Apollo's Role In Greek Mythology

749 Words2 Pages

Apollo is known as one of the most important and revered gods of Ancient Greece. Apollo is called as the god of music, prophecy, sun, plague and also has two other names which are Phoebus and Apollon (Greek Mythology). The Greek God Zeus, and Goddess Leto were the parents of Apollo, and Artemis was his twin sister (Greek Mythology). When Apollo was young, “he slayed a giant snake called Python, and killed him with a silver bow and arrows (Britannica).” A influential symbol which Apollo is known for is a lyre, an instrument with strings, which was given to him in exchange for cow by the god Hermes (Greek Mythology). Apollo is thought to be of one of the most influential gods of Ancient Greek because of his multiple roles, and because of his “divine birth” (Greek Mythology). Apollo is considered by many people to be a special god as he is the son of Zeus. He was born on the island of Delos, after Hera, Zeus’ wife, forbid Leto, the mother of Apollo from staying on Earth (Greek Mythology). Leto seeked refuge on Delos, and along with the inhabitants of the island and Artemis, his twin sister, Apollo was born. In one account of …show more content…

The symbol given to us from the story of the Iliad is the silver bow and arrow as he helped guide the arrow of Paris to hit Achilles’ heel. Another reason why the silver bow and arrow is a symbol of Apollo is because he killed Python a snake/dragon with one (Britannica). When Apollo became a muscular man he was to slay Python and did so with a bow and arrow. Apollo is also called the god of prophecy because of this story. At a site called Delphi, near where Python was killed, there was a Temple of Apollo, in which priests would give oracles from Apollo (Britannica). Another influential symbol which Apollo is known for is a lyre, an instrument with strings, which was given to him in exchange for cow by the god Hermes (Greek

More about Apollo's Role In Greek Mythology

Open Document