Apollo was a god that evolved in that he was all the gods in one, and through the centuries, he acquired different functions that could originate from different gods. In archaic Greece, he was the prophet, the oracular god who, in older times, was connected with "healing." In classical Greece, he was the god of light and of music, but in popular religion, he had a strong function to keep away evil.
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Apollo Greek God: Origin
When Zeus' wife Hera discovered that Leto was pregnant and that Zeus was the father, she banned Leto from giving birth in their current location. In her wanderings, Leto found the newly created floating island of Delos, which was neither a mainland nor a real island. She gave birth there and was accepted by the people, offering them her promise that her son would always be favorable toward the city. Afterward, Zeus secured Delos to the bottom of the ocean. This island later became sacred to Apollo.
It is also stated that Hera kidnapped Eileithyia, the goddess of childbirth, to prevent Leto from going into labor. The other gods tricked Hera into letting her go by offering her a necklace of amber 9 yards.
According to legend, Artemis was born first and subsequently assisted with the birth of Apollo, or Artemis was born on the island of Ortigia, and she helped Leto cross the sea to Delos the next day to give birth to Apollo. Apollo was born on the seventh day of the month Thargelion, according to Delian tradition, or of the month Bysios, according to Delphian tradition. The seventh and twentieth, the days of the new and full moon, were ever afterward held sacred to him.
Four days after his birth, Apollo killed the Chthonic dragon Python, which lived in Delphi beside the Castalian Spring. This was the spring that emitted vapors that caused the oracle at Delphi to give her prophecies. Hera sent the serpent to hunt Leto to her death across the world. To protect his mother, Apollo begged Hephaestus for a bow and arrows. After receiving them, Apollo cornered Python in the sacred cave at Delphi. Apollo killed Python but had to be punished for it since Python was a child of Gaia.
Hera then sent the giant Tityos to rape Leto. This time, Apollo was aided by his sister Artemis in protecting their mother. During the battle, Zeus finally relented his aid and hurled Tityos down to Tartarus. There, he was pegged to the rock floor, covering an area of 9 acres, where a pair of vultures feasted daily on his liver.
Apollo Greek God: Trojan War
Apollo shot arrows infected with the plague into the Greek encampment during the Trojan War in retribution for Agamemnon's insult to Chryses, a priest of Apollo whose daughter Chryseis had been captured. He demanded her return, and the Achaeans complied, indirectly causing the anger of Achilles, which is the theme of the Iliad.
In the Iliad, when Diomedes injured Aeneas, Apollo rescued him. First, Aphrodite tried to rescue Aeneas, but Diomedes injured her as well. Aeneas was then enveloped in a cloud by Apollo, who took him to Pergamos, a sacred spot in Troy.
Apollo aided Paris in the killing of Achilles by guiding the arrow of his bow into Achilles' heel. One interpretation of his motive is that it was in revenge for Achilles' sacrilege in murdering Troilus, the god's own son by Hecuba, on the very altar of the god's own temple.
Apollo Greek God: Lovers
As with most of the Olympian gods, Apollo was promiscuous. He had many female lovers as well as some male lovers as well.
Female
- Coronis - a mortal that became impregnated by Apollo but then had an affair with another. When Apollo found out about it through a white crow, he ordered Artemis to kill Coronis and proceeded to burn the crow. Crows have been black ever since.
- Marpessa - Her lover Idas had already gone through hell to get her, even risking his own life while abducting her. But, he didn’t back down even in front of Apollo, raising his bow and threatening him with an attack. Zeus stopped this fight and gave Marpessa the chance to choose. She chose Idas – since she feared that Apollo would stop loving her after she grew old.
- Cassandra - In an attempt to seduce her, Apollo gifted Cassandra, the Trojan princess, the gift of prophecy. However, afterward, she backed out of the deal. Now, being a god, Apollo wasn’t allowed to recall his gift. But, he thought of a cunning idea to spoil it: he took away Cassandra’s powers of persuasion. Ever since, nobody believes her – even though her prophecies are always right.
- Daphne - He fell in love with Daphne, who had sworn purity to Artemis. He continued to stalk her, and finally, Daphne went to her father, the river god Peneus, and asked him to transform her into something else. She was transformed into a laurel tree.
Male
- Cyparissus - a descendant of Heracles. Apollo gave him a tame deer as a companion, but Cyparissus accidentally killed it with a javelin as it lay asleep in the undergrowth. Cyparissus asked Apollo to let his tears fall forever. Apollo granted the request by turning him into the Cypress named after him, which was said to be a sad tree because the sap forms droplets like tears on the trunk.
- Hyacinthus - The relationship between the two made Zephyrus, the West Wind – a Hyacinthus’ admirer himself – so jealous that, when the pair were practicing in the fields, he made Hyacinthus’ discus swerve back and mortally wound him on the head. However, Apollo didn’t allow Hades to take all of Hyacinthus to his realm: out of his spilled blood, the god created a flower that bears his lover’s name to this day.