Term Paper on "God Apollo"

Term Paper 5 pages (1637 words) Sources: 3

[EXCERPT] . . . .

God Apollo:

Apollo is a multi-talented Greek god who is represented as a young and good-looking man and used a chariot given to him by his father in some cases. Apollo was the son of Zeus, the father and Leto, the mother and had a twin brother known as Artemis. Apollo is regarded as the Greek god of music, prophecy, healing, intellectual pursuits, plague, and the sun in certain cases. As a Greek god, Apollo had two main sites to honor him i.e. Delos, the place of his birth, and Delphi, the site of the re-known oracle. The Romans also called Apollo by this name because there was no special Latin variant of his name in contrast to many Olympian gods. It's important to note that Apollo was not initially a sun god though he was normally associated with the sun.

Birth and Early Childhood of god Apollo:

Apollo was born in the island of Delos after her mother moved to this place when Hera discovered that her husband had had another affair. Hera sent the Python, a monstrous serpent to follow Apollo's mother day and night to deny her peace when giving birth to her twins. In the island of Delos, Leto gave birth to Artemis and was too tired to have another baby. Consequently, the intelligent Artemis helped her mother, Leto to give birth to the second baby, Apollo. Following the birth of these twins, the father gave them bows and arrows as gifts.

Similar to his twin sister, Apollo was an equally gifted child and managed to kill the Python within four days after his birth. Apollo followed and killed the Python because of the difficulties the monstrous serpent had given to his mother. However, Apollo was forced to pay for his crime because the Python was the son the goddess Gaia. This punishment involved becoming the servant of king Admetus, who treated him well, for one year. Following this treatment, Apollo told the king that he could continue to live when his time for death comes if he finds someone else to die on his behalf ("Greek God Apollo" par, 5).

During the early childhood of Apollo and Artemis, the queen of Thebes, Niobe, began to laugh at Leto because she had two children while the queen had seven girls and seven boys. Apollo's mother was greatly offended by this to the extent that she told her children about the incident. These children performed a scary revenge as the Greek god Apollo murdered Niobe's seven sons with his arrows whereas the goddess Artemis murdered Niobe's daughters. Apollo and Artemis were mainly raised away from the influence of their father though Apollo grew up with similar characteristics as his father. While he never married, Apollo became a father to many children because he mated with many women and few men. In art, Apollo is largely portrayed as a young man with curly blond hair, handsome, creative, and supportive of civilization arts.

Importance of the god Apollo for the Greeks and their Civilization:

Since he is one of the twelve Olympians, Apollo is among the most significant figures in Greek mythology. Many of the Greek gods and figures who accomplished such an elevated status were those living on top of Mount Olympia. Apollo also personified the perfect in various ways based on the ancient Greek standards because he was precocious. As a result of being a multi-talented god, Apollo was an important figure for the Greeks and their civilization in the following ways:

Punishment and Destruction of the Wicked and Overbearing:

One of the most significant roles of god Apollo to the Greeks was that he was the god who punished and destroyed the wicked and overbearing. Consequently, he is described as the god with bow and arrows and the god who never misses his targets at a distance through his darts. In most cases, the sudden deaths of men were thought to be the effect of Apollo's arrows regardless of whether they were considered as punishment or reward.

Helping and Fending off Evil:

The other significance of god Apollo to the Greek and their civilization was his consideration as the god who affords help and fends off evil. This was largely because he had the ability to visit men with plagues and epidemics as well as deliver them from such evils. Apollo delivered men from plagues and epidemics through his oracles, which provided the means with which the calamities could be averted (Andra par, 8).

Source of Prophetic Power:

As the god of prophecy, Apollo was an important figure to the Greeks because he served as the source of prophecy to this people. While he had Zeus, his father, as the source of prophetic power, Apollo served as an important prophetic figure to the Greeks by exercising prophecy through his numerous oracles. Moreover, his prophetic power was coupled with the ability to communicate the prophetic gift to both men and gods.

Protective Attitude:

One of the major ways with which Apollo was significant to the civilization of the Greeks was through his protective attitude for flocks and cattle. In addition to this protective attitude, god Apollo delighted in the foundation of towns and the development of civil institutions. This is evident in his assistance in the construction of Troy and his help in the raising of the Megara walls.

Apollo's Help to the Greeks:

As a splendid Greek god with youthful beauty and masculinity as well as a god with numerous roles, god Apollo was provided help in various ways to the Greek people. Some of the help provided by this important figure included wisdom and protection from evil. Actually, one of the major deeds that god Apollo did to the Greeks and humans was the killing of the monstrous serpent due to the difficulties it provided to her mother. The killing of the Python by god Apollo was significant because it was destroying towns and crops as well as polluting springs and streams.

Through his prophetic power, the Greek god also provided direction and guidance to his people by communicating the gift with both gods and men. While Apollo was a fierce and vengeful warrior, he rarely had a negative side though it was catastrophic to fall on his bad side. For instance, together with his twin sister, he killed Niobe's children and had a mortal skinned alive after the mortal challenged him to a music contest that he won. The other negative aspect of god Apollo is that he had many love affairs with mortals and goddess. Apollo used his masculinity to force these mortals and goddess into affairs with him since it wasn't safe to resist his address. Therefore, it can be concluded that the main negative side of Greek god Apollo was that he always wanted to have his way regardless of the impact of the means to do so. Whenever he experienced resistance from any individual, he usually punished the person or even killed him/her in attempts to have his way.

Careers of Heroes:

Greek mythology consists of various mortal heroines, villainesses, and victims who are regarded as some of the most important people in the history of ancient Greek. Some of these heroes include the following & #8230;

Alcestis:

Alcestis was the eventual sacrificing wife of Admetus, who Apollo served for one year because of killing the monstrous serpent, Python. Apollo's planned it with the Fates that Admetus wouldn't have to die as long as he found someone to die in his place. After Apollo asked his parents and servants but none agreed, Alcestis took poison willingly and died in the place of Admetus. However, Alcestis was brought back by Heracles who went down to the Underworld because Admetus was very depressed with her death ("Human Women in Greek Myths" par,… READ MORE

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