01 · The stories
Myths & defining acts
Slays the serpent Python at Delphi (Homeric Hymn to Apollo; Ovid, Metamorphoses 1). Flays the satyr Marsyas after a music contest (Apollodorus 1.4.2). Pursues Daphne, who becomes a laurel (Ovid, Metamorphoses 1). Kills Hyacinthus with a discus (Ovid, Metamorphoses 10). Sends plague on the Greek camp in the Iliad (book 1). Raven turned black after reporting Coronis's unfaithfulness (Ovid, Metamorphoses 2).
02 · Sacred lineage
Family & relations
Parents: Zeus and Leto (Hesiod, Theogony 918–920). Twin sister: Artemis. Children named in the sources include Asclepius (Pindar, Pythian 3), Aristaeus (Pindar, Pythian 9) and, nominally, Orpheus (Apollodorus 1.3.2).
Greek literary genealogies and Roman cult identities are not interchangeable. Explore the family tree and its traditions.
03 · Places of devotion
Abode & sacred sites
Delos, where Leto bore him; Delphi, with its oracle; and, in Rome, the temple of Apollo on the Palatine hill built by Augustus.
04 · Two traditions
Greek & Roman perspectives
The Greek perspective
In the Iliad he sends plague on the Greek army after the priest Chryses prays to him. The Delphic oracle was consulted about colonies: Herodotus records the oracle's role in the founding of Cyrene from Thera. The Homeric Hymn to the Muses and Apollo makes him the god through whom singers and lyre players exist, and in the Hymn to Apollo he takes the shape of a dolphin to lead Cretan sailors to Delphi.
The Roman perspective
Rome used the name Apollo for the same god. Livy records that a temple was vowed to Apollo for the health of the people during an epidemic (Livy 4.25). Augustus built a temple of Apollo on the Palatine, on part of his own house (Suetonius, Augustus 29), and Horace's Secular Hymn, written for the Secular Games, begins with an invocation of Phoebus and Diana.
05 · Extensive analysis
A closer reading
Apollo is called by the same name in Greek and Latin. His sphere includes music, prophecy and the sudden arrows of plague. Modern reference works note that from the fifth century BCE he was often identified with Helios, the sun, which is why later writers sometimes speak of him as a sun god. Augustus built his Palatine temple beside his own house, and the Secular Games linked Apollo with Rome's new age.
06 · Primary sources
What the sources say
These are the main ancient passages behind this entry, with what each one actually says.
- Hesiod, Theogony lines 918–920
Leto, joined in love with Zeus, bears Apollo and Artemis, who delight in arrows and are lovely above all the children of Heaven.
Read the passage - Homer, Iliad book 1, lines 43–52
The priest Chryses prays to Apollo to avenge his tears on the Greeks. Apollo comes down from Olympus in anger with bow and quiver, sits apart from the ships, and shoots his arrows among the army.
Read the passage - Ovid, Metamorphoses book 1, lines 452–567
Apollo falls in love with Daphne because of the gold-pointed arrow that causes love, while Daphne is struck by the lead-tipped arrow that drives love away. She asks her father to let her stay unmarried and, when Apollo pursues her, is transformed.
Read the passage - Apollodorus, Library book 1, chapter 3, section 2
Calliope bore Orpheus to Oeagrus or, nominally, to Apollo.
Read the passage - Apollodorus, Library book 1, chapter 4, section 2
Apollo slays Marsyas, who had challenged him to a musical contest after finding the pipes Athena threw away.
Read the passage - Pindar, Pythian Ode 9 about lines 59–67
Cheiron foretells that Apollo's child with Cyrene will be Aristaeus, guardian of flocks, called Agreus and Nomius.
Read the passage - Pausanias, Description of Greece book 10, chapter 24, section 1
The sages came to Delphi and dedicated to Apollo the maxims 'Know thyself' and 'Nothing in excess'.
Read the passage - Herodotus, Histories book 4, chapter 150
Battus of Thera comes to Delphi with Grinnus, king of Thera, and the oracle's response leads to the founding of Cyrene.
Read the passage - Homeric Hymn, To the Muses and Apollo (25) whole hymn
Singers and lyre players exist on earth through the Muses and Apollo.
Read the passage - Homeric Hymn, To Apollo (3) about lines 399–402
Apollo springs onto the ship of the Cretans in the shape of a dolphin.
Read the passage - Ovid, Metamorphoses book 2, lines 531–632
In the story of Coronis, the raven, once white, is turned black.
Read the passage - Ovid, Metamorphoses book 10, lines 162–219 (Latin text)
Apollo throws the discus; Hyacinthus rushes to pick it up and the rebounding discus strikes his face. Apollo cannot save him, and the flower grows from his blood.
Read the passage - Livy, Ab Urbe Condita book 4, chapter 25, section 3
During an epidemic a temple is vowed to Apollo on behalf of the people's health.
Read the passage - Suetonius, Life of Augustus chapter 29
Augustus built the temple of Apollo on the Palatine hill, on part of his own house.
Read the passage - Horace, Carmen Saeculare opening lines (Latin text)
The Secular Hymn opens by invoking Phoebus and Diana.
Read the passage - Wikipedia, Apollo, a modern summary introduction and infobox
A modern reference summary, used for two points: the swan among his animals, and the identification of Apollo with Helios from the fifth century BCE.
Read the passage
Where the sources differ
- Apollo keeps the same name in Greek and Latin sources, so Homer and Ovid describe one god under one name, though in different poetic settings: a god of plague and archery in Homer, and a lover in Ovid's tale of Daphne.
07 · Story & deeper insight
Apollo and Daphne: the laurel's uneasy origin
After Apollo mocks Cupid's weapons, Cupid retaliates with two arrows: one makes Apollo desire Daphne, while the other makes Daphne reject love. Apollo pursues her despite her refusal. Exhausted, she appeals to her father, the river Peneus, and becomes a laurel tree. Apollo then claims the tree as his emblem, associating its leaves with poetry and triumph.
The familiar laurel wreath conceals an uncomfortable origin. Daphne escapes the pursuer but loses her human form; Apollo retains the power to interpret what remains. Ovid allows beauty, fear and possession to coexist instead of presenting the chase as an uncomplicated romance.
Apollo kept his Greek name in Roman religion, although Roman political uses gave his worship new emphases. His association with prophecy, music and order should be read beside stories that expose frustrated desire and imperfect self-command. The Daphne episode is especially revealing because a god celebrated for harmony cannot create a reciprocal relationship through force.