\paperw3990 \margr0\margl0 \plain \fs20 \f1 \cf7 The son of \b \cf15 \ATXht8 Zeus\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 and\b \ATXht11209 \cf15 Leto\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , Apollo was the twin brother of
\b \cf15 \ATXht13 Artemis\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 and belonged to the second generation of Olympian gods. To avoid the jealous rage of \b \cf15 \ATXht3 Hera\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , who had pursued her all over the earth, Leto sought, in vain, a place to give birth.
Only the island\cf0 \b \cf15 \ATXht10140 Asteria\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 \cf7 or \b \cf15 \ATXht11511 Ortygia\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , barren and floating, was prepared to accept her. Assisted by Athena and all the other goddesses of Olympus, the mother remained in
labor for nine days and nine nights, until Hera agreed to let\b \ATXht10905 \cf15 Ilithia\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , the goddess who presided over childbirth, descend from Olympus to help her. The moment that Ilithia set foot on Ortygia, Leto started to give bi
rth. She seized hold of a palm, the only tree that grew on the wandering isle, and brought into the world first Artemis and then her twin brother Apollo. At the moment of the god's birth sacred swans flew over Ortygia. Apollo, in gratitude for the refug
e the island had granted his mother, fixed it at the center of the Greek world and gave the new name of \cf0 \b \cf15 \ATXht10403 Delos\b0 \ATXht0 \cf7 (the Brilliant).\par
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Zeus immediately made gifts to his new son and smoothed away Hera's rese
ntment. Themis nursed Apollo with nectar and ambrosia for four days, enough time for him to prepare to take revenge on his mother's enemies. Making his way to\cf0 \b \cf15 \ATXht10404 Delphi\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , he used his arrows to kill the serpent\b \ATXht11641 \cf15 Python\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , who on Hera's orders had persecuted Leto while she was carrying the divine twins. He then seized the oracle kept by the monster and consecrated a tripod in the temple; the\cf0 \b \cf15 \ATXht11640 Pythia\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 \cf7 gave out her oracles while seated on this stool.\par
The giant \b \cf15 \ATXht12015 Tityus\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , who had tried to rape Leto at Hera's instigation, was also brought down by the arrows of Apollo (or of Apollo and Artemis) and banishe
d by Zeus to \b \cf15 \ATXht12003 Tartarus\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , where his liver was devoured eternally by two serpents or two vultures.\par
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Apollo was very fond of his mother, whom he defended tenaciously not only from physical violence but also from
insults and sarcasm: on\b \cf15 \ATXht11408 Niobe\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , who dared to mock her, he wreaked a terrible vengeance. His relationship with Zeus was one of esteem and respect, and only on two occasions did Apollo incur the wrath of his father. Th
e first time was when, at the instigation of Hera, all the gods of Olympus with the exception of\cf0 \b \cf15 \ATXht10818 Hestia\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 tried to overthrow Zeus by taking him prisoner. The situation was resolved by\cf0 \b \cf15 \ATXht12011 The
tis\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , who sent\b \cf0 \ATXht10206 \cf15 Briareus\b0 \ATXht0 \cf7 to free him, but Apollo and Poseidon were condemned to serve King\b \ATXht11205 \cf15 Laomedon\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , for whom they built the walls of \b \cf15 \ATXht12019 Tro
y\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 . On another occasion, Zeus and Apollo clashed over\b \ATXht10139 \cf15 Asclepius\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , the son of Apollo who was worshipped at Epidauros and eventually burned to ashes with a lightning bolt for having dared to bring severa
l dead people back to life. Apollo took his revenge by killing the\b \ATXht10336 \cf15 Cyclopes\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , but his father punished him by forcing him to remain in the service of \b \cf15 \ATXht10106 Admetus\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , King of Thessaly, ten
ding his herds and flocks for nine years. He cannot have been a very conscientious herdsman if the newborn \b \cf15 \ATXht12 Hermes\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 \cf7 was able to carry off fifty heifers.\par
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Though he refused to marry, Apollo had many loves, a
nd not always happy ones. His passion for the nymph\b \ATXht1034 \cf15 \ATXht10400 Daphne \b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 and the Trojan princess \b \cf15 \ATXht10306 Cassandra\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 \cf7 was not returned; he was betrayed by \b \cf15 \ATXht10330 Coronis\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , who preferred a mortal but bore him Asclepius; even \b \cf15 \ATXht11303 Marpessa\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 \cf7 left him for\b \ATXht10904 \cf15 Idas\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 . He had more success with the nymph \b \cf15 \ATXht10339 Cyrene\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 \cf7 and the\b \ATXht11321 \cf15 Muses\b0 \ATXht0 \cf7 who were associated with his cult (Apollo Musagetes). His love affairs with the young men \b \cf15 \ATXht10821 Hyacinth\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 \cf7 and \b \cf15 \ATXht10338 Cyparissus\b0 \ATXht0 \cf7 are
also famous.\par
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Though the powers attributed to Apollo were apparently very different in kind, they were in reality linked to one another. This made him the most complete expression of the divine conceived by the Greeks. He was, as we have seen,
the god who punishes, so that all unexpected deaths were attributed to his arrows, but he was also the god who gave succor with medicine. He had the power of prophecy and presided over the arts, especially those of song and music in which he was closely
connected with the Muses:\cf0 \b \cf15 \ATXht11305 Marsyas\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , who doubted his supremacy, paid a cruel price for his pride.\par
Apollo was also the god who protected the foundation of cities and defended the civil institutions of society
. In the Greek world, he personified the rational mind and his figure was deliberately contrasted with personages or aspects of myth that represented passion, or animal instincts.
