P is for Phoebus Apollo – Mythic Mondays

Apollo as drawn by Rosalba Carriera [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Apollo as drawn by Rosalba Carriera [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Ok, I’m cheating. I don’t know enough gods that begin with P – given that we’ve used Neptune (aka Poseidon) for N I’m short on good stories. There are far too many gods that begin with A – Artemis, Athena, Ares, Apollo and Amphitrite in Greek myth alone. So in order to fit to a neat alphabet, we’ve needed to look at some gods under their other names, or their assorted titles.

Apollo is an easy one to do this to, because he has so many roles – and the Romans loved handing out titles to the gods for each of their responsibilities – often where the principal gods had assimilated the worship of older deities. Phoebus was one of the most common titles, meaning “lightbringer”

He is god of the sun, healing, archery, hunting, athletics, music and the arts, military scouts and prophecy. He inspires the Oracle at Delphi, and slew a great monster there, Typhon. He is also responsible for plagues and famines – or preventing them. He is the defender of flocks, and by extension colonists – the Colossus at Rhodes was a great statue invoking his protection for the colony. He ruled over various Games – both athletic and dramatic competitions, most of which were festivals to Apollo and another god – the Thargelian Games was devoted to Apollo and Artemis, whilst the Olympics were dedicated to Apollo and Zeus.

Despite this wide range of domains, Apollo doesn’t feature in all that many myths.  Even where he does show up, it’s often in cameo, fulfilling the plot role of Gandalf – to give the quest and quickly leave, in order for the heroes to complete it.

So this is one of the few tales in which Apollo has a starring role. It’s another one of my blends of myth and fiction, but I claim the tradition of the Greek playwrights who first recorded these stories – where detail was insufficient, they made it up, based on the characters involved. After all, such dramas were originally part of the worship of the Greek gods – designed to convey the stories of the gods to a largely illiterate populace. As patron of the arts, Apollo must surely approve!

(if you want to read more about these early Greek dramas, start by looking for Euripides and Thespis – as in thespian)

Building the walls of Troy

Troy was little more than a village when Laomedon came to power as its king. There were a profusion of bandits in the area,and the town could not prosper unless they could protect their wealth. The king sent his daughter Hecuba to consult the Oracle, and she returned with instructions for a great sacrifice. For many days the town was not visible from the beach for the smoke. Through the smoke came a trio of builders, who promised to build the highest walls the folk had ever seen, in three days – but only if they were not watched.

The whole town went to the hills above the city to camp for the duration. And for three days, all they could hear was a strange music, of lyres and drums and voices, punctuated by a roaring sound as of the earth shaking

For two days, all was well. The people trusted to the compact their king had made. But the king’s daughter Hecuba, being ever curious, sneaked away on the third day to spy on the builders. She hid in a place she had played as a child, near where the great city was being constructed. And this is what she saw.

Apollo played his lyre, which had been made for him from a tortoiseshell by Hermes, and the stones danced into place.

Poseidon waved his trident, which controlled all the seas, and mud from the sea floor mortared the stones together and Artemis breathed on the spaces in the walls and the great wooden gates grew in their places.

And in three days the walls were builded, strong and tall, with watchtowers and gates and guard rooms.

The first of the builders stood on the beach, and declaimed to all the people, who had gathered there to see their new city

“Because most of your people kept their compact, the walls are strong, and will not fall whilst ever you possess the Palladium. Because Hecuba spied on our work, I prophecy that there will be a time when your walls will not avail you, for the enemy will walk through the gates with your blessing”

And the three builders vanished, whereby the people knew they had been visited by gods. So on the spot where the prophecy was spoken, they built a temple complex with shrines there to many gods, and kept there the Palladium, which was the form of a statue to Athena. And indeed, the city did not fall until Odysseus stole it, many years later, when the city welcomed the Trojan Horse into its walls

In your Games and Stories

Spells granted by Apollo are wide ranging – priests might be generalists or might be a sub-cult of specialists – Specialists in healing might follow Apollo’s son Asclepius, whereas combat support might be more a cleric-ranger than cleric-fighter and might follow his archer aspect Aphetor. Animals associated with Apollo, suitable for summoning, are lizard, wolf and raven.

Apollo had a monotheistic cult (more usually rendered Apollon) Interesting political shenanigans might ensue between a polytheistic cult and a monotheistic one – one being god of most things and the other god of everything. One being open to “your sun god is basically our sun god” and the other evangelizing that they have the only true path.

Followers of Apollo are likely to be as diverse as his aspects. You might come across a fellow believer willing to help you, but equally a vizier type character might be opposed to your protagonist without necessarily being evil. Think Cardinal Richelieu – he genuinely believes that his gaining power is good for the French State. And he may even be right.

Please follow and like us: