History of Europe

Apollo

Apollo he was one of the gods most revered by the ancient Greeks, and he was also present in Roman religion under the name of Phoebus. He was the son of Zeus and Leto and the twin brother of Artemis, being also known as the god of the Sun, music, arts, poetry, among others. He had in the bow and arrow and the lyre his great symbols.

Learn more: Greek and Roman Gods

Who was Apollo?

Apollo was one of the most traditional gods of the religion of the ancient Greeks, being one of the most venerated in Greece. This god, like many others present in Greek religiosity, was also present in Roman religiosity, being known in Ancient Rome as Phoebus . Apollo was considered to begod of the sun ,of light ,of the arts ,of the song ,of poetry ,of prophecy ,of medicine etc.

Apollo was recognized in Greece as an athletic god, therefore , of a good physical build, and was reputed to be excellent in the handling of the bow and arrow and in playing an instrument called the lyre . Precisely for this reason both the bow and arrow and the lyre were considered symbols of him. Other symbols that represented him were the tripod, the crow and the laurel wreath.

One ​​of the best-known images of Apollo is his representation as the Sun with rays of light emanating from it, but this view was only consolidated later, since, in the Homeric Period, he was not recognized as such. Image of him as god of the Sun was consolidated in the Hellenistic Period.

In the Homeric Period, for example, Apollo was believed to be the god of sending plagues , since he was thought to be responsible for all sudden deaths. Therefore, when a person was afflicted with a mysterious disease, they spoke of this god. In the Trojan War, for example, Homer recounted that Apollo had sent arrows with a plague that affected the Greek armies.

As he was one of the most revered gods in the Greek world, several temples in his honor were built. Among the temples are those built on the islands of Delos and Rhodes . It is also believed that in Naxos and Corinth , there were temples to Apollo since the 6th century BC

However, the most famous temple was the one located at Delphi, built around 650 BC. The Greeks believed that, near that place, Apollo had killed the snake Python.

When did Apollos appear?

Greek mythology told that Apollo was son of Zeus and Leto , who can be seen as a goddess or a Titaness, in the different versions of her myth. The fact that doesn't change is that he was her son and had a twin sister, Artemis , another well-known goddess in Greek religiosity.

The birth of Apollo and his sister was quite troubled because their mother, Leto, was persecuted by Hera, wife of Zeus. Hera was very jealous of Zeus and began to pursue her husband's lover. Thus, Hera sought to use everything in her power to punish Leto.

The main way she found was to forbid Gaia, Mother Earth, from allowing Leto, on earth, to give birth to her children. With that, Leto was kicked out of every place she tried to give birth and suffered the pains of childbirth for days and days. Another goddess forbidden to help her was Ilicia, the goddess of childbirth.

In the end, legend has it that Ilicia disobeyed Hera, allowing Leto to give birth to her children. Leto, further, was supposedly helped by Poseidon, who allowed her to reach the island of Delos, a floating island that was not tied to land, so Gaia could not intervene. After birth, Apollo was fed ambrosia, the food of the gods, and immediately grew into a full-grown man .

Apollo sought revenge for all the suffering his mother went through, which resulted in a clash between him and Python, a giant serpent that Hera had sent to chase and kill Leto. Python resided on Mount Parnassus, and at one point she and Apollo met. The result of that encounter was the death of the serpent , victimized after being hit by three arrows launched by the god.

Login also :History of the Atlantis Myth

Love Relationships

The history of the god Apollo is marked by the existence of numerous lovers , men or women. However, his most famous love stories were those of his failures, in which he was unrequited or his romance came to a tragic end.

One ​​of the best-known stories involves Dafne , a nymph for whom Apollo had a strong crush. However, to her frustration, Daphne didn't harbor the same feelings for him, feeling, in fact, a strong repulsion for the god.

This happened because Apollo had been sabotaged by Eros, god of passion for the Greeks. This myth told that Apollo was induced by Eros to fall in love with Daphne, and this happened because he was hit by a golden arrow of the god of passion. However, Daphne was hit by a lead arrow , which meant she would be repulsed by anyone who fell in love with her.

Apollo then began to pursue Daphne, who was fleeing the onslaughts of the Greek god. At one point, Daphne got tired of running away from Apollo and asked her father to transform her into any other being. With that, she was turned into a laurel tree , and thus she was able to get rid of Apollo. The sun god, in turn, came to have a great appreciation for this tree.


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