As one of the most prominent Olympian gods, Apollo was worshipped by both Ancient Greek and Roman religions. Chiefly recognised as the god of light and the sun, the Roman emperor Augustus Caesar selected Apollo as his own god. Augustus attributed his victory over Mark Antony and Cleopatra to Apollo, and what he considered the sun god's superiority over the vastly inferior Egyptian deities.
According to Greek mythology, Apollo drove the chariot of the sun through the sky every day. Celebrated as the god of truth and prophecy, he was worshipped at Delphi, the most important oracle in the classical Greek world. Delphi was considered the centre of the earth and the universe, and an eternal flame glowed in Apollo's honour at the main temple. One legend tells of how Apollo took the form of a dolphin to transport priests across the sea from the island of Crete to Delphi.
Apollo was the son of the supreme Greek god Zeus and the nymph Leto. His twin sister was Artemis, goddess of the hunt. On learning of Leto's pregnancy, Zeus' wife Hera was outraged, but powerless to change destiny. She refused to allow Leto to give birth on any land under the sun - mainland or island - and sent the earth dragon Python to chase Leto to prevent the birth. She also kidnapped Ilithyia, the goddess of childbirth, to prevent Leto from going into labour. She released her captive after she was tricked by the other gods into accepting an amber necklace.
Because Delos was a barren, floating island it was immune from Hera's decree. According to Homer's "Hymn to Delian Apollo", one of the earliest literary references to the Greek sun god, Leto promised the island that if she was allowed to give birth to Zeus' son there Delos would benefit from the patronage of Apollo. Nine days after giving birth to her daughter Artemis, Apollo was born. In gratitude, Zeus secured Delos with four pillars, and the island became sacred to Apollo. Because Apollo was born on the seventh day of the lunar month the days of the new moon and full moon were sacred to him.
When he was four days old he chased Python, his mother's tormenter, to Delphi, where he killed it. Although a dragon, Python was a child of Gaia - the earth goddess. Apollo had to be punished, so Zeus instigated the Pythian Games, over which Apollo presided. Another legend describes a journey from northern Greece to Delphi, during which Apollo picked laurel (also known as bay) leaves from the plant which was sacred to him. In his honour all winners of the Pythian Games, precursor of the Olympic Games, received a laurel wreath.
Hera then sent a monstrous giant named Tityos to kill Leto. Once again, Apollo defended his mother, this time aided by his sister Artemis. On this occasion Zeus intervened, casting Tityos into the remote part of the Underworld called Tartarus, where two vultures fed daily upon his liver.
Apollo is described as an ideal male beauty, usually depicted beardless with golden curling hair. As the god of archery his weapon of choice was the bow and arrow. He was also the god of poetry, music and the arts, where his good looks and creative nature were an inspiration to artists and poets. Celebratory hymns called paeans were written for and dedicated to Apollo. The god Hermes created the lyre for him, and the instrument became one of Apollo's symbols. He was the leader of the Muses, the nymphs who inspire creativity. Apollo was also a god of medicine and healing, with the somewhat contradictory power to bring sickness and plagues to mankind. Because Apollo's and Artemis' arrows invariably found their targets, Greeks explained epidemics of diseases as the accuracy of the two gods' skill with bow and arrow. By praying to Apollo, the epidemic might be halted. This is how Apollo became associated with the cure of diseases.
The Ancient Romans had no equivalent sun god, and they adopted Apollo, taking their worship of him from Greek religion. Roman leaders would traditionally consult the oracle at Delphi, and established the first temple to Apollo in the fifth century BC. Some Roman poets also referred to Apollo as Phoebus. After the successful Battle of Actium, fought near one of Apollo's sanctuaries, Augustus Caesar dedicated a portion of the spoils of war to the god, enlarged the existing temple and built a new one on Palatine Hill, one of the Seven Hills of Rome. Possibly following the Greek tradition of the Pythian Games, Augustus instigated the quinquennial games, held every five years in Apollo's honour.
Although he had romantic encounters with many women, Apollo never married. His relationships are some of the best known tales in Greek mythology. After mocking Cupid for his use of the bow and arrow, Cupid resolved to show Apollo the power of his arrows. His arrow caused Apollo to in love with a nymph named Daphne. Unfortunately, Eros had shot Daphne with a leaden arrow, causing her to be repulsed by Apollo, and she fled from him. Desperate, she begged to be released from the pursuit, and was changed into a laurel tree sacred to Apollo. Clytia's jealousy at her sister Leucothea's affair with Apollo caused the siblings' mother to bury Leucothea alive. Apollo's anger at Clytia's betrayal caused her to die from her grief. Apollo turned her into a sunflower, which follows the sun every day as it travels through the sky. When his lover Acantha died he turned her into a herb that thrives in sunny positions.
Some of his relationships did produce children. Aristaeus, his son with Cyrene, became the god of cattle, animal husbandry, fruit trees and bee-keeping, and is credited with introducing dairy farming and olive cultivation to mankind. An affair with the wife of the Trojan king Priam resulted in the birth of Apollo's son Troilus. A prophecy claimed that if Troilus reached the age of twenty Troy would never be defeated. The hero Achilles murdered the young Troilus at the start of the Trojan War. In revenge Apollo ensured Paris' arrow struck Achilles in his heel, the only vulnerable part of his body. Troilus' half-sister Cassandra rejected Apollo's advances, even though he granted her the gift of foresight in return for her favours. Apollo cursed her gift, ensuring nobody would ever believe her prophecies.
After a crow informed Apollo that his pregnant lover Coronis had fallen in love with another man, a disbelieving Apollo cast a terrible curse upon all crows. The force of which turned their white feathers black. When he learned the crow was telling the truth he made the bird sacred and tasked it with the responsibility of announcing all important deaths. Heartbroken, Apollo asked Artemis to kill Coronis, before he burned her body upon a funeral pyre. He rescued their child, who was called Asclepius.
Asclepius was such a successful healer he earned the reputation of being able to resuscitate the dead. This annoyed the god of the underworld, Hades, who complained to his brother Zeus. Mindful of family relations Zeus killed Asclepius with a thunderbolt, and placed him in the constellations. In revenge Apollo killed the Cyclops who had made the thunderbolt for Zeus, and was banned by his father from the night skies. He was also made to serve under the King of Thessaly for one year.
Apollo had several male lovers, some of who suffered tragic, accidental deaths. After his lover Cyparissus accidently killed a deer Apollo had given him as a companion, the grief-stricken youth asked Apollo to let his tears fall forever. Apollo turned him into the cypress tree, whose sap forms tear-like droplets on the trunk. While practicing the discus with Hyacinthus the jealous Zephyrus blew a gust of wind at the discus, which hit Hyacinthus' head and killed him. Apollo turned Zephyrus into a wind, ensuring he would never again be able to touch or speak to anyone. Apollo created the hyacinth flower from a drop of his lover's blood.
Apollo's name and status continued to inspire long mankind after the decline of the Ancient Greek and Roman classic periods. A marble statue, known as the Apollo Belvedere, was discovered at the end of the 15th century, and is considered a classic example of classic Greek art. A statue of Apollo, produced for a Roman dignity during the second century AD, can be seen in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. Percy Bysshe Shelley honoured Apollo in his 1820 poem titled "Hymn of Apollo". The composer Igor Stravinsky's work "Apollon Musag", completed in 1928, features Apollo's interaction with the Muses. It inspired George Balanchine's ballet "Apollo".
NASA gave his name to their 1960s' Apollo Lunar Program, and the Apollo crater is a basin on the far side of our moon. Apollo asteroids are a group of near earth asteroids discovered in 1862. Ships, airplanes, motor vehicles, submarines and even bicycles have been named after Apollo, and towns, bridges and theatres are named for him in countries all over the world. He's lent his name to record companies, fictional heroes in literature and film and to magazine. Europe's Apollo butterfly is named in his honour.
The Roman writer Horace, shared Augustus' thoughts on Apollo in his "Carmen Saeculare": "Governor of Roman destiny; master of the sun; archer; augur; averter of pestilence; and giver of sound morals to the young." Over time Apollo's name has remained true to those ideals, and has grown to encompass so much more. His legacy to the world is with us today, and will be a part of our lives and culture for the foreseeable future.