Apollo Essay (About the Greek god) | Teen Ink

Apollo Essay (About the Greek god)

April 30, 2010
By StarlitStranger SILVER, Delancey, New York
StarlitStranger SILVER, Delancey, New York
6 articles 2 photos 25 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Because if it isn't 'of Doom' what's the point?"


Lycos, the wolf-god or Apollo of the sun. Is he Helios? Who is Apollo? Where did he come from? He is referred to in music and medicine. But where did he begin?

Apollo’s father was Zeus, the king of the gods. Zeus, though married to Hera, had some problems with fidelity. He impregnated Leto, the daughter of a Titan. When the jealous Hera found out about Leto’s pregnancy she put a curse on Leto. That no land would let her rest long enough to have her children, she also sent her monster python after Leto. Leto couldn’t find a place to give birth. Until, while running from the python, she stumbled across the island of Delos. Delos was a floating island, so technically it wasn’t land. Also Hera’s python couldn’t get to the island. There Leto could give birth safely. Her first-born was a girl, Artemis. Then Apollo was born. At first Apollo and his twin, Artemis, lived among humans. But the gods saw how they shone among mortals, they were bright, energetic, and just plain godly. So Zeus invited them to live on Mt. Olympus, where all the main gods and goddesses lived. The twins accepted, and Zeus gave them each a gift. Their own bow and arrows, Apollo’s made out of gold, and Artemis’ out of silver. Apollo had many jobs as a god. He was the god of wisdom, prophecy, the sun, medicine, cattle, arts, music, and he controls the muses. It is thought that Apollo came to Greece from Asia, as Lycos. Meaning ‘Wolf-god’, it was thought that he was the protector of shepherds, shielding them from things like wolves. Then later turned into the sun god by the Greeks, with his other titles secondary.

In Greek mythology Apollo never got married, but he did have an assortment of lovers. The reason he never got married is because all of his relationships end badly.


Take Daphne for example, Apollo was joking around with Eros telling him that he was a better archer. It’s not a good idea to insult the god of love. Eros decided to pull one over on Apollo. He took one of his magic golden tipped arrows and shot Apollo in the heart. He immediately fell in love with the nymph, Daphne. Apollo decided he would go after Daphne and try to win her love. That didn’t work out to well, because Eros had thought that Daphne wouldn’t be stupid enough to reject Apollo. So he shot Daphne with a lead tipped arrow, making her instantly hate Apollo. So as Apollo was chasing Daphne across the forests, Daphne ran from him because she felt a deep unprovoked hatred for him. She called to her father, a river god, for help. As she reached his shore she was instantaneity turned into a laurel tree. Apollo was deeply hurt by Daphne’s decision. She would rather be a tree than be with him. Apollo took some leaves from her and left, that’s why hero’s of ancient Greece were awarded laurel leaf crowns, and why one of Apollo’s many signs was the laurel leaf. Not all of his relationships ended badly, just most of them. Like Cassandra, she was the princess of Troy. When Apollo fell for her he promised he would teach her the art of prophecy. She pretended to be in love with him until after he taught her prophecy, and then she dropped him like a hot potato. Apollo was heartbroken yet again, so he put a curse on Cassandra. No one would ever listen to her prophecies. They would hear them, but pay them no heed.

Apollo also had a lot of kids Aristaeus from the nymph Cyrene, Troilius from Hecuba, and Asclepius are just a few.

A while after Eros had messed with Apollo and Daphne, Eros needed favor. Eros wanted the human Psyche for his wife, but he didn’t know how to get her to the top of a mountain so one of the winds could bring her to him. So he asked Apollo to tell one of his most famous prophets, the sibyl at Delphi, to tell Psyche’s father to bring her to the mountaintop. One of the reasons Apollo’s prophet was one of the most famous is because it was physically impossible for her to lie. The prophet told her father that Psyche was meant for no mortal man, and that she was meant for a monster. I guess she thought that because Eros hurt Apollo, and that was how Apollo viewed him.

It’s strange how the Greeks depicted the gods, so much like us. Pain and love, hand in hand. Will future generations remember the ancient gods like Apollo, or will they be lost in the shifting sands of time?



“Apollo” 1997. 20 September 2009 <http://www.pantheon.org/articles/a/apollo.html


The author's comments:
I always liked Apollo the best out of the Olympian gods, it's just an informative piece about him.

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This article has 13 comments.


allie... said...
on Apr. 2 2014 at 8:38 pm
iam doing a research paper on apollo and one thing we have to find out what are some words or phrases they are associated with. whould you happen to know any for apollo?

on Aug. 7 2010 at 12:32 pm
StarlitStranger SILVER, Delancey, New York
6 articles 2 photos 25 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Because if it isn&#039;t &#039;of Doom&#039; what&#039;s the point?&quot;

Apollo is the coolest of the gods. ;)

on Aug. 7 2010 at 12:32 pm
StarlitStranger SILVER, Delancey, New York
6 articles 2 photos 25 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Because if it isn&#039;t &#039;of Doom&#039; what&#039;s the point?&quot;

Thanks, ohmigosh the question. It's so corny! My english teacher likes stuff like that soooo whatever maked her happy.

on Aug. 7 2010 at 12:31 pm
StarlitStranger SILVER, Delancey, New York
6 articles 2 photos 25 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Because if it isn&#039;t &#039;of Doom&#039; what&#039;s the point?&quot;

Thanks, :) Greek myths are the best.

killover said...
on May. 26 2010 at 9:34 am
you do realize  she's  never going to comment right. just saying she never gose on the internet btw.

on May. 10 2010 at 5:51 pm
whatshername GOLD, Carlsbad, California
14 articles 1 photo 112 comments
I love greek mythology and this was great!

HippiesRevil said...
on May. 10 2010 at 10:44 am

We shouldn't calm down! She thinks she knows stuff but she doesn't!! This is the only way she can learn. 

   FireHose; wants to know if you guys want cheeseburgers. (To HippiesRevil and Joshine)


on May. 10 2010 at 10:40 am
StarlitStranger SILVER, Delancey, New York
6 articles 2 photos 25 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Because if it isn&#039;t &#039;of Doom&#039; what&#039;s the point?&quot;

jeez guys, i think she gets it. Calm down.

FireHose said...
on May. 10 2010 at 10:39 am
I agree with HippiesRevil! 

on May. 10 2010 at 10:20 am
StarlitStranger SILVER, Delancey, New York
6 articles 2 photos 25 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Because if it isn&#039;t &#039;of Doom&#039; what&#039;s the point?&quot;

No I didn’t, that’s one of his lesser “lovers” who happens to be a nymph who starts with a ‘C’ and has a child that starts with an ‘A’. Of course I know about Asclepeus. But I didn’t want to add that because this is a HAPPY Apollo essay. I didn’t put in any of the stories where he kills someone or has someone killed. Like when he tricked his sister into killing Orion, the giant she was having a relationship with. Or when he helped Paris kill Achilles, or when he flayed and hung a satyr who challenged him to a music contest. With Asclepeus, his mother cheated on Apollo, and it was the Raven that told him, he had Artemis kill her. That’s why he turned the ravens feathers black. (They used to white.) Coronis was preggers, so he cut the baby out. But he still felt bad, so he wouldn’t take care of Asclepeus, so he gave him to Hermes, who raised him as a sheperd for awhile, then he gave him to Chiron to take care of. Who taught him the healing arts. But eventually Asclepeus surpassed his knowledge of the healing arts and became a famus physician, who later learned how to bring ppl back from the dead. Hades asked Zeus if he could kill A. And Zeus said yes, so Hades did, but that angered Apollo, who killed the Cyclopes, that made Zeus’ thunderbolts, or their sons. (Not because I don’t know wich, but because the Greek philosophers didn’t agree on this.) Sorry if that sounded mean, but I get very sensitive when ppl threaten my title of Apollo’s Favorite, given to me by friend and Fam.

on May. 8 2010 at 1:57 am
.Escape.From.This.Afterlife. GOLD, Short Hills, New Jersey
10 articles 0 photos 92 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;bad blood is more satisfying to spill across the floor...&quot;

This is awesome, and not just because I love Greek mythology.  I learned a lot about Apollo that I didn't really know before.  Amazing!

on May. 7 2010 at 3:21 pm
jrose426 SILVER, Kirkville, New York
5 articles 0 photos 7 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Decide you want it more than you are afraid of it.&quot;

I liked this a lot, Greek mythology is so interesting! This was really informative, and I like the question you ended with!

Angelic_Rose said...
on May. 7 2010 at 2:06 pm
Angelic_Rose, Cottonwood, California
0 articles 6 photos 55 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;What&#039;s meant to be, will find its way&quot;.

I really like this article because i learned alot about Apollo, but a few facts were wrong: It is true that Apollo had many lovers but you may have mispelled one of Apollo's lovers. Coronis, a nymph, and Apollo were lovers whom had many kids. It is said that Coronis had an affair with a Lapith (i may have mispelled it, but they are warriors and enemies of the Centaurs) and was caught red handed. I wasn't sure about how Apollo retrieved the news, i think it was either Hermes or a raven, but he became so furious, that he asked Artemis, his twin sister, to destroy Coronis. I'm not sure how she was killed, but i know that her body was placed on a Funeral Pyre and her body burned in the firey flames. That was also the period when Coronis was pregnet with Asclepius, whom Apollo had "somehow" took Asclepius out from his mother's belly and sent his son to the great centaur Choris (or something, but he trained Achilles thats for sure). Lol I'm kind of a greek mythology fan if you didn't notice =)