MalikR

APOLLO was the god of prophesy, music and healing. Apollo did not hesitate to intervene in human affairs. It was he who brought about the demise of the mighty Achilles. He had easily defeated the Trojan captain Hector in single combat. But Apollo helped Hector's brother Paris slay Achilles with an arrow.  Apollo had a famous oracle in Crete and other notable ones in Clarus and Branchidae.

When someone died suddenly, he was said to have been struck down by one of Apollo's arrows.The Trojan War begins with the god causing a plague by raining arrows down upon the Greek camp. As god of music, Apollo is often depicted playing the lyre. He did not invent this instrument, however, but was given it by Hermes in compensation for cattle theft.

Some say that Apollo did invent the lute, although he was best known for his skill on the lyre. He won several musical contests by playing this instrument. In one case he bested Pan, who competed on his own invention, the shepherd's pipe. 

​ Apollo is in many respects the paradigm of a Greek god. He represents order, harmony, and civilization in a way that most other Olympian deities cannot quite equal. One only has to compare him with [|Dionysos] to understand how Apollo is depicted as a bright, rational counterpart to the chaotic and frenzied god of wine and women. Indeed, Apollo is most often associated with the cultivated arts of music and medicine, and his role as the leader of the [|Muses] establishes him as a patron of intellectual pursuits. 

Therefore, it comes as no surprise that in art, images of Apollo represented the height of male attractiveness - indeed, for years, Archaic statues of youths were commonly referred to as "Apollo", later to be replaced the more accurate term "kouros" (young man). However, as with most Greek deities, Apollo has characteristics that are myriad and diverse, so we should proceed to an exploration of this important go. 

Apollo is known as the leader of the Muses ("musagetes") and director of their choir. His attributes include: swans, wolves, dolphins, bows and arrows, a laurel crown, the cithara (or lyre) and plectrum. The sacrificial tripod is another attribute, representative of his prophetic powers. 

The most usual attributes of Apollo were the lyre and the bow; the tripod especially was dedicated to him as the god of prophecy. Among plants, the bay, used in expiatory sacrifices and also for making the crown of victory at the Pythian games, and the palm-tree, under which he was born in Delos, were sacred to him; among animals and birds, the wolf, the roe, the swan, the hawk, the raven, the crow, the snake, the mouse, the grasshopper and the griffin, a mixture of the eagle and the lion evidently of Eastern origin. 

​ He also erected a new temple on the Palatine hill and transferred the secular games, for which Horace composed his Carmen Saeculare, to Apollo and Diana. As god of colonization, Apollo gave guidance on colonies, especially during the height of colonization, 750-550 BC. According to Greek tradition, he helped Cretan or Arcadian colonists find the city of Troy.  Apollo is an interesting character because of his music. If he was alive today I would definitely want to be friends of him. One reason is because he loves music and I do to. 