Humanities

What is apollo? »Its definition and meaning

Anonim

The god Apollo is one of the main figures of Greek mythology, being part of the group of the twelve gods of Olympus, his father was the god Zeus and his mother the goddess Leto, this was Artemis's twin brother, according to experts after Zeus Apollo was the one who had the greatest influence on ancient Greek society, being also one of the most adored, his functions and qualities were many. His power was such that only his parents had the ability to control him, which generated fear on the part of the other gods, in ancient times he was known as the god of sudden death, of diseases and plagues, however he was also the god of protection against the forces of evil and the god of healing, beauty, harmony and perfection.

Apollo was a trigger for Hera's anger, since when she found out about his existence, she tried to prevent Apollo from being born at all costs, legend has it that only four days after his birth, he fought against a dragon, which he had been sent by Hera to kill his mother Leto, battle of which would be victorious, reason why the god Hephaestus presented him a bow and arrow that always accompany.

It is said that because Hera was willing to prevent Apollo's birth at all costs, the other gods were afraid to welcome Leto into their homes, since they thought that Hera would attack them, that is why Leto moved towards Ortigia Island, where, perched on the trunk of the only tree on the island, she waited for more than a week for the birth of her twins, because Hera held the goddess Ilitia captive (in charge of assisting the births of the gods). Despite the fact that many gods tried to help, only the goddess Iris managed to convince Hera by giving her a necklace, to free Ilithia, thanks to them she was able to provide assistance to Leto, first Artemis and finally Apollo.

The god Apollo has been related on many occasions to oracles, because as he is the god of healing, he required the help of oracles in order to know about a disease. The cities of Delos and Delphi were peculiarly important in the worship of Apollo, yet his cult spread to many more regions. In addition, it is believed that this god had intervention in what was the conquest of several cities, in addition to that it is believed that he helped the Cretans in the founding of Troy.