Ep 7: Apollo - NEVER Cross This God!

... This is episode 7 of Garner's Greek Mythology.  

Apollo was the god of prophesy and healing. Known as the sun-god, he founded the famous temple in Delphi from which the Pythia issued warnings and prophesies for more than 1200 years.

Apollo also established centers for healing throughout Greece. Yet like his sister Artemis, he was a god of contradictions. For instance, if infuriated he could spread plague with a single arrow.

In this episode we travel through Greece and then into Rome. The son of Zeus, we see him honored by the common Greek, then saluted by Roman emperors and legendary generals. 

Narrated by mythologist and best-selling author, Patrick Garner,  Garner's Greek Mythology is unlike any other Greek history series. This series views these divine beings as if they were anything but mythical...

If you love these podcasts, you'll also enjoy new stories about the gods in Garner's novel Homo Divinitas, now available as an audio book on Amazon.com and Audible.com.

Join us as our adventures continue! (Musical score includes selections from Fesliyan Studios and Free Sounds Library. Many thanks to both.)

Transcript

PODCAST #7

THIS IS EPISODE 7! ... TODAY OUR FOCUS IS ON THE GOD APOLLO. 

IN EPISODE 6 WE TALKED ABOUT ARTEMIS, THE TWIN SISTER OF APOLLO... BOTH WERE CHILDREN OF ZEUS & LETO. APOLLO, LIKE HIS SISTER ARTEMIS, EMBODIED CONTRADICTION. 

HE REFLECTED THE CONFLICTED CHARACTER THAT ALL TOO OFTEN DEFINED THE ANCIENT GREEKS. 

YOU SEE, APOLLO WAS BOTH A HEALER... AND THE SPREADER OF DISEASE & PLAGUE.

TO UNDERSTAND HIS CHARACTER IS CRITICAL TO UNDERSTANDING THE GREEKS ... & SO TODAY ... WE WALK WITH APOLLO!

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AS ALWAYS, THIS SERIES FOCUSES ON ONE THING … GREEK GODS,OF COURSE ... 

HERE, WE SUSPEND OUR DISBELIEF ... & ACCEPT THAT THE GREEK GODS ARE STILL HERE... THAT THEY NEVER LEFT!

IN THIS SERIES THE ANCIENT GODS ARE NOT CONSIDERED IMAGINARY ... HARDLY. ... IN FACT, THEY ARE OPERATING IN OUR WORLD TODAY … AND THIS IS THE PREMISE OF MY NOVELS ABOUT THE GREEK GODS.

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FOR THE GREEKS THIS OLYMPIC GOD, APOLLO, EMBODIED THE IDEAL MAN ... THEY VISUALIZED HIM IN A GOLDEN LIGHT, A VISION OF PERFECTION... A BEING AS BRIGHT AS THE SUN.

HE ENCOMPASSED A MULTITUDE OF CONCEPTS … HE WAS THE GOD OF PROPHESY & DIVINATION... 

HE PRESIDED AT DELPHI & INSPIRED THE FAMOUS ORACLE, THE “PYTHIA," WHO COULD PREDICTION THE FUTURE.

APOLLO WAS ALSO THE GOD OF PURIFICATION & HEALING... YET HIS UNERRING ARROWS WERE TIPPED WITH PESTILENCE AND INFECTION ... WHOEVER HE STRUCK MIGHT SPREAD DISEASE TO THOUSANDS OF OTHERS.

HOMER CALLED HIM, "LORD OF THE SILVER BOW," AND "FAR-SHOOTER." AND HE HAD MANY OTHER NAMES... BY FAR THE MOST COMMON WAS PHOEBUS APOLLO, WHICH MEANT 'THE SHINING ONE.’

HE WAS ALSO CALLED ALEXIKAKOS APOLLO, WHICH IN GREEK MEANT 'THE AVERTER OF EVIL.' ... 

HERDSMEN CALLED HIM NOMIOS APOLLO, OR 'HE WHO GATHERS FLOCKS.'

... BUT MY FAVORITE IS ONE OF HIS OLDEST: HE WAS LYCIUS APOLLO, WHICH MEANT ... 'WOLF APOLLO' ... AS HE PROTECTED SHEEP FROM WOLVES.

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THE SCHOLAR JENNY MARCH WRITES, APOLLO EMBODIES THE VALUES OF ORDER & HARMONY ... AND REASON & MODERATION. 

AS THE EMBODIMENT OF GREEK PROPHECY, THE PHTHIA ... THE FAMOUS ORACLE WHOSE TEMPLE WAS AT DELPHI ... HAD 147 SAYINGS CARVED INTO THE STONE ABOVE HER TEMPLE... THESE BECAME KNOWN AS, "THE DELPHIC MAXIMS" AND WERE CREDITED TO APOLLO. 

IT'S FROM THESE CARVINGS THAT WE HAVE INSIGHT INTO THE MIND OF THIS SON OF ZEUS. TWO OF THE MOST FAMOUS WERE, 'KNOW THYSELF,' & 'NOTHING IN EXCESS' ... 

WHEN DEPICTED IN ANCIENT GREEK ART, APOLLO IS ALWAYS YOUTHFUL. HE FREQUENTLY HOLDS HIS GOLDEN BOW, OR BALANCES A LYRE ON HIS LAP.

A LYRE, BY THE WAY, WAS A STRINGED INSTRUMENT THAT LOOKED A BIT LIKE A SMALL, U-SHAPED HARP...  THUS, APOLLO BECAME KNOWN AS THE GOD OF MUSIC.

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... HE FAMOUSLY COMPETED AGAINST A WOODLAND DEITY ... PAN ... FOR THIS TITLE ... PAN, A HALF-GOAT, HALF-MAN WAS A MASTER OF THE DOUBLE PIPE.

THE PIPE, OR AULOS, WAS A WOOD INSTRUMENT THAT LOOKED LIKE A DOUBLE RECORDER. IT HAD BEEN INVENTED BY ATHENE, BUT PASSED ALONG TO PAN.

THIS STORY ILLUSTRATES ONE OF THE FREQUENT CONTRADICTIONS WE SEE IN THE PERSONALITIES OF THE GODS.

YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED THAT A COMMON CULTURAL THEME IN THESE STORIES IS BRAGGING ... & MUST SUSPECT BY NOW THAT NOBODY GETS AWAY WITH SURPASSING THE SKILL LEVEL OF A GOD...

WHETHER IT'S MUSIC, WEAVING OR HUNTING … THESE CONTESTS ALWAYS ENDED POORLY FOR THE OPPONENT.

IN THIS CASE, PAN CHALLENGED APOLLO WITH HIS MUSIC, BUT PAN MUST HAVE QUICKLY SENSED THIS WAS A BAD MOVE AS HE CONCEDED GRACEFULLY... 

THAT WAS END OF IT … BUT WHEN APOLLO WAS CHALLENGED ANOTHER TIME BY A SATYR ... AND BY THE WAY, A 'SATYR' IS A MINOR GOD WITH HORSE'S EARS AND A TAIL ... IT DIDN'T GO SO WELL.... 

THIS GUY PLAYED THE DOUBLE PIPE JUST LIKE PAN … AND DURING THEIR COMPETITION, BOTH PLAYED ABOUT THE SAME... 

SO FINALLY, APOLLO TURNED HIS LYRE UPSIDE DOWN & PLAYED IT WITH EVEN GREATER SKILL! AT THAT POINT THE SATYR SHOULD HAVE APPLAUDED LIKE PAN HAD DONE … 

BUT INSTEAD TRIED TO PLAY THE PIPE FROM THE OTHER END. NOT ONLY DID HE FAIL, BUT APOLLO TURNED OUT TO BE A POOR WINNER … & THE SATYR WAS NEVER SEEN ALIVE AGAIN ... 

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LET'S RETURN TO DELPHI. THE ORACLE — THE PYTHIA — IS THE FAMOUS HEROINE THERE. SHE MAKES PROPHESIES, ALWAYS WHILE UNDER A TRANCE.

THE PYPHIA WAS REPUTED TO SMELL THE VAPORS EMANATING FROM A FISSURE UNDER THE DELPHIC TEMPLE. 

THE VAPORS WERE SAID TO IMBUE HER WITH APOLLO'S ORACULAR POWERS … OF COURSE, THE GIFT OF PROPHESY ... CAME DIRECTLY FROM APOLLO ...

BUT BEFORE APOLLO COULD ESTABLISH THE PYTHIA AS HIS ORACLE, HE HAD TO KILL A RESIDENT SNAKE, A SERPENT ... ANCIENT & MASSIVE. 

WHY? WELL, IT WOULDN'T BE AN EPIC TALE WITHOUT AT LEAST ONE SUPER-NATURAL BATTLE! … SOME SAID THE SERPENT, PYTHO, WAS A WOMAN IN THE FORM OF A DRAGON. OTHERS SAID IT WAS A FEARSOME MALE.

MANY BELIEVED IT WAS A CREATION OF GAIA'S, & THAT IT -- THE SNAKE -- GAVE PROPHESIES, & WOULD NEVER TOLERATE COMPETITION FROM APOLLO...

SO, APOLLO SIMPLY KILLED IT ... WITH A SINGLE ARROW! HIS VICTORY SYMBOLIZED THE POWER OF LIGHT OVER DARKNESS... 

THE THEME IS ECHOED IN ENDLESS MYTHOLOGIES. THE HERO IN THESE MYTHS IS USUALLY SOME AMBITIOUS BUT UNSUSPECTED MAN OR WOMAN, WHO, AGAINST ALL ODDS, CRUSHES A MINOTAUR, OR KILLS A HUGE MONSTER, DESTROYS A DRAGON OR BRINGS DOWN SOME CORRUPT RULER.

IT'S DAY AGAINST NIGHT, GOOD AGAINST EVIL ... IN THE GREEK MYTHOS, THE SNAKE'S DEFEAT WAS INEVITABLE ...

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AND ONCE THE SERPENT HAD BEEN VANQUISHED, APOLLO WAS FREE TO ESTABLISH HIS SHRINE. 

AS THE WORD OF APOLLO'S NEW TEMPLE SPREAD, THE PYTHIA BECAME THE MOST IMPORTANT ORACLE IN GREECE.

INTERESTINGLY, SHE PLAYED A PRESCRIBED ROLE, DRESSING IN MAIDEN'S CLOTHES & CHEWING LAUREL LEAVES ... 

THE LAUREL WAS APOLLO'S SACRED TREE... AND BY SACRED, I MEAN BELOVED... IN A TRAGIC LOVE STORY, A GIRL, DAPHNE, IS TURNED INTO A TREE ... THERE’LL BE MORE ABOUT HER IN A MOMENT ...

AND THE PYTHIA? SHE THRIVED FOR ALMOST A 1,200 YEARS ... IN ALL, OVER 500 WOMEN HELD THE SACRED POSITION, ONE AFTER ANOTHER VOICING THE GOD'S PREDICTIONS …

HER MOST FAMOUS PROPHESY WAS TELLING OEDIPUS THAT HE WOULD KILL HIS FATHER & MARRY HIS MOTHER. 

OF COURSE IT CAME TO PASS, HOWEVER MUCH OEDIPUS TRIED TO ESCAPE HIS FATE ...

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THE ORACLE USUALLY SPOKE OBLIQUELY, OR IN RIDDLES. BUT HER PROPHESY IN 480 B.C. WAS UNMISTAKABLY CLEAR.

THE PERSIANS HAD JUST INVADED NORTHERN GREECE & WERE MOVING SOUTH TOWARD ATHENS. THE ATHENIANS ASKED THE PYTHIA FOR ADVICE. HER WORDS WERE,

"Now your statues are standing and pouring sweat. 

They shiver with dread. 

Black blood drips from the highest rooftops.

They have seen the evil. 

Get out, get out of my sanctum and drown your spirits in woe."

SHE WAS PREDICTING THE SWEEPING ATTACKS BY THE PERSIAN KING, XERXES, THAT WOULD, IN SHORT ORDER, TOPPLE ATHENS ITSELF ...

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INDEED, FOR THE GREEKS, DELPHI WAS THE CENTER OF THE WORLD. THERE LAY THE FAMOUS OMPHALOS, A STONE SAID TO MARK THE VERY NAVEL OF THE EARTH.

CITIES WOULD NOT GO TO WAR WITHOUT THE PYTHIA'S CONCURRENCE. NO IMPORTANT DECISIONS WERE EVER MADE WITHOUT CONSULTING HER.

EVERY GENERAL SENT A REPRESENTATIVE TO DELPHI BEFORE ATTACKING ANOTHER CITY. EVEN ALEXANDER THE GREAT CONSULTED HER BEFORE CROSSING INTO PERSIA.

WHEN SHE REFUSED TO SEE ALEXANDER, HE PERSONALLY WENT TO HER HOUSE & DEMANDED THAT SHE ANSWER HIS QUESTION.

AT FIRST SHE DEFIED HIM, BUT WHEN HE DRAGGED HER OUT, SHE SAID, 'YOU, MY SON, ARE INVINCIBLE.' 

ALEXANDER TOOK THAT AS HIS PROPHESY & WENT ON TO CONQUER THE KNOWN WORLD ...

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IN TIME DELPHI GREW TO BECOME EXTREMELY RICH. EVERY CITY OR STATE THAT DECLARED VICTORY OVER ANOTHER WOULD MAKE OFFERINGS OF THANKS.

GOLD STACKED UP IN THE DELPHI TREASURIES. MARVELOUS STATUES & COMPETING TEMPLES SPRUNG UP ON ITS SLOPES.

APOLLO HAD FOUNDED IT, & PROTECTED IT FOR OVER A MILLENNIUM ... BUT IN ABOUT 394 A.D., THE BYZANTINE EMPEROR, THEODOSIS, SHUT ITS DOORS.

HE WAS A NEWLY-MINTED CHRISTIAN PRESSURED BY RELIGIOUS ZEALOTS ... TO SHOW HIS FAITH, HE CLOSED THE TEMPLE FOREVER …

TO PUT THIS IN PERSPECTIVE, DELPHI HAD FUNCTIONED AS THE HEART OF GREECE FOR THREE TO FOUR TIMES LONGER THAN ANY COUNTRY IN EUROPE HAS EXISTED.

IT OPERATED WITHOUT INTERRUPTION FOR FIVE TIMES LONGER THAN THE YEARS SINCE AMERICA REBELLED AGAINST ENGLAND. NO GREEK COULD HAVE IMAGINED ITS DOORS BEING CLOSED.

AND THOSE WHO RAZED ITS FOUNDATIONS & DROVE THE LAST PYTHIA AWAY FROM APOLLO'S SACRED MOUNTAINSIDE WERE NOT THE GREEKS OF OLD GREECE.

BUT THAT WAS LITTLE CONSOLATION ...

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APOLLO, LIKE HIS FATHER, ZEUS, WAS CONSTANTLY ATTRACTED TO MORTAL WOMEN... CHILDREN FROM THEIR UNION WERE FREQUENTLY GIFTED WITH THEIR FATHER'S POWERS.

THESE GIFTS WERE INVARIABLY EITHER AN ABILITY TO HEAL, OR MAKE PROPHESIES. 

THE MOST FAMOUS CHILD WAS ASKLEPIOS, A SON WHO BECAME A SUPERB HEALER ... FOR CENTURIES AFTER HIS DEATH HE WAS WORSHIPPED AS A GOD.

ASKLEPIOS WAS RAISED BY THE CENTAUR, CHEIRON, WHO WAS A BEING WITH A HORSE'S BODY & A HUMAN'S HEAD & TORSO. THAT'S RIGHT... APOLLO DID NOT RAISE HIS OWN CHILD... INSTEAD, A HALF-HORSE, HALF-MAN DID ... 

WHY? APOLLO COULD NOT BE BOTHERED. AND THE CENTAUR HAD PLAYED THIS ROLE BEFORE. HE’D RAISED JASON OF THE ARGONAUTS & TRAINED THE CELEBRATED ACHILLES, THE GREAT WARRIOR WHO FOUGHT AT TROY.

CHEIRON WAS CONSIDERED THE WISEST OF THE CENTAURS. HIS NAME MEANT 'SKILLED WITH HANDS,' AS WELL AS 'SURGEON.'

AND SO IT WAS THAT HE EDUCATED APOLLO'S BOY ASKLEPIOS & TAUGHT HIM THE ART OF MEDICINE. EVENTUALLY, ASKLEPIOS HAD SEVERAL CHILDREN OF HIS OWN, WHO THEMSELVES BECAME SKILLED HEALERS.

ONE OF THESE CHILDREN WAS NAMED HYGEIA, & BECAME THE PERSONIFICATION OF HEALTH. OUR WORD, HYGIENE, IS DERIVED FROM HER NAME.

ODDLY, SNAKES WERE SACRED TO ASKLEPIOS ... IRONIC, SINCE HIS FATHER HAD TO KILL A SNAKE TO EMPOWER THE PYTHIA ... 

BUT ASKLEPIOS' OWN SYMBOL BECAME A STAFF WITH A SNAKE WOUND AROUND IT… IT’S FAMOUS EVEN TODAY AS IT'S DISPLAYED BY PHYSICIANS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD ...

SANCTUARIES DEDICATED TO ASKLEPIOS SPRUNG UP ACROSS GREECE. THE MOST FAMOUS WAS IN THE PELOPONNESE. THERE THE SICK SLEPT IN HIS TEMPLE OVERNIGHT.

IF THEY WERE LUCKY, THE GOD CAME TO THEM IN DREAMS. THE SICK MIGHT BE CURED ... & EVEN THE DEAD BROUGHT BACK TO LIFE!

THE GODS ALLOWED CURING MORTALS OF ILLNESS... BUT RAISING THE DEAD WAS A SACRILEGE ... 

ZEUS LEARNED OF ASKLEPIOS BRINGING A MORTAL BACK FROM THE DEAD ... AND AS PUNISHMENT IMMEDIATELY KILLED HIS GRANDSON USING A THUNDERBOLT!

APOLLO WAS FURIOUS AT HIS FATHER. IN REVENGE HE KILLED THE CYCLOPS WHO HAD FORGED ZEUS' LETHAL LIGHTNING BOLT… DEATH FOLLOWED DEATH.

PERHAPS ASKLEPIOS GOT THE FINAL REVENGE, AS HE WAS WORSHIPPED AS A HEALER & A MIRACLE MAKER FOR MORE THAN A MILLENNIUM AFTER HIS DEATH.

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THERE'S ANOTHER STORY WORTH RETELLING. ARISTAIOS WAS ANOTHER SON OF APOLLO & THIS TIME WITH THE NYMPH KYRENE ... 

A GREEK LYRIC POET NAMED PINDAR TELLS ABOUT HOW APOLLO MET THE NYMPH KYRENE, WRITING THAT APOLLO FELL FOR KYRENE ONE DAY WHEN HE ENCOUNTERED HER WRESTLING WITH — & DEFEATING — A LION. 

HE ASKED THE CENTAUR, CHEIRON, WHO SHE WAS. CHEIRON, AWARE APOLLO WAS TRYING TO CONCEAL HIS INFATUATION, TEASED HIM & SAID,

'OH, BUT WHY DO YOU ASK, LORD? YOU WHO KNOW THE APPOINTED END OF ALL THINGS, & ALL THE WAYS THAT LEAD THERE ... YOU KNOW HOW MANY LEAVES THE EARTH PUTS FORTH IN SPRING, YOU KNOW HOW MANY GRAINS OF SAND ARE IN THE SEA ... YOU KNOW ALL OF WHAT WILL BE. THIS YOU SEE CLEARLY, YET YOU ASK ME ABOUT SOME GIRL?'

THE CENTAUR LAUGHED, THEN PREDICTED APOLLO WOULD UNITE WITH KRENE, & CARRY HER OFF IN HIS GOLDEN CHARIOT.

THEIR SON, ARISTAIOS, INHERITED APOLLO'S GIFTS OF PROPHESY & WAS LATER WORSHIPPED AS A GOD ... 

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IN OTHER INSTANCES, APOLLO WAS STRANGELY UNLUCKY IN LOVE. A TALE TOLD IN MANY ANCIENT WRITINGS DESCRIBES HIS PURSUIT OF A NYMPH NAMED DAPHNE. I MENTIONED EARLIER THAT DAPHNE HAD TURNED INTO A TREE....

DAPHNE WAS SWORN TO CHASTITY, BUT HER VOW LED TO DISASTER, AS SHE WAS TRANSFORMED WHILE TRYING TO PROTECT HER VIRTUE.

HOW WAS SHE SWEPT INTO THIS NIGHTMARE? EROS, THE GREEK LOVE-GOD WHO WAS APHRODITE'S CHILD, WAS INSULTED BY A COMMENT APOLLO MADE IN PASSING. 

TAKING REVENGE, EROS SHOT APOLLO WITH AN ARROW THAT CAUSED HIM TO FALL MADLY IN LOVE WITH DAPHNE.

COMPOUNDING THE PAYBACK, EROS ALSO SHOT DAPHNE WITH AN ARROW, BUT ITS EFFECT ON HER WAS TO CAUSE HER TO LOATH ... ALL THOUGHTS OF LOVE.

DAPHNE INSTANTLY DESPISED MEN. SHE REDOUBLED HER VOW TO REMAIN A VIRGIN & SWORE TO LIVE HER LIFE WITHOUT LOVE’S COMPLICATIONS.

BUT THEN, APOLLO SAW HER & UNABLE TO HELP HIMSELF, PURSUED HER THROUGH THE WOODS. SHE RAN, SWIFT & SURE OF HERSELF ... YET THE GOD RAN FASTER.

JUST AS APOLLO WAS ABOUT TO GRAB HER, SHE CRIED OUT TO HER FATHER, A RIVER-GOD. HE ACTED QUICKLY, HOPING CAMOUFLAGE HER AS A LAUREL TREE.

DAPHNE'S LIMBS BEGAN TO GROW HEAVY, HER BREASTS BECOMING COVERED IN SOFT BARK. HER HAIR BECAME LEAVES & HER ARMS BRANCHES.

TO HER SHOCK, HER FEET SUDDENLY ROOTED TO THE GROUND. ALMOST NOTHING OF THE BEAUTIFUL NYMPH WAS LEFT. ONLY HER RADIANCE REMAINED.

EVEN STILL, APOLLO LOVED HER. EROS' POISON WAS BLINDING. APOLLO KISSED THE WOOD & EMBRACED THE BRANCHES ...

YET HE SENSED THAT, EVEN CHANGED AS SHE WAS, SHE SHRANK FROM HIS TOUCH. KNOWING SHE WAS LOST, APOLLO SAID, "SINCE YOU WILL NEVER BE MY LOVER, I WILL HONOR YOU AS MY TREE ... 

THE LAUREL WILL FOREVERMORE MAKE UP MY BOW, & BE THE BODY OF MY LYRE. YOUR LEAVES WILL NEVER FADE OR FALL LIKE OTHER TREES."

A LAUREL CROWN BECAME THE PRIZE AT THE PYTHIAN GAMES WHICH APOLLO SPONSORED. THE PRESTIGE OF THE CONTESTS WAS EQUAL TO THAT OF THE OLYMPIC GAMES.

TODAY IT IS THE CROWN THE WINNERS OF THE BOSTON MARATHON WEAR.

BUT APOLLO HAD LOST THE GIRL, & DAPHNE HAD LOST HER LIFE. 

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AND THEN THERE’S THE STORY OF KASSANDRA...  A PROPHETESS WHO MOST FAMOUSLY WARNED THE TROJANS NOT TO ACCEPT THE TROJAN HORSE. THEY IGNORED HER ADVICE, & TROY WAS TOPPLED BY THE GREEKS.

YES, APOLLO WAS IN THE BACKGROUND HERE AS WELL. KASSANDRA'S FATE WAS TO NEVER BE BELIEVED, NO MATTER HOW ACCURATE HER PROPHECIES. 

IT WAS HER BURDEN TO KNOW THE TRUTH ABOUT THE FUTURE, BUT HAVE NO ONE EVER BELIEVE HER.

BUT WHY? APOLLO HAD GIVEN KASSANDRA PROPHETIC POWERS ... BUT IN EXCHANGE, HE DEMANDED SEXUAL FAVORS. THEN, AFTER KASSANDRA FELT THE ORACULAR POWERS RADIATE THROUGH HER, SHE BROKE HER PROMISE & REJECTED HIM. 

ASTONISHED THAT A MORTAL WOULD DARE SPURN AN OLYMPIC GOD — APOLLO CONDEMNED HER TO NEVER BEING BELIEVED...

REPEATEDLY, KASSANDRA WARNED HER PEOPLE ABOUT INCLEMENT EVENTS, & REPEATEDLY SHE WAS MOCKED ... APOLLO HAD KEPT HIS WORD ... KASSANDRA HAD NOT ...

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AFTER THE ROMANS CONQUERED GREECE, APOLLO GREW IN FAME. HE WAS REVERED BY THE ROMAN SENATE. MANY MILITARY LEADERS SOUGHT HIS PROPHESIES & BLESSINGS.

CAESAR AUGUSTUS, IN THE LAST CENTURY BEFORE CHRIST, ADOPTED APOLLO & HIS SISTER, ARTEMIS — NOW CALLED DIANA — AS HIS PATRON GODS.

WHY WOULD HE REACH BACK TO THE OLD GREEK PANTHEON? REMEMBER — THE DELPHIC ORACLE WOULD REMAIN EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO LEADERS THROUGHOUT THE REGION FOR ANOTHER 450 YEARS. AND THE PYTHIA, THE ORACLE, WAS APOLLO'S VOICE …

IN ADDITION, IF THE ROMAN EMPEROR COULD CO-OPT APOLLO & CLAIM HIS PROTECTION, HE MIGHT ASSUME THE MANTEL OF DIVINITY HIMSELF.

EVEN BETTER, BECAUSE APOLLO WAS THE GOD OF HEALING, AUGUSTUS COULD ENLIST THE GOD TO HEAL THE ROMAN EMPIRE, WHICH WAS UNDER STRESS FROM INVASIONS.

SO IN 37 B.C. THIS CAESAR ADDED APOLLO TO THE ROMAN COINAGE. THE EMPEROR ALSO STARTED RUMORS THAT HE, CAESAR, WAS APOLLO'S SON.

CAESAR AUGUSTUS MADE OSTENTATIOUS DONATIONS TO APOLLO'S TEMPLE IN ROME ... AND SUBSEQUENT IMPERIAL LEADERS, FOLLOWING HIS EXAMPLE,  MADE A SHOW OF THEIR OBEISANCE TO THE GLORIOUS GOD …

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IN MANY WAYS, AT LEAST FOR THE ROMANS, APOLLO ECLIPSED HIS FATHER ZEUS ... APOLLO BECAME THE SUN GOD, & A REFUGE FROM THE PANDEMICS THAT SWEPT THE EMPIRE.

FOR ANOTHER HALF MILLENNIUM, UNTIL ALMOST 400 A.D., APOLLO, HOWEVER RELUCTANTLY, PLAYED THE GAME. HIS SISTER ARTEMIS HAD LONG ABANDONED THE PRETENSE.

BUT THE END WAS NEAR ... IN 362 THE EMPEROR JULIUS SENT AN EMISSARY TO DELPHI TO SEEK THE ORACLE'S AID. JULIUS HAD THOUGHT TO REVIVE THE PAGAN BELIEFS. 

IN RESPONSE, THE PYTHIA SAID,

"Tell the emperor that the cavern wall is fallen in decay;

Apollo has no temple left, no prophesying bay,

and no talking stream. The stream is dry that had so much to say."

AND SO WITH THIS FLOURISH, APOLLO DECLARED HIS FINISH.

BY THE TURN OF THE CENTURY, THEODOSIS WOULD CLOSE APOLLO'S TEMPLES, DESTROY THE STATUES & BURN THE ANCIENT GROVES.

BUT BEFORE THEN, APOLLO — THE GOD OF PROPHESY, WHO HAD FORETOLD HIS OWN DEMISE — HAD VANISHED … LIKE HIS SISTER HE UNCOUPLED FROM IT ALL.

THE COUNTLESS YEARS OF ADULATION HAD ENDED … THE MIGHTY GOD APOLLO HID HIS RADIANCE, HIS FRIGHTENINGLY BLUE EYES, & LEFT OLYMPIA FOR GOOD …

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IN OUR NEXT PODCAST, WE'LL DISCUSS POSEIDON, THE ALTERNATELY GLORIOUS, THEN VIOLENTLY TEMPESTUOUS SEA-GOD, ZEUS' BROTHER, THE EARTH-SHAKER …

JOIN ME ... FOR THE NEXT EPISODE OF GARNER'S GREEK MYTHOLOGY. THIS IS YOUR HOST, PATRICK GARNER … THANKS FOR LISTENING & BE SURE TO VISIT PATRICKGARNERBOOKS.COM OR VISIT ME ON AMAZON ...