Apollo

Apollo

Apollo has been recognised as a god of archery, music and dance, truth and prophecy, healing and diseases, the sun and light, poetry, and more. One of the most important and complex of the Greek gods, he is the son of Zeus and Leto, and the twin brother of Artemis, goddess of the hunt. He is considered to be the most beautiful of the gods, often depicted as a beardless athletic youth.

Apollo presided over all music, songs, dance, and poetry. He was the inventor of string-music and a frequent companion of the Muses, functioning as their chorus leader in celebrations.

As the patron of Delphi, Apollo was sought frequently for guidance and prophecy, and was a well-respected leader. He was in general seen as the god who afforded help and warded off evil. In particular he was concerned with the health and education of children, and presided over their passage into adulthood. A boychild’s first haircut, marking his step into adulthood, was often dedicated to Apollo.

Apollo also encouraged the founding of new towns and the establishment of civil constitutions, and was the giver of laws. His oracles were often consulted before setting laws in a city. Protection of herds, flocks and crops from diseases, pests and predators were also among Apollo’s primary rustic duties.

Medicine and healing were associated with Apollo, whether through the god himself or mediated through his healer son Asclepius. Apollo delivered people from epidemics, yet he was also a god who could bring ill health and deadly plague with his arrows. The invention of archery itself is credited to Apollo and his sister Artemis, and as such Apollo was usually described as carrying a silver or golden bow and a quiver of silver or golden arrows.

Apollo played a pivotal role in the Trojan War. He sided with the Trojans, and sent a terrible plague to the Greek camp, which indirectly led to the conflict between Achilles and Agamemnon. He killed the Greek heroes Patroclus, Achilles, and numerous Greek soldiers. He also helped many Trojan heroes, the most important one being Hector. After the end of the war, Apollo and Poseidon together cleaned the remains of the city and the camps.

Relationships

Apollo is said to have been the lover of all nine Muses, and not being able to choose one of them, he decided to remain unwed. He had a great many other lovers too, mortals and gods, male and female, and fathered a great many children. His children grew up to be physicians, musicians, poets, seers or archers. Many of his sons founded new cities and became kings.

Rebirth

In the 1st Age, Apollo lived as Jet Terrones