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Significance Of Apollo In Ancient Greek Gods

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Greek mythology includes a collection of myths and stories that tell the great tales of the Greek gods and goddesses. The ancient Greeks worshiped many of these gods and goddesses as part of their religion. These interesting stories have been studied and shared for hundreds of years and are still very popular today. One of these Greek gods is Apollo, the god of the sun and light. He is also the patron of prophecy, inspiration, music, poetry, literature, archery, hunters, healing and medicine. As one of the twelve Olympians, Apollo is known as a great god that many worshiped and is a very large influence in both ancient Greek mythology and modern-day books and films. He is often considered a unique god and one of the most important gods in Greek …show more content…

He is believed to have been very young, athletic, strong and able to move the sun and light. Worshipers of Apollo believed he would leave Greece during the winter season and travel to a place called Hyperborea. He would return to Greece every spring. His white swans would pull him in his chariot, which explains why Apollo made the swan one of his sacred symbols. In addition to being the god of the sun and light, he is the patron god of archery and hunters. Apollo is often seen in pictures with a lion and a bow and arrow. “Literature often presents Apollo in a dual aspect of fearsome hunter and gracious player of the lyre” (Jordan 25). He is also the patron god of poetry, literature, music and was considered the leader of the Muses. Apollo is often seen in pictures and statues “playing his golden lyre”. (Kokkinou 49). He lead the Muses in song and dance with his beautiful …show more content…

“Apollo was the most characteristically Greek of all the Olympian gods; the perfect example of male Greek beauty” (Kokkinou 45). He had many loves, but most of his relationships did not end well. Daphne was one of the many that he adored. Daphne tried to escape Apollo because she didn't want to be with him and she was saved and turned into a laurel tree by Gaia. Apollo made the laurel tree his sacred plant because he was still in love with Daphne. Another great love of Apollo’s was Coronis. She gave birth to their son, Asklepios. A crow came to him and told him that Coronis was not faithful to him. “Apollo cursed it, turning it black when it had previously been white - since when all crows have been black” (March 59). After Apollo found out that she was unfaithful to him, he sent his sister, Artemis, to kill her with a bow and arrow. A third example of Apollo’s bad luck with love was his relationship with Cassandra, a beautiful mortal woman. Cassandra agreed to marry Apollo and he gave her the gift of prophecy. Later, Cassandra changed her mind and Apollo got mad and “he decided to turn the gift into a curse. Although Cassandra would still be able to predict the future, no one would believe what she said” (Kuhtz, Martell 10). Daphne, Coronis, and Cassandra were his three most famous love stories, but there were many more

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