Apollo-Greek God of the Sun and Light

Apollo was a great Greek god associated with bow, music, and divination. Symbol of youth and beauty, source of life and healing, patron of the arts, and as bright and powerful as the sun itself, Apollo was arguably the most beloved of all gods. It is among the most famous of all Greek religious temples. He was worshiped in Delphi and Delos.

Apollo, son of Zeus and Leto and twin brother of Artemis, was born on the island of Delos (holding a golden sword in Hesiod's Theogony). It was said that at the first taste of ambrosia, he immediately transformed from baby to male. Apollo was later given a bow made by Hephaestus, a master artisan of Mount Olympus.

As with other great gods, Apollo had many children; perhaps the most famous are Orpheus (who inherited his father's musical skills and became a virtuoso with the lyre or kithara), Asclepius (whom he gave his healing and medical knowledge) and, according to the 5th century BC tragedy Euripides, the hero Ion.

Apollo is an important hero in Homer's account of the Trojan War in the Iliad. On the side of the Trojans, he specially helps the Trojan heroes Hector, Aeneas and Glaukos, saving their lives more than once with his divine intervention. He brought plague to the Achaeans, all of Troy led his army (holding Zeus' dreaded shield) in an attack that destroyed the defensive walls of the Greek camps, and was also responsible for directing the arrow of Paris into Achilles' heel and killing those who apparently killed it. the invincible Greek hero. Apollo is most often described by Homer and Hesiod as 'remote shooter', 'remote worker', 'hitman of armies' and 'Phoebus Apollo'.

Apollo often played the role of the faithful son of Zeus, father of the gods, and never sought to usurp his position (unlike Zeus who overthrew his own father, Kronos). As a punishment, Apollo had to spend a year herding the king's sheep in the humble service of Admetus of Therae.

Apollo received his lyre from his mischievous half-brother Hermes, who was the messenger god. As a baby, Hermes had stolen Apollo's sacred herd of cattle and cleverly turned his hooves upside down to make it difficult to follow his tracks. Hermes was allowed to retain his ill-gotten gains, but gave Apollo a after he gave his lyre, which he invented using a tortoiseshell.

The dark side of Apollo as the bringer of plague and divine punishment is most famously seen when Niobe slays his six (or seven in some accounts) sons, along with his sister Artemis, as punishment for boasting that their childbearing capacity is greater than Leto's. Another unfortunate victim of Apollo's wrath was the satyr Marsyas, who unwisely claimed to be more musically gifted than the god.

The two had a rivalry, and the Muses decided that Apollo was indeed the better musician. Apollo later went live for his mortal arrogance. flayed his living skin and nailed his skin to a pine tree. The story is an interesting metaphor for the rivalry (at least to Greek ears) between the civilized and orderly music of Apollo's lyre and the wilder, more chaotic music of Marsyas' flute.

Apollo, this time idyllic won another music contest against the god Pan and was defeated by King Midas, thus creating the undisputed musical element in the Greek world. God's defeat of Marsyas and Pan may reflect the Greek conquest of Phrygia and Arcadia, respectively.

Apollo was a well-loved god, and this was most likely due to his association with many positive aspects of the human condition, such as music, poetry, purification, healing, and medicine. God was also associated with moderation in all things. Although his arrows could bring destruction, they could also prevent harm to their favor. One strategy to keep them out of their homes was to erect a column of Apollo Agyieus and, on a larger scale, Apollo Propylaios, to protect the city gates.