| “ | But this power of the god Apollo. Neither you nor the Tree of Life can survive his Olympian flames. | ” |
–Kratos. | ||
Apollo is, among other titles, the god of light, prophecy, healing, medicine, art, music, archery, and twin brother to Artemis. Template:Infobox gods
Greek Mythology
Greek and Roman Apollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in ancient Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been variously recognized as a god of light and the sun, truth and prophecy, healing, plague, music, poetry, and more. Apollo is the son of Zeus and Leto, and has a twin sister, the huntress Artemis. Both of which were born on the island of Delos. Four days after his birth, Apollo killed the dragon Python, which lived in Delphi beside the Castalian Spring. This was the spring which emitted vapors that caused the oracle at Delphi to give her prophecies. Hera sent the serpent to hunt Leto to her death across the world. To protect his mother, Apollo begged Hephaestus for a bow and arrows. After receiving them, Apollo cornered Python in the sacred cave at Delphi. Apollo killed Python but had to be punished for it, since Python was a child of Gaia. Hera then sent the giant Tityos to kill Leto. This time Apollo was aided by his sister Artemis in protecting their mother. During the battle Zeus finally relented his aid and hurled Tityos down to Tartarus. There he was pegged to the rock floor, covering an area of 9 acres, where a pair of vultures feasted daily on his liver.
Apollo had many lovers and children Asclepius the demigod of medicine. Asclepius had the power to bring back the dead which upset Hades so Zeus killed him. Apollo killed the Cyclopes that worked for Hephaestus for the death of his son Zeus punished Apollo by sending him to Troy.
As the leader of the Muses and director of their choir, Apollo functioned as the patron god of music and poetry. Hermes created the lyre for him, and the instrument became a common attribute of Apollo. Hymns sung to Apollo were called paeans.
In God of War series
God of War: Ascension
Mural of Apollo's struggle and victory against Python.
Although the god is never seen in the game, there are various statues and murals of Apollo that are present. When Kratos visited The Temple of Delphi he came upon a mural of Apollo which envisioned his struggle and victory against Python. He later destroyed it to gain further access to the temple. Within the temple oracle herself rested on the hands of a giant statue of Apollo which were ultimately severed by Pollux and Castor. Later on Kratos sailed to the island of Delos, birthplace of Apollo and Artemis. A giant Statue of Apollo stood broken in the center of the island; it was constructed by Archimedes to honor the god. Kratos restored the statue to its full glory by using the Amulet of Uroborus.
God of War III
Although he doesn't appear in person, his legendary bow does appear in God of War III; Peirithous, a man imprisoned in the Underworld by Hades, had the bow in his possession. Kratos later set him on fire to acquire the bow. Interestingly, the bow is known to be the personal weapon of Apollo, much like the pair of chained blades to Kratos, and finding it abandoned in a place so dark and far from Olympus, such as the Underworld, may indicate its owner was either dead or killed a long time before the events of God of War III. Although like Artermis gave her blade to Kratos; it is possible that gave his favored weapon to Peirithous.
In Other Games
PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale
Apollo appears as a Downloadable costume for Kratos.
Trivia
- Athena mentions Apollo in the God of war novel in response to Hermes' boasting about his own handsomeness. The goddess indirectly compares the messenger of the gods to Apollo, but Hermes simply states Apollo may be pretty but boring.
- It's likely that the bow Apollo used to murder Python was the Bow of Apollo.
- It's possible that Apollo was responsible for adding the Muse music puzzle, which allowed Pandora's Box to be raised from the lower level of the chamber. From afar, the shape of the music puzzle is that of a lyre, Apollo's favored music instrument.
- Apollo has an odd association with fire in the God of War universe, since he is explicitly not the God of the Sun. It may be that just as Hermes was given power over plague, Apollo has power over fire in the God of War mythos. In addition, light and fire seem synonymous in the GOW universe (the Fire Steeds, for example, are referred as "beings of light", while the Flame of Olympus and the Primordial Fire both have clear light symbolism), so it stands to reason that the god of light would also be associated with fire.
- In the early stages of the development of God of War, there were plans for the Apollo's warrior. This warrior was dressed to resemble the god of the light and wore a golden inca mask. This enemy and the possible appearance of Apollo were scrapped, but the design was used as inspiration for the Olympus Guardian.
- The design was used again in God of War: Ascension as appearance for the slaves of Castor and Pollux.
- In Homer's Iliad, Apollo favors the Trojans at first, but Zeus mentally changes him to favor the Greeks.
- It is also revealed in Homer's Iliad, that Apollo has several names, the variations are: Phoibos Apollo, Apollo Silverbow, Apollo Archer, Archer Apollo, and Archer.
- Apollo once sent Skorpius to kill Orion.
- The artifact Statue Worker's Idol is carved with the image of Apollo playing his lyre.
- Although Apollo is portrayed as beardless, certain statues like the one in Delos and the Walls of Troy depict him with beard. Possibly because some architects have different interpretations of the gods.
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