roman equivalent, although later Roman poets often referred him to as Phoebus.

Lastly, in the 430s BCE, Apollo’s first temple in Rome was established in the Flaminian fields, which replaced an older cult site known as the “Apollinare”. This all was during the Second Punic War in 212 BCE. The Ludi Apollinares or as they would call them the ‘Apollonian Games’ were instituted in Apollo’s honor, with the instructions of a prophecy attributed to Marcius.

Mythology of Apollo-

When Hera discovered  that Leto was was pregnant and her

husband the God Zeus was the father, she banned Leto from giving birth on “terra firma’.  Since Leto couldn’t give birth in the proper gods place do to Hera’s ravage, Leto found herself wandering in a newly created floating island of Delos, which neither was the mainland nor a real island.

 

After arriving on the island of Delos, very pregnant and she gave birth. Afterwards Leto was accepted by the people of the island, offering them her a promise that her son would be always favorable toward the city. After Zeus knew that his son Apollo was born and safe on the island of Delos, the great

God Zeus secured that Delos to the bottom of the ocean. Later this island became sacred to Apollo. His birthplace.

It is also said that Hera tried to stop the birth of Apollo in many ways; One was that she kidnapped Eileithyia a Goddess of childbirth to prevent Leto from going into labor with Zeus son with Leto. The other god like tricks that Hera would do was letting her go by offering her a necklace, of amber. Mythographers do agree that Artemis was born first and then assisted with the birth of Apollo, or that of Artemis was born one day before the God Apollo, on the island of origin and that she then helped Leto cross the sea to the island of Delos the very next day to give birth to Apollo. I know this all sounds very confusing, but I guess it wouldn’t be the Gods of Olympiam’s if it wasn’t a bit confusing. From my writing of other Gods, I have found that they are a proud lot, but have many facets about them. Now for Apollo; he was born on the seventh of the month –according to Delian tradition. The seventh and twentieth, the days of the new and full moon, were ever afterwards held sacred to Apollo always. Being that he is a Sun God, I am sure that he would have connections with the moon as well. Anyway, It was only four days after his birth that the God Apollo killed the chthonic dragon python, which lived in Delphi beside the Ceastalian springs. From what I understand this spring in which Apollo killed the Chthonic Dragon python, was a spring, which emitted vapors that can cause the oracle at the Cult at Delhi to give her different prophecies of what is to happen by breathing in these vapors. Hera sent the serpent to hunt down Apollo’s mother to her death across he world. Which means you never want to cross paths with the Goddess Hera, even though she is Zeus wife. It's just that my guess is that he got tired of Hera and needed kinder in the bedroom. Eh! Well, back to the story! It seems that Hera just wouldn’t leave Apollo’s mother alone, no matter what she did.  Hera the Goddess even sent a serpent to hunt Leto to her death across the world. Leto, had nowhere to hide from this vindictive scorned other woman you could say, but then again, she is Hera the Goddess of all goddesses. So what was Leto to do!

Apollo had to protect her mother from Hera, so he begged Hephaestus for a bow and for some arrows. When he received them, Apollo cornered the Serpent that Hera let loose on his mother in the sacred cave at Delphi. Once Apollo trapped the Serpent inside he was able to kill it with the bow and arrows that he got from Hephaestus, but there was a price for killing the Python and saving his mother. What that price was, since the Python was a child of Gaia, the Goddess Hera then sent the Giant Tityos to kill Leto yet again. Its seems that Hera has no fury when it comes to Zeus messing around with another goddess or ladies of his choosing. Its seems that the women always get the dirty end of the stick if you will. And the mighty Zeus doesn’t get anything but, maybe a scream from Hera although who knows in the days of the Olympians of Greece. This is the fifth attempt to kill Leto. 1- Hera putting her on an island Delos to give birth not in the heaven of the Gods 2- Even after that Hera tried to stop the birth in many ways 3- Hera gave Leto an amber necklace 4-Hera even kidnapped Eileithyia the goddess of childbirth to prevent Leto from going into labor with Zeus Son 5- Attempt on Hera part was the Serpent to hunt down Apollo’s mother to her death across the world till she is dead. But it didn’t end there. Hera was a very cruel Goddess and was to let all know that She is the Queen of all Goddesses. So in her sixth attempt to kill Apollo’s mother Leto, she sends the giant Tityos to kill her, but this time Apollo was with the aided by his sister Artemis in protecting their mother together.

So during this final battle in their quest to protect their mother from Hera, Zeus finally steps in as a God should, but relent [probably because of what Hera will say in their private rooms]. What the Great Zeus did was, he aid in by hurling the Giant Tityos down to Tartarus. There he was pegged to the rock floor, covering an area of nine acres, where a pair of vultures feasted daily on his liver alive.  

When Apollo shot those arrows into the Greek encampments during the Trojan War, they were infected with the black plague. This was in retribution for Agamenmon’s insult to Chryses, a Priest of Apollo’s whose daughter crisis had been captured. The Priest demanded her return, and the Achaeans complied, indirectly causing the anger of the Achilles. Anyway.. It sometimes can be very confusing this I know. From this one act, turns into another huge intertwined of different rescues by Apollo with another Goddess Aphrodite, Aeneas, and Diomedes. And there was also Pergamos too. Then they were revenge and death and the sacred spot in Troy. What it all came down to is this in a round about way.

 

You must understand that the Gods of Greek are very complicated group of people. It could be all that power that they have. Maybe it really goes to their heads sometimes.. Yet I have found it fascinating.

The next crises that happened in Apollo’s life is when Zeus struck down on the Apollo’s son Asclepius with one of his, lightning bolts for resurrecting Hippolytus from the dead [transgressing Themis by stealing Hades’s subjects]. Which I can’t tell you why on earth his son would do such a thing. It really didn’t go into the why’s  when I research Apollo; It just tells the what’s where’s.. For that I am sorry..  Now Apollo didn’t stand by, even if Zeus is The God of all the Olympians and his Father.

What he did do is take revenge and kill the Cyclopes, who had fashioned the bolt for Zeus. Apollo would have been banished to Tartarus forever, but was instead sentenced to one year of hard labor as punishment, due to the intercession of his mother, Leto.

During this time he served as a shepherd for a King in Admetus of Pherae in Thessaly. Admetus treated Apollo well, and in return, the God conferred great benefits on Admetus.  These Benefits were that; Apollo would help Admetus win Alcestis, the daughter of King Pelias and later convinced the Fates to let Admetus to live past his time, if another took his place,but when it came time for Admetus to die, his parents, whom he had assumed would gladly die for him, refused to cooperate. Instead. Alcestis took his place, but Heracles managed to persuade Thanatos the god of death to return her to the world of the living.

Again, I hope you are all able to follow this. This God Apollo has so much going on in his life that it's hard to put it in a way that is easy to understand. I hope I have been able to do so and done so in an interesting way too.

At the end of Apollo’s life or the myth. There are different versions; Here are those versions that I found; Leto had only two children Apollo killed her sons, and Artemis her daughters. Apollo and Artemis used poisoned arrows to kill them, though, according to some versions of the myth, a number of the Niobids were spared; Chloris, usually. Amphion, at the sight of his dead sons, either killed himself or was killed by Apollo after swearing revenge. It is said that the devastated Niobe fled to Mount Sipylos n Asia  Minor and then turned into stone as she wept. Her tears formed the river Achelous. Zeus had turned all the people of Thebes to stone and so no one buried the Niobids until the ninth day after their death, when the gods themselves persist.

Lovers-

On a happy part of Apollo’s life; Let talk about his life happier

 

part as the foremost gods of the Olympus and supremely handsome of most all the Gods. Like all the Gods and goddesses, Apollo had many lovers. His love affairs reference with both males and females – gods and humans – all of the them myths. Love affairs ascribed to

 

Apollo are in the late Greek mythology. Many of these happy times are in some of the most famous of Renaissance painters and the marble statues too.

Female lovers-

Daphne was one of Apollo lovers and a nymph, daughter, of the river god Peneus, who had scorned Apollo. The myth explains the connection of Apollo with the laurel whose leaves his priestess employed at Delphi. Another one of Apollo’s lovers is in the Ovid’s Metamorphoses, it's when Phoebus Apollo chaffs Cupid for toying with a weapon more suited for a man, whereupon the Cupid wounds Apollo with a golden dart; simultaneously, however, Cupid shoots a leaden arrow into

 

Daphne for whom Apollo loves, causing her to be repulsed by Apollo. Following a spirited chase by Apollo, Daphne prays to her father, Peneus, for help and he changes her into the

laurel tree, sacred to Apollo.

It seems even in love Apollo seems to have a hard life too.

Another tale is of Leucothea who was a daughter of Orchamus and the sister of Clytia. She fell in love with Apollo, who disguised himself as Leucothea’s mother to gain entrance to her chambers. Clytia, jealous of her sister because she wanted Apollo for herself, told Orchamus the truth, betraying her sister’s trust and confidence in her. Enraged, Orchamus ordered Leucothea to be buried alive. Apollo refused to forgive Clytia for betraying his beloved, and a grieving Clytia wilted and slowly died. Apollo changed her into an incense plant,either heliotrope or sunflower, which follows the sun every day. Its seems that the poor handsome god Apollo is lucky in love too.

 

Then there was Marpessa who 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, world tire of her when she grew old.

Another was a nymph named Castalia whom Apollo loved. She fled from him and dove into the spring at Delphi, at the base of Mt. Parnassus, which was then named after her. Water from this spring was sacred; it was used to clean the Delphian temples and inspire the priestesses. In the last oracle is mentioned that the ‘water, which could speak”, has been lost forever.

By Cyrene, Apollo had a son named Aristaeus, who became the patron god of cattle, fruit trees, hunting, husbandry and

bee-keeping. Aristaeus was also a culture-hero and taught humanity dairy skills, the use of nets and traps in hunting, and how to cultivate olives.

Well, this next one is a bit confusing to explain, but here goes; So the wife of the King of Troy, Hecuba and Apollo had a love affair between each other in secret, but the resolute of the affair was a child. Her name was Troilus. An oracle prophesied that Troy would not be defeated as long as Troilus reached the age of twenty alive, but sadly he was ambushed and killed by Achilleus.  I am getting to the lovers I promise..

These gods have a roundabout way of doing this I have discovered in doing this post. I really don’t know why they have to go thru all the different gods, half gods daughters, sons, etc. to get to the root of subject that they're talking about, but that is how they talk and live in those days.

 

So from what I understand Apollo fell in love with the daughter of Hecuba and Priam,  also was Troilus’ half-sister. Her name

was Cassandra. Apollo fell in love with Cassandra and promised her the gift of prophecy to seduce her, but she rejected Apollo after giving her the gift. This of course Enraged Apollo, indeed the gift was a very special one. Knowing that He had given her the give to see the future, Apollo added a curse with it, she could only see the future tragedies and that no one would ever believe her when she would try to tell them of these tragedies.

Once again The Beautiful God Apollo seems to have no luck in

love either. I hope he finds at least one love in his life… Female or Male. I really didn’t find one myself, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t…
 Male Lovers-

 

 

It is said in mythology that either Hyacinth or Hyacinthus was one of many of Apollo’s male Lovers.  In my research they

were sure on the name so I put both, which is the two above [Hyacinth or

Hyacinthus]. I am going to go with the name Hyacinthus. So Apollo’s lover Hyacinthus was a Spartan Prince, beautiful and very athletic too. The two of them practiced throwing the discus together, but when it was time for Apollo’s turn to throw the discus-it would be thrown off course by the jealous Zephyrus who had feeling for Apollo and struck Apollo lover Hyacinthus in the head killing him instantly.    [Gosh, even with men doesn't Apollo ever gets a lucky break ever!]  Well It would seem that Apollo was filled  from his lover's death.
So Apollo created a flower and named it after him as a memorial to his death, and his tears stained the flower petals with ‘alas’.  In which the Festival of the Hyacinthus was created as a celebration of Sparta.

There was one other male lover of Apollo and he was Cyparissus. A descendent of Heracles. Apollo gave him a tame deer as a companion, but his lover Cyparissus accidentally killed it with a javelin as it lay asleep in the undergrowth.  Things aren’t looking good for Apollo in this part of his life..

Well, it seems that Cyparissus asked Apollo to let his tears fall forever, because  of his sadness of loss. Apollo granted the request by turning his lover into the Cypress name after him, which was said to be a sad tree because the sap forms droplets like tears on the trunk.

Temple of Apollo-

After the war of Actium if you know what war/battle that was? And it was fought near the Temple of Apollo. What makes all this important is who made the temple and dedicated the Temple to Apollo. This was Augustus, who dedicated it to Apollo and instituted quinquennial games in his honor. He also erected a new temple to the temple to the god on the Palatine hill. Sacrifices and prayers in the Palatine to Apollo and Diana formed the culmination of the Secular Games, held in the BCE to celebrate the dawn of a new era.

Apollo’s Attributes-

If you could say what Apollo’s most attributes were; was his

 

Bow and Arrow. His others would be the plectrum and the sword. Another emblem was the sacrificial tripod, representing his prophetic powers. The Pythian Games were held in Apollo’s honor every four years at Delphi. And the Bay Laural plant was used in expiatory sacrifices and in making the crown of victory in these games. And there was finally the Palm tree. This was sacred to Apollo because he had been born under one on the Island of Greece of Delos.

 

Also Animals are very sacred to Apollo too, this would include wolves, dolphins, roe deers, swans, hawks, ravens, crows, snakes [This is because of Apollo abilities as the God of Prophecies], mice, griffins, mythical eagle-lion hybrids of Eastern origin.

Some of Apollo’s other attributes in his lifetime were- It was said that he represented all harmony, order and reason with the Gods in contrast to those of Dionysus God of wine, who represented ecstasy and disorder.

Apollo in the Arts-

Apollo has been in many of the Greek and Roman Arts/ and

 

the Renaissance Arts as well. He has also been in many sculptures as well. It seems that the Sculptures in the earliest form of Greek even had a word for the God Apollo when they would do Sculptures of him. The word was ‘Delight’.

What these early Greek Sculptures would try to create when they would do these Amazing Sculptures of Apollo; is to give the piece the highest degree of power and beauty that they could image if the sculpture were alive. The Sculptors derived this form observations on human beings, but they also embodied in concrete form, issues beyond the reach of ordinary thought of their time. The statues of Apollo embody his beauty, balance and Spirit that he had during his time in the World. 
I hope that You all Enjoy my Post on Apollo the Sun God. I

 

know in parts it was a bit difficult to understand, so I tried my best to put the Greek language in a way that could be understood. In my opinion, this God, is a Sad Story. I really wasn't able to find much happiness in his life. Even at the end part of his life. Which tells me, that beauty isn't always the best thing to have. It seems it kinda was a curse for him in some ways. I hope anyway that you still found that Apollo did have a good heart which i believe he did.
Much love my dears 

Wendy.."(✿◠‿◠)˙•٠•●c Celibate life♥´Magic Surrounds Us ƸӜƷ ♪♫♪♫♪❤❤

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