#just ramblings and musings

[lilalexhorne]

They look like a pair of completely unserious private investigators who are taking your case only for it to end up inadvertently exposing some grand government conspiracy in between making a fool of themselves and having homoerotic tension and at the end of the movie they're both like "Oh yeah no your husband definitely cheated." before riding off into the sunset together in their vintage convertible.

[gaminegay]

"someone somewhere needs help with something and I'm not there to fix it, this makes me guilty of Bad Person disease" <- stupid thought I really need to stop having

[apollosgiftofprophecy]

Statistics of Apollo's Lovers

I was wondering just how unfortunate of a love-life our boy Apollo had, so - as one does - I did the research, math, and writing of said love-life.

such is the life of an adhd teen :)

In total, there are 59 people on this list. I have them separated into eight groups; Immortal, Immortal & Rejected, Lived, Died, Rejected & Died, Rejected & Cursed, Rejected & Lived, and who were Rejected by Apollo

Disclaimer: I am not a historian nor an expert in Greek Mythology, I am just a very invested nerd in Mythology, and in Apollo's mythology in general, and got curious about what his rap sheet actually looks like.

Sidenote: There will be some "lovers" not on this list. Reasons being;

No actual literary sources behind them

Said literary sources are dubious at best

Not enough information is given about the nature of their relationship to make an accurate take

So if somebody isn't on this list, it's because of one of those three reasons. Although there is still a chance I missed somebody! :)

Also, no RRverse lovers include in this list. Sorry my fellow ToA fans.

(Edited 08/15/24 - ALL SECTIONS SOURCED)

Let's begin! :D

Immortal Lovers

Calliope: muse of epic poetry. Mother of Hymenaios and Ialemus (Pindar's 3rd Threnos) by Apollo.

Clio: muse of history

Erato: muse of love poetry

Euterpe: muse of music

Polyhymnia: muse of hymns/sacred poetry

Melpomene: muse of tragedy

Thalia: muse of comedy. Mother of the Corybantes (The Bibliotheca by Pseudo-Apollodorus) by Apollo.

Terpsichore: muse of dance

Urania: muse of astronomy

Boreas: the North Wind. The Boreads called Apollo "beloved of our sire" in Apollonius of Rhodes's Argonautica.

10 lovers total here.

9 Female, 1 Male

Immortal & Rejected

Hestia: goddess of the Hearth (Hymn to Aphrodite)

1 Interest. Female.

Lovers Who Lived:

Branchus: mortal shepherd, gifted prophecy (Conon's Narrations 33 & Callimachus's Iambus)

Rhoeo: mortal princess, eventually married an apprentice of Apollo (Diodorus Siculus's Bibliotheca historica 5.62 and Tzetzes on Lycophron 570)

Ourea: demigod daughter of Poseidon, dated Apollo during his punishment with Laomedon; had a son named Ileus, after the city of Troy (Hesiod's Catalogues of Women Fragment 83)

Evadne: nymph daughter of Poseidon, Apollo sent Eileithyia & (in some texts) the Fates to aid in their son's birth (Pindar's Olympian Ode 6)

Thero: great-granddaughter of Heracles, described as "beautiful as moonbeams" (Pausanias's Description of Greece 9)

Cyrene: mortal princess-turned-nymph queen, kick-ass lion wrangler, and mother of two of Apollo's sons - Aristaeus (a god) and Idmon (powerful seer) (Pindar's Pythian Ode 9.6 ff. and Nonnus's Dionysiaca and Callimachus's Hymn to Apollo 85)

Admetus: mortal king, took great care of Apollo during his second punishment, Apollo wingmanned him for Alcestis's hand - basically Apollo doted on him <3 (Callimachus's Hymn II to Apollo and Apollodorus's Bibliotheca 1.9.15 and Hyginus's Fabulae 50–51, and also written about by Ovid and Servius)

Hecuba: queen of Troy, together they had Troilus.

It was foretold that if Troilus lived to adulthood, Troy wouldn't fall - unfortunately, Achilles murdered Troilus in Apollo's temple. When the Achaeans burned Troy down, Apollo rescued Hecuba and brought her to safety in Lycia. (Stesichorus's Fr.108)

Hyrie/Thyrie: mortal. mothered a son by Apollo. Their son, Cycnus, attempted to kill himself after some shenanigans and his mother attempted the same. Apollo turned them into swans to save their lives. (Antoninus Liberalis's Metamorphoses 12 and Ovid's Metamorphoses 7.350)

Dryope: mortal. had a son named Amphissus with Apollo, who was a snake at the time. Later turned into a lotus flower, but it had nothing to do with Apollo so she's still on this list. (noncon; written by Ovid in Metamorphoses 8 CE/AD and later by Antoninus Liberalis in his own Metamorphoses sometime between 100-300 CE/AD)

Creusa: mortal queen. had a son named Ion with Apollo (Euripides's Ion). Please check out @my-name-is-apollo's post for more details because they make some good points about what's considered "rape" in Ancient Greece. I expand on this further at the end of the post.

Melia: Oceanid nymph. Had a son w/h Apollo named Tenerus. (Pausanias's Descriptions of Greece 9.10.5–6)

Melia was said to be kidnapped, and her brother found her with Apollo. He set fire to Apollo's temple in an effort to get her back, but was killed. Melia and Apollo had two kids - but here's the interesting part. Melia was highly worshiped in Thebes, where her brother found her. She was an incredibly important figure in Thebes, especially when connected with Apollo. She and Apollo were essentially the parents of Thebes.

As I read over their story, it sounded like (to me, at least. it's okay if you think otherwise!) that Melia just absconded/eloped with Apollo.

Was kidnapping an equivalent to assault back then? Perhaps. But it's still debated on whenever or not that's true. However, one thing I've noticed reading up on these myths is that when Apollo does do something unsavory, the text says so.

It never says anything about Apollo doing anything to Melia. Her father and brother believe she was kidnapped, but, like mentioned previously, it seems far much more likely that she just ran off with her boyfriend or something.

But that's just my interpretation.

Moving on! :)

Iapis: a favorite lover. Apollo wanted to teach him prophecy, the lyre, ect. but Iapis just wanted to heal :) so Apollo taught him healing :) (Smith 1873, s.v. Iapis)

Aethusa: daughter of Poseidon & the Pleiad Alcyone. Mother of Linus and Eleuther. She is the great-great grandmother of Orpheus. (Apollodorus's Bibliotheca 3.10.1 and Pausanias's Descriptions of Greece 9.20.2 and Suida, s.v. Homer's Of the Origin of Homer and Hesiod and their Contest, Fragment 1.314)

Acacallis: daughter of King Minos. there's a lot of variation on whether or not she had kids with Hermes or Apollo. Some say she had a kid with each. (Stephanus of Byzantium, s.v. Kydōnia (Κυδωνία and Scholia on Apollonius Rhodius, 4.1492)

Chrysothemis: nymph queen who won the oldest contest of the Pythian Games - the singing of a hymn to Apollo. She had three daughters, and one of them is said to be Apollo's. (Pausanias's Descriptions of Greece 10.7.2 and Hyginus's De Astronomica 2.25)

Corycia: naiad. had a son with Apollo. the Corycian Cave north of Delphi is named after her (Hyginus's Fabulae 161)

Leuconoe (also Choine or Philonis): daughter of Eosphorus, god of the planet Venus, and mother of the bard Philammon. (Hyginus's Fabulae 161)

Melaena (also Thyia or Kelaino): mother of Delphos, member of prophetic Thriae of Delphi. Priestess of Dionysus. (Herodotus's Histories 7.178.1)

Othreis: mothered Phager by Apollo, and later Meliteus by Zeus. (Antoninus Liberalis's Metamorphoses 13)

Stilbe: mother of Lapithus and Aineus by Apollo. (Diodorus Siculus's Library of History 4.69.1 and Scholia on Apollonius Rhodius, 1.40 and Scholia on Apollonius Rhodius, 1.948)

Syllis (possible same as Hyllis, granddaughter of Heracles): mothered Zeuxippus by Apollo. (Pausanias's Descriptions of Greece 2.6.7)

Amphissa: Apollo seduced her in the form of a shepherd. They had a son named Agreus. (Ovid's Metamorphoses 6.103 and Hyginus's Fabulae 161)

(hey, has anybody else noticed that 'Apollo disguising himself' seems to only be a thing in Roman literature?)

Areia (or Deione): had a son named Miletus. Hid him in some smilax. Her father found him and named him. (Apollodorus's Bibliotheca 3.1.2)

Arsinoe: she and Apollo had a daughter named Eriopis. (Hesiod's Ehoiai 63 and Scholia ad Pindar's Pythian Ode 3.14)

Queen of Orkhomenos (no name is given): Mother of Trophonius (Pausanias's Descriptions of Greece 9.37.5)

(my fellow ToA fans will recognize that name haha).

Hypermnestra: Either Apollo or her husband fathered her son Amphiaraus. (Hyginus's Fabulae 70)

(sidenote: @literallyjusttoa suggested that Apollo was dating both Hypermnestra and Oikles, and I, personally, like that headcannon)

Manto: Daughter of Tiresias. Apollo made her a priestess of Delphi. They had a son named Mopsus. When Apollo sent her to found an oracle elsewhere, he told her to marry the first man she saw outside of Delphi. That man turned out to be Rhacius, who brought her to Claros, where she founded the oracle of Apollo Clarios. (Apollodorus's Bibliotheca E6. 3)

Later, another man named Lampus attempted to assault her, but was killed by Apollo. She is also said to be a priestess who warned Niobe not to insult Leto, and to ask for forgiveness. Niobe did not. (Statius's Thebaid 7 and Ovid's Metamorphoses 6)

(Dante's Inferno places her in the eighth circle of hell, and let me just say- what the FUCK Dante! What did Manto ever do to you, huh??!! Don't do my girl dirty!!)

Parthenope: granddaughter of a river god. Mothered Lycomedes by Apollo (Pausanius's Descriptions of Greece 4.1)

Phthia: prophetess. called "beloved of Apollo". Mother three kings by him; Dorus, Laodocus, & Polypoetes (Apollodorus's Bibliotheca 1.7.6)

Procleia: Mother of Tenes, son of Apollo, who was killed by Achilles before the Trojan War. Daughter of King Laomedon, king of Troy. (Apollodorus's Epitome 3. 26)

Helenus: prince of Troy. Received from Apollo an ivory bow which he used to wound Achilles in the hand. (Photius's 'Bibliotheca excerpts')

Hippolytus of Sicyon: called "beloved of Apollo" in Plutarch's Life of Numa. I don't think this guy is the same as the Hippolytus, son of Zeuxippus (son of Apollo), king of Sicyon Pausanias talks about in his Description of Greece. That would be a little weird taking the whole family tree into account - though it's never stopped other gods before. *shrug*

Psamathe: nereid, said to be the personification of the sand of the sea-shore. (Conon's Narrationes 19)

She and Apollo were lovers, but never had any kids. When another man assaulted her, she had a son and abandoned him.

(He was found by some shepherds dw - wait, he was then torn apart by dogs. Nevermind,)

Back to her, her father ordered for her to be executed and Apollo avenged her death by sending a plague onto Argos and refused to stop it until Psamathe and Phocus/Linus (her son) were properly given honors.

(I really like how even though Linus isn't Apollo's kid, and that Psamathe wanted nothing to do with the kid, Apollo still considered him worth avenging too <3 )

Okay, in a previous incarnation of this post, I said there was a version where she is raped by Apollo...however, I can't find any sources to back it up😅 Even her wiki page doesn't mention rape, and Theoi's excerpt of Paunasias's Descriptions of Greece about her doesn't either.

So where did I hear about this supposed version? (Don't shoot)

Youtube. A youtube video about Apollo. Yeah...

Lesson, kids! Don't trust youtube videos on mythology! Yes, even if they dedicated lots of time to it! They can still get things wrong! In fact, don't even take my word for it! Do your own research <3

Alright. 34 lovers here.

5 Male. 29 Female.

33 are 100% consensual. Creusa is questionable, depending on who's translating/which tradition you go with.

Lovers Who Died:

Hyacinthus*: mortal prince. we all know this one, right? Right? one and only true love turned into flower (okay that's my bias speaking but AM I WRONG?) (Plutarch's Life of Numa, 4.5; Philostratus the younger's Imagines; Pseudo-Apollodorus's Bibliotheca 1.3.3; Ovid's Metamorphoses 10.162–219; Bion's Poems 11; and various pieces of art)

Cyparissus: mortal. his DEER DIED and he asked Apollo to let him MOURN FOREVER so he was turned into a cypress tree (Ovid's Metamorphoses X 106ff)

Coronis: mortal princess. cheated on Apollo w/h Ischys, who in Fabulae was killed by Zeus. mother of Asclepius. killed by Artemis. (Pindar's Pythian Odes 3.5; Pausanias's Descriptions of Greece 2.26.6; Hyginus's Fabulae 202; Ovid's Metamorphoses 2.536 and 2.596; Hyginus's De Astronomica 2.40; Isyllus's Hymn to Asclepius 128.37 ff.)

There is another version of Asclepius's birth given by Pausanias in Descriptions of Greece 2.26.1-7, where Coronis exposes him on a mountain and Apollo takes him in.

Adonis: yes, THAT Adonis. he's in this category because. well. he died. rip (Ptolemy Hephaestion's New History Book 5)

Phorbas: Okay so Apollo's lover Phorbas and another Phorbas sometimes get mashed together so this is what I was able to gather.

Plutarch's Life of Numa 4.5 and Hyginus's De Astronomia 2.14.5 cites Phorbas as Apollo's lover. The other Phorbas is said to be a rival to Apollo in the Homeric Hymn to Apollo. Personally, I separate the two because it makes more sense with Phorbas the lover's overall story.

Here it is: The island of Rhodes fell victim to a plague of dragons or serpents, and the oracle said to summon Phorbas for help. He defeated the infestation, and after he died, Apollo asked Zeus to place him in the stars, and so Phorbas became the constellation Serpentarius, also known more widely as Ophiuchus (a man holding a serpent).

FORGET ORION AND HIS ONE-OFF MENTION OF BEING DIANA'S LOVER HERE IS A CONSTELLATION TRAGIC LOVE STORY!!!!!

(*Hyacinthus was resurrected, as celebrated in the Hyacinthia festival in Sparta. Nonnus's Dionysiaca 19.102 and Pausanias's Descriptions of Greece 3.19.4 supports this belief as well.)

5 lovers.

4 Male. 1 Female. All consensual.

Sidenote: QUIT BURYING THE GAYS GREECE!!!!

Love-Interests Who Rejected & Died:

Daphne: do i nEED to say anything? Nymph. turned into tree to escape.

Daphne and Apollo actually go back a bit. Their story was used to explain why the laurel was so sacred to Apollo. It's in Delphi, Branchus planted laurel trees around the temple he built to Apollo, the laurel was even sacred to Apollo's historical forebearer Apulu, an Etruscan god! (I have sources to back this up :3 along with an Essay.)

Apollo & Daphne first originate from Phylarchus, but we do not have any of his work :( It's been lost to history...a moment of silence RIP. He was a contemporary in the 3rd century BC/BCE (first day of 300 BC/BCE and last day of 201 BC/BCE).

He was, however, cited as a source in Parthenius's Erotica Pathemata, written sometime in the 1 century AD/CE (sometime between 66 BC/BCE and the author's death in 14 AD/CE).

Then they show up again in Pausanias's Descriptions of Greece, written between 150 AD/CE and 170 AD/CE.

Hyginus wrote his Fabulae sometime before Ovid's because it's widely criticized to be his earliest work and Ovid wrote his Metamorphoses in 8 AD/CE.

The first two versions are roughly the same, and Ovid's shares similarities with the first in only the ending. Hyginus is basically like Ovid's but without Eros.

So in publication order, it's; Erotica Pathemata, Fabulae, Metamorphoses, then Descrip. of Greece.

In Erotica Pathemata, Daphne is the daughter of Amyclas and is being courted by Leucippus. She is not interested in any sort of romance. Leucippus disguises himself as a girl to get close to her, but his ruse is revealed when Apollo nudges Daphne and her attendants into taking a bath in the river. Leucippus is consequently killed.

Apollo then becomes interested and Daphne runs away, imploring Zeus that "she might be translated away from mortal sight", and is transformed into the laurel tree.

In Fabulae, Daphne's story is a bit more familiar. She's the daughter of Peneus, the river god, and Gaea is the one who transforms her into a laurel tree.

In Metamorphoses, Eros's is added to the story and is the reason why Apollo is so enamored and Daphne is so repulsed. (I would just like to say that in this version, it was 100% nonconsensual for them! And I don't mean with rape- Apollo never touches Daphne in any of these version. What I mean here is that Eros maliciously makes Apollo chase down a woman and makes sure Daphne would be repulsed by him. That is noncon behavior there on both sides.)

In Descriptions of Greece 10.7.8, Daphne is the daughter of Ladon and her and Apollo are only connected by why of why the laurel crown is the victory prize of the Pythian Games. However, in Descriptions of Greece 8.20.2-8.20.4, Daphne and Leucippus make an appearance here too, but Apollo is not the reason why they stop to take a swim and his ruse is revealed, resulting in his death.

Castalia: Nymph. turned into spring to escape.

First things first, Castalia was used to explain the existence of the Castalian Spring in Delphi. However, in the Homeric Hymn to Apollo, the spring is already there when Apollo was born. So there's that to consider first.

Anyway, to escape Apollo's advances, Castalia transforms herself into a spring. (Lactantius Placidus's On Statius's Thebaid 1.698. This was written between Lactantius's lifespan of c. 350 – c. 400 AD/CE, placing it firmly in Roman times.)

2 Interests.

2 Female.

Love-Interests Who Rejected & Cursed

Cassandra: mortal princess. Received the gift of prophecy from Apollo. Due to a broken oath, she was then cursed. (Aeschylus's Agamemnon)

It is only in Roman-era tellings where Cassandra is cursed for not sleeping with Apollo, and there was no oath made (Hyginus & Pseudo-Apollodorus). In Agamemnon, it was done so because of the broken oath- not the refusing to sleep with Apollo thing.

The version where she gains prophetic abilities by way of a snake licking her ears is not part of Greco-Roman literature, but rather by an American poet.

Nevertheless, even after the curse Cassandra still loved Apollo, and called him "god most dear to me" in Eurpides's play The Trojan Women.

1 Interests.

1 Female.

Lover-Interests Who Rejected & Lived

Sinope: mortal. there are two different version of her myth.

In Diodorus Siculus's Library of History 4.72.2 and Corinna's Frag. 654, Apollo "seizes" her and they have a son named Syrus.

In Apollonius's Argonautica  2.946-951 and Valerius Flaccus's Argonautica 5.109, it is Zeus who abducts her, but she gets him to promise her anything and requests to remain a virgin. He obliges. Later, Apollo and the river Halys both try to charm her, but fall for the same trick.

Library of History was written between 60-30 BC/BCE, Apollonius's Argonautica between 300 BC/BCE and 201 BC/BCE, and Valerius Flaccus's Argonautica between 70-96 AD/CE, making Apollonius's version the oldest and Valerius Flaccus's the youngest.

Marpessa: mortal princess, granddaughter of Ares. Idas, son of Poseidon, kidnapped her and Apollo caught up to them. Zeus had Marpessa chose between them, and she chose Idas, reasoning that she would eventually grow old and Apollo would tire of her. (Homer's The Iliad, 9.557 and Apollodorus's Bibliotheca 1.7.8–9)

Bolina: mortal. Apollo approached her and she flung herself off a cliff. He turned her into a nymph to save her life. (Pausanias's Description of Greece 7.23.4)

Ocroe/Okyrrhoe: nymph and daughter of a river god. asked a boatman to take her home after Apollo approached her. Apollo ended up turning the boat to stone and the seafarer into a fish. (Athenaeus's The Deipnosophists 7.283 E [citing The Founding of Naucratis by Apollonius Rhodius]. The Deipnosophists was written in the early 3rd century AD, between 201 AD and 300 AD)

Sibyl of Cumae: mortal seer. promised to date Apollo if she was given longevity as long as the amount of sand in her hand. he did, but she refused him. (Ovid's Metamorphoses 14)

5 Interests. All female.

Okyrrhoe's story is the only one with any iffy stuff, although, when something iffy does occur, the text usually says so outright.

Rejected by Apollo:

Clytie*: Oceanid nymph. turned into a heliotrope to gaze at the sun forever after the rejection.

1 Advance. Female.

(*Clytie's story was originally about her affection for Helios. [Ovid's Metamorphoses 4.192–270; Ovid used Greek sources about the etymology of the names involved, meaning Clytie and Helios go back to Greek times] As Apollo got superimposed over Helios's myths, people have assumed it is he who is the sun god in her myth and not Helios.)

In Conclusion...

59 people total, and 33 of them have Roman-Era roots with (as far as I known!! Don't take my word as gospel truth!!) no relation to Greece except by way of shared mythology.

Here's the list:

Rhoeo

Thero

Hyrie/Thyrie

Dryope

Melia

Aethusa

Acacallis

Chrysothemis

Corycia

Choine

Thyia

Othreis

Stilbe

Syllis

Amphissa

Areia

Queen of Orkhomenos

Hypermnestra

Manto

Parthenope

Phthia

Procleia

Helenus

Hippolytus of Sicyon

Psamathe

Cyparissus

Adonis

Phorbas

Castalia

Sinope

Bolina

Ocroe/Okyrrhoe

Sibyl of Cumae

Meaning, 56%- and really, it's more like 57%, because Clytie is not Apollo's lover at all- of the lovers listed on this post are not entirely Greek in origin (AS FAR AS I KNOW-)! That does not mean ofc that you have to ignore them. I, for one, really like the story of Rhoeo, and Manto, and Psamethe- I find their myths sweet (Rhoeo & Manto) and bittersweet (Psamethe).

Let's get to the calculations now, yeah?

59 people total (Includes Clytie)

48 Women (81%). 11 Men (19%).

19% were Immortal (Including Lovers & Rejected)

68% Lived (Including Lovers & Cursed & Rejected)

14% Died (Including Lovers & Rejected)

1% were Cursed

2% were Rejected by him

58 people total (Not Including Clytie)

47 Women (81%). 11 Men (19%).

19% were Immortal

69% Lived (Lovers & & Cursed & Rejected)

12% Died (Lovers & Rejected)

in that 12%, one was apotheosized - Hyacinthus.

Meaning 10% died permanently, while 2% were resurrected.

2% were Cursed

0% were Rejected by him

Additionally, I left off three male lovers and two female lovers - Atymnius, Leucates, Cinyras, Hecate, & Acantha.

Atymnius has no references to being Apollo's lover, only to Zeus's son Sarpedon.

Leucates is another male "lover" left off the rack - apparently he jumped off a cliff to avoid Apollo, but I couldn't find any mythological text to account for it- and no, OSP's wiki page is not a reliable source. There is a cliff named similarly to him where Aphrodite went (by Apollo's advice) to rid herself of her longing for Adonis after his death. Also Zeus uses it to rid himself of his love for Hera before he...well, commits adultery again.

Cinyras was a priest of Aphrodite on the island of Cyprus. He was also the island's king. Pindar calls him "beloved of Apollo" in his Pythian Ode. However, looking further into Cinyras's life throws a bit of a wrench into it. He's also cited to be a challenger to Apollo's skill, and either Apollo or Mars (Ares) kills him for his hubris.

(honestly, I kinda like the idea that Mars went into Big Brother Mode)

I did consider leaving him on the list, since technically you could argue it was a romance-gone-bad, but among every other source Cinyras is mentioned in, Pindar's the only one who puts a romantic label on him and Apollo.

Hecate, the goddess of magic and crossroads, is said to be the mother of Scylla (like, the sea-monster) by Apollo, but Scylla's parentage is one of those "no specific parents" ones, so I left her off the list.

Acantha has absolutely no classical references. There's a plant like her name, but she's made-up, so she doesn't count.

(Of course, I could be wrong about any of these. Again, I'm not an expert.)

With all this in mind, this means Apollo's love life actually isn't as tragic as media portrays it, and he isn't as bad as Zeus or Poseidon in the nonconsensual area.

Does he still have those kinds of myths? Yes, with Dryope and Creusa; though, we can discount Creusa because;

1) Depends on who's translating it; and

2) Ion is given different parentage in the Bibliotheca, which yes, came much after Ion, however Xuthus was traditionally considered to be Ion's father rather than Apollo. This means there was probably a different oral tradition on Ion's parentage that just wasn't written down as early as Euripides's was- in fact, it may even just be an invention of Euripides's.

(and honestly Apollo's characterization in Ion just doesn't quite match up with the rest of his appearances in the wider myths (in my opinion, at least))

So that leaves us with just Dryope, who comes from Ovid, a Roman poet, and Antoninus Liberalis, a late Greek one.

Now I'm not saying we should throw her out because of Ovid's whole "wrote the gods even more terribly to criticize Augustus" thing, but it is something to keep in mind. Political mechanics have been used to change myths before, and this is certainly one example of it.

Additionally, I have seen many people discard Dionysus's rapes in the Dionysiaca because of how late it was written, so this one can be given similar treatment if one choses too because of just how late Ovid and Antoninus Liberalis's work was.

You can, in fact, pick and chose if you wish, especially if it'll increase your enjoyment of literature. That's certainly what I do :)

So overall, I'd say Apollo has a rather clean relationship past. He's doing pretty damn good.

Also, I think we should all take note that even if Apollo had noncon myths, that doesn't reflect on the actual god. The Ancient Greeks did not see the myths as "canon" to their gods- in fact, some were not happy with the myths showing the gods in such a light.

That's something else to keep in mind. The gods of the myths are not the gods of Greece, and are more like parables or fables for the Ancient Greeks I'd say. Lessons on morality and such, and of course, warnings against hubris and the like.

This was quite the journey, and I really hope you all enjoyed reading and learning with me! This really makes me wonder- if Apollo's love life is this good, I wonder how misinformed we are on everyone else's? I have no plans on doing Zeus or Poseidon or anyone else (not for a LONG time lol, this took a lot of effort and research!), but if anyone has any idea, or gets inspired to do something like this for any other god, please tag me!! I'd love to see it! :D

And since this was on a previous reblog, here be a meme from a while ago:

[ID: Me Explaining Me. On the left is a girl with her hands up, fingers pinched together, like she's intensely explaining something. The text over her says "Me giving a detailed diatribe about Apollo's love life and how modern media has done him and his lovers dirty". On the right is the girl's mother, wrapped up to her chin in a blanket, with a look on her face that screams "I hear this all the time". The Mother is labeled "My family". /End ID]

suffers in I'm the only mythology nerd in the family

[romaritimeharbor]

good morning. i think we should talk about baizhu and changsheng's relationship more actually

do you think she feels guilt since she can't survive without being actively in a contract with someone, and that person has to be good-hearted otherwise the contract literally cannot proceed? do you think it eats away at her that she has to survive on the life force of the best people she can find? you think that fucks with her at all? do you guys think she looks at baizhu and feels guilt? you guys think she looks at him and just sees a kid more than anything else? do you guys think she has ever considered refusing to renew the contract with anyone going forward, even if it costs her own life and risks her being called selfish for letting her power die with her? do you think baizhu blames her at all, even if it's only in fleeting moments of weakness (he usually doesn't, but does sometimes, and even just the thought makes him feel bad because he knows she's also suffering in this cycle)?

[comatosebunny09]

She’s beautiful. And despite how much you’ve tried to hate her, you just…can’t. Understandable why Sylus fell for her charms so quickly. She’s a sweetheart. And it’s infuriating. But—

“Hey,” you interject in a low tone. Stir the contents of your glass, projecting an air of boredom as the partygoers prattle on around you.

She blinks, all bright-eyed and straight-backed in the chair across. Mouth clamps shut, the last vestiges of her story vanishing in the air. Your lips quirk. God, you want to pat her head. Shove her in your pocket for safekeeping.

You motion for her to come closer with two fingers. Angle yourself closer until your breath stirs the pretty bangs adorning her forehead.

“You’re too pretty. Too nice. But you fit him, I guess,” a little forlornness creeping into your voice. “So I’ll bite.”

You ignore how your belly gnarls and twists as you sit back. Cross your legs, banishing those green-eyed monsters poking around in your head. Blame it on the champagne you’ve consumed, making your mind all fuzzy and your stomach feel weird.

“I’ll protect you or whatever,” you mumble before dumping the final contents of your flute down your throat. Fix her with a look that leaves no room for objection after you’ve placed the glass on the table, crossing your arms.

She can do nothing but smile nervously under your gaze, fidgeting with the straps of her dress, searching the tide of partygoers for a familiar shock of white.

Of course she didn’t ask. But it’s your duty to protect what belongs to him.

Any girl of Sylus’ is a temporary ally of yours, no matter how much it pains you to see him entangled with someone who isn't you.

[playingwithstarsabove]

It's kinda a shame that Milo Murphy's law didn't have an episode where Doofenshmirtz shows his various backstories to the gang. Reactions vary from confusion ("How were you born if your mother didn't show up for your own birth? Were you adopted or something?") to disgust ("Garlic ice cream? Ew.") to pure anger ("They lied about a holiday figure so they can deny you your favorite candy? Doof, your parents are the WORST."). Vinnie would be the most confused reactor but Cavendish would throw hands with Doofs parents if he ever saw them in person.

[heilos]

Still coming to terms with the fact that this 5th video is going to be our longest video to date when it's done and I think that's pretty neat.

[barryroyco]

the reason i think i love hilson so much is that they aren’t what either of them pictured for themselves. house probably thought he’d end up with stacy. wilson definitely thought he’d have the white picket fence with a wife and little wilsons running around, growing old and dying with them all surrounding him with their love.

but at the end of it all… they had their chance. CHANCES. and every time, they blew it. sure, you could say house sabotaged him, but wilson always let him. and there was a reason for that.

the person you want when you’re dying isn’t the person you want when you’re living. because while they were living, they were fooling themselves into believing it wasn’t always going to be them in the end. and once the end confronted them, they dropped the act.

no, they’re not the perfect vision of a healthy relationship, platonic or otherwise. but they’re on equal footing, always. they crave it in each other, and they deserve each other. it’s messy, manipulative, and maybe a tad sadistic at times. but it’s a deeper, realer, more intense love than you see either of them experience in the show. doesn’t matter if it’s romantic, it’s there, it’s shown, it’s written, and it’s true.

it always had to be house and wilson. and they knew it too.

[lilalexhorne]

I have still been thinking nonstop about these two getting on each other's nerves homoerotically. And also their height difference like goddamn... And also imagining Ray (Tim Key's character) wanting to win Paul (Jim Howick's character) instead if he wins their little archery match. Cause Ray thinks he still has a chance with him if the little man still harbors any of the feelings he did back when they were experimenting in college... And the whole friends to rivals to lovers thing they could've had going on has latched firmly onto my brain.

[gemmahale]

Started writing something about Dom Soap being a herding dog (if we insist on applying the dog metaphor to him.)

A hand on the small of your back, maybe your hand wrapped in his, at worst his hand on the small of your neck to guide and direct you. He doesn't need to nip at your heels to get you to go where you should.

A nip at your earlobe followed by a growl of "Behave yerself" just barely above the din. A soft kiss along your jawline to apologize; to anyone else it looks like he's telling you a secret, but you know it's a reminder that he is in charge and you'd best listen.

A pinch - maybe the inside of your thigh or arm, or the soft, cushiony part of your hip - when you step outside of pre-determined bounds. A reminder that he's here to protect you, even if you can't detect the threat yourself.

He's subtle in the way he displays dominance. He knows his job is to protect and keep you in line, and he intends to do at least that much. He'll showboat in other areas (and does). But this power exchange between the two of you is his.

....I lost the dog metaphor there a bit. Sorry not sorry. Yes, you'll probably see a lot of this in Museum Muse. Maybe Brix. Bite me. (I'll like it.)

[dilfsuzanneyk]

matt bellamy must have insane stamina and breath control because how is he singing these songs while running, jumping, attacking the equipment, attacking his band members etc etc

[buckevantommy]

buck's narrative is just so pleasing: the first woman he loved (who happened to be a lot older than him) he tried to woo with a hot air balloon ride - which fell through (and was one of the many signs imho that they were incompatible) and then years later the first guy buck buck falls for (again, someone a lot older than him and maybe it's a coincidence but i feel it bears mentioning) is a pilot that he meets in a chopper essentially, and gets to know in an airfield, and tommy offers him flying lessons - just something about it pleases my meta mind very much, something about that metaphor of love making the heart soar idk..

[asteria7fics]

Y'all ever just think about the boys doing nice little things together?

Like, Stan and Kyle spending a day fishing, shotgunning beers out on Stark's Pond. They get too rowdy and Stan starts rocking the boat (literally). Kyle falls in and pouts for a solid hour, but Stan buys him ice cream and all is forgiven immediately.

Kenny and Butters going to the mall together, almost entirely because they want Panda Express and it's the closest one. Butters pays for Kenny to get to ride around on one of those little mobile animal things, just to see him experience true, honest joy. Of course the thing short-circuits and drives him at full throttle into a glass store window, and they do spend the rest of their day at the hospital, but it was fun while it lasted.

Cartman convincing Kyle to game with him, and though Kyle does it begrudgingly at first he ends up getting really into it, and they end up spending hours nearly every night absolutely obliterating little shit stains online. They go too far with it, of course, and Kyle's life suffers for it, and eventually he has to cut it back to only one session a week, but he still looks back on those couple of months fondly.

Just, dudes being guys having harmless, silly fun.

(*꒦ິ꒳꒦ີ)♡

[crazycatsiren]

I read from somewhere that said: Tumblr is a great place because you can be completely and totally 100% yourself on here, and nobody would know any better.

Posted something while you were not quite in your right mind or were just not really yourself at the time? Just go back and delete it. No one would remember.

You can use your Tumblr blog as a diary. Maybe many people will read what you write, maybe not one person will ever read what you write. And nobody on here knows all of you. The internet is great when it comes to stuff like this. Anonymity, when and where you want it.

[beaulesbian]

Something that came to my mind because of the chessboard Strawhat cover:

I mentioned before the Strawhat's relations to demons/hell/monsters and their symbolism of being in opposition to gods/heaven, but this time it's interesting how multiple Strawhats already have a title somehow related to rule or ruling pieces - but it's always a little bit twisted, that trope is a bit flipped upside down.

Obviously Luffy will become the King of the Pirates, (but even Big Mom in one of the Wano flashbacks mentioned she would become the King of the Pirates - not a queen, so this particular title is probably always King.)

Luffy just wants to be that, and not rule in the typical sense of the word, or how their world understands that title.

Then we have Zoro and his King of Hell title. (I think that's pretty self explanatory and i've talked about him before probably the most. (also smth smth, becoming the King for Luffy's and his dreams.))

Now we have Nami as the Queen on the strawhats chess board. Queen, which is the deadliest and a very important figure in chess (beside the King - and even there Oda broke the rules again - saying the 'King is the fighting piece', which usually it is not as much.) She's their navigator and the symbol of what they need to protect and how they let her move to attack in the best formations, in the most strategic moves.

We have SogeKing, who is a veeeery similar to the character of Usopp, practically the same guy. (Even on the chessboard he's with bow & arrow as the SniperKing.)

We have Soul King Brook. King of absolute slaying with his music!

We have Jimbei First son of the Sea, which sound like important (ruling) title as well.

With Sanji I don't really want to point at his family - the connection as Prince of Germa Kingdom connection, because he renounced that, but

-he did call himself a Prince all the way in Alabasta. So, prince he is, self appointed, in whatever sense he means it. (And something very fun is how he trained under Emporio Ivankov, and beat Queen in Wano, both who are also interesting characters in the case of breaking the stereotypical gender of those titles/names).

Nico Robin has one of the epithets 'Light of the Revolution', which I find beautiful. She's illuminating their journey with her knowledge, and at the same time her connections with the Revolutionary Army speaks about the breaking out of the typical roles as well.

(I couldn't think how it would be for Franky and Chopper, but they're kinda similar in the way they've altered their bodies. Franky building so much of his body, cyborg who had a dream to built the ship for the King of the Pirates; and Chopper, a reindeer with human knowledge of medicine to become the best doctor.)

Just to say that even when they're gathering these titles/names/positions, they're not meant in the generic sort of meaning. It's always looped around, broken out of the mold of how their (and ours) society views these roles. And that's what makes it their unique thing. Their way how they grasp their skills, the future and their dreams.

[basalamander-corner]

When you stop to actually think about it, the situation the octolings go through in pretty horrifying. Not just living in a home where the sky could collapse on them at any moment, but the futility of everything they're doing.

We learn in Splatoon 3 that some octolings clans (like Shiver's) lived above ground. They never went down into the Octo Domes, and became well-established to the point of being almost ruler-like? I don't think it's made clear if the great clans that Deep Cut hail from are seen as lords over the Splatlands or what, but they're clearly influential and powerful. So the octolings... really didn't need to spend all that time suffering.

Every one of them could have waltzed onto the surface and easily integrated into inkling society, and no one would bat an eye because as we all know: inklings are stupid as shit! They didn't care when Marina ended up there! So they wouldn't care about others.

So what was stopping them?

Could it be that the higher ups of the Octarian army, those closest to Octavio, were so blinded by their loss, by their sense of pride and their own selfishness, they felt the need to prove they were better than the inklings? To prove they didn't need their "blessed surface", and that they could survive just fine on their own? Their loss was humiliating, and for their superior weapons to lose to such a weak enemy, clearly they need to show their strength to persevere through even the most horrifying of situations.

Clouded by their arrogance, the Octarian army could only imagine that the inklings were keeping the zapfish (and other energy sources) away from them in order to punish them for daring to fight in the Great Turf War in the first place. They were so caught up in this loss they didn't realize inklings had forgotten all about the war within two generations! That sure, the inklings might have learned about it in school (as we hear from Pearl), but they don't know much else other than the basic facts.

And so, the younger generation of octolings suffered the most.

While the generation who lived through the war were trying to return to their glory days, desperate to show off their power and abilities, the newer generation of octolings are forced into fighting for a war they never wanted from a young age. We don't know if all octoling training starts at age 6, but Marina is certainly a case of it. Regardless of when they started fighting, they are fed propaganda and lies from birth.

Inklings are dangerous. Inklings are evil. Inklings will destroy you if they see you. You must avoid them. They hate you because you are an Octarian. That is why you must train.

And they have no choice but to believe it, because they've never seen anything to the contrary. They live in these crumbling domes, they know the inklings live on the surface with unlimited power, so of course they have to believe what their higher ups are saying, and what their own eyes are telling them. The new generation of octolings embody the teachings of their predecessors. As much as it might hurt to fight, as much as they are run ragged and used and abused, it's all for the best. It's for their protection. For their safety. If they step back, if they refuse service, then they're letting everyone down. The Octo Domes would lose power forever. How can you leave your own people to die? Are you selfish? Do you think the innocent must suffer? No. You'll be a good little soldier, and you'll follow orders.

But in the end—as the octolings find their way to the surface after Octavio is defeated and the Zapfish is recovered for the first time—they find out that everything they had done was for nothing. They lived through horrible conditions, believing that inklings were punishing them, only to come to the surface and find that none of it was true.

Are any of them resentful? Do some think of their time underground fondly (like Marina is implied to)? Do they see it for what it was: a futile attempt at holding onto some semblance of dignity after their humiliating defeat to an enemy who couldn't even wake up on time?

Or are they left deeply scarred by it all? Hurt that the older generation—the ones who were supposed to know best for them—would turn their backs on them and let them suffer for a so-called "greater good" that didn't even exist!

Some ramblings about how my own OCs fit into these thoughts are down below. Feel free to skip if you don't want to read something less canon!

Sashi was long trained into being the perfect soldier. He was bio-engineered for it, spliced together using the genes of other soldiers that came before him. He is mistreated by those above him... and it's deserved, isn't it? After all, he isn't an actual octoling. He was created, he wasn't born naturally. So he isn't really sentient, is he? He's just a thing. A useful tool for what the Octarian army wants to accomplish.

And so as he's mistreated, he starts to embody that too. It takes finally escaping to the surface for him to realize and come to terms with the fact that what happened to him wasn't deserved. And I think that, while he isn't resentful, he is angry at Octavio. Sashi looked up to him when he was younger: the brightly shining king who clearly wanted what was best for his people. But when Sashi learns that every was for nothing, well... he certainly won't be happy about it.

Except... we find out that Octavio (and some of the other higher ups) would have never dreamed about treating Sashi the way he was, or any other experiments for that matter.

Yes, Octavio was blinded by his own pride and dignity, but he genuinely wished the best. And to him, creating an army of super-soldiers that could fight to protect them in battle was the best decision to make. So then why? If Octavio never ordered the cruel treatment, why did it happen?

Let's go back to the propaganda and lies: many octolings would believe it. They would grow up hearing about the glory days, the stories of war... and they want a piece of that pie. They want to be a celebrated war hero, they want to rush into battle and defeat the inklings that keep them oppressed in the dark for so long. And with that desire to fight comes a penchant for cruelty. So they treat the experiments—and other lesser soldiers—poorly. Because their job as soldiers is to fight fight fight and keep fighting, so it won't hurt to push them far beyond the limits of what is humanly possible, right?

And Octavio is blind to all of this. He is blind, and it seems like he doesn't care.

So they are left to suffer in silence.

@sharliexth here's a more concise version of my thoughts I shared with you the other day lol