#king laomedon

[greekgodssitcom]

Apollo: Like he was really mean to me but do I tell him he’s going to drown in a bathtub?

Poseidon: Nooo, wait until the week of, then send omens and watch him try to prevent it, that’s always so funny

Apollo: omg you’re so right

[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.

*I am currently missing about 4 other lovers, and will get them on here ASAP. Their inclusion, however, will not change the overall conclusion. 👍

(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) She was killed by Diana for her hubris.

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 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 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 both of 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 way 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.

Love-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 know!! 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. (Wikipedia why do you even have him listed? You need sources smh)

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.

Plus, he’s been described as a son of Apollo too, and I personally like that more lol

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. *stinkeyes the guy who invented her and claimed his “sources” were reliable when they really aren’t*

(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

[amiti-art]

I posted about Troilus last week so I decided to clean up my old sketches of Tennes, his sister and their father for this week.

Cycnus was the king of Colonae (located near Troy) and the son of Posaidon. (His name means swan btw)

He married the princess of Troy named Procleia (she was either daughter or granddaugter Laomedon) and had 2 childern with her: Tennes and Hemithea. Some versions say that Tennes was son of Apollo and he was only being rised by Cycnus (this is going to be important later)

At some point Procleia died and Cycnus remarried. His new wife Philonome, fell in love with Tennes and when he regected her she told Cycnus that Tennes forced himself on her (or tried to). A flute-player named Eumolpus confirmed her version of events.

Enraged by this Cycnus put both Tennes and Hemithea in a wooden chest and throw them into the sea (some versions say Hemithea shared her brother's punishment willingly).

They made it safely to an island called Leukophrys (it was later renamed Tenedos) and become the new rulers of the land.

Cycuns somehow learned that his wife's accusations against Tennes were false so he buried her alived while Eumolpus (the flute-player) was stoned to death.

After founding out that his childern survived Cycnus sailed to Tenedos to ask Tennes' forgivnes and take them both home.

Tennes however didn't care for his apology and he cut the anchor ropes off the ship with an axe so Cycnus couldn't step on the land.

Tennes ruled his island for some time, he established a law which stated that the folse accusations were punisheble by death by an axe (Tennes really liked axes, didn't he).

Also flute-players were forbided from entering either the temples or the entire island.

Okay remember when I said earlier that Apollo was Tennes' real father and it was important? Yeah we're getting there.

When the Greeks were traveling to Troy they stopped on Tenedos. Thetis told Achilles that he can't kill the king of the Island because whoever kills Tennes will be killed by his father Apollo. Achilles however tried to force himself on Hemithea. Tennes tried to defend his sister but he was killed by Achilles. When Achilles realized who he killed he also killed his servant because the servant (who was sent to him by Thetis to remind him not to kill the king) failed to inform Achilles that he's about to kill the man he's not supossed to.

Some versions also mention a bigger fight and say that Tennes was also protecting his country. Most of the sources don't mention what happened to Hemithea afterwords but one text claim that she was swallowed by the earth which saved her from being violated by Achilles. Another says that she was killed by Achilles but don't mention anything about the assault.

It was forbidden to say Achilles name in the tample build after Tennes death.

Meanwhile Cycnus joined the Trojan forces and fought alongside Hector (who was his first wife's nephew btw, which means that Hector and Tennes were first cousins). Like his childern he was killed by Achilles, on the first day of the war.

[lorata]

one of the things that's really hitting me hard in this iliad reread is how during the battles nobody dies unnamed. we get inured to death in modern war stories, you know, we watch both sides slice through countless unnamed soldiers and the action only slows down when someone we recognize falls, but in the iliad everybody gets named.

and yeah, sure, now we don't know these people anymore but like. it's important. they are killed and here are their names, take a moment and remember

what really gets me is how many times the narrator pauses to give little asides when people die. like, where they're from, or who they're related to, or who they're friends with, or an attribute of theirs, a little something to make them human in the moment of their death (e.g. Pylaemenes, match for Ares, lord of the dauntless warriors with shields, the Paphlagonians and [his] driver, Mydon, whose father was Atymnius, who served bravely as his attendant)

and then there are the ones who get more, like this:

Then Diomedes, master of the war cry, slaughtered the son of Teuthras, Axylus, who used to live in beautiful Arisbe. He had a rich estate and wealthy home, and everybody loved him. He was kind, and generous and welcomed everyone who passed that way as guests inside his home. None of his friends stepped in to help him now. No one protected him from bitter death. His life was taken.

or this:

Euryalus ... then chased both Aesepus and Pedasus, twin brothers, sons of Abarbarea. She, a naiad, bore them to great Boucalion, who was the oldest son of King Laomedon, born out of wedlock. And Boucalion had been out herding sheep when he had met the water goddess and had joined with her in love. They slept together. She conceived and bore these twins. But now Euryalus, son of Mecisteus, destroyed them both. He took the life from both these handsome men and stripped the arms and armor from their backs.

like hello????? suddenly the endless chorus of Name, Son of Name isn't rote or archaic convention, it's a reminder that this person will never see their family again. which then makes the rare times when someone goes on a rampage and mows through a whole list of names without pause (Athena turned his mind towards the crowd of Lycians, among whom he killed Coiranus, Alastor, Chromius, and Halius, Alcander, Prytanis, and Noemon) super chilling

it's so funny i expected to have feelings about hector (and i do) and all the things that destroyed me previous times (and i am!) but here i am stuck on Menesthius, who used to live in Arne. Phylomedusa with the oxen eyes bore him to lord Arethous, club-bearer

[kallistcs]

a starter! @harvestshope

Dead, dead, dead - Troilos was dead, a child not yet near enough ready for the battlefield, but he also hadn't even been killed on the battlefield. No, he'd been murdered. In a temple, at the altar. His divine father's temple and altar.

Thinking about it still made Ganymede sick.

Scrubbing his face, Ganymede stared up at the roof of the hekur, sunset bleeding around the tops of the sturdy stone building's roof. Two weeks since Troilos was murdered, the first son of Priam to die and he wasn't even old enough for battle. Two weeks, and it felt both like nothing, and an eternity. The family he now had still alive wasn't so very closely related any longer, but it didn't feel like it mattered. They were still kin, and this was nothing like Heracles' attack had been.

As well proven by the brutal murder of Troilos.

The Achaeans had acquiesced to nine days of mourning, but no one had apparently trusted to bury Troilos in a tumulus out on the plain. Instead, they'd used the building where the kings lay buried - his grandfather and father, his brother - one of them, anyway, as Assaracus lay with Dardanus buried in Dardanus - and even Laomedon.

And now Troilos, too, a child and never meant to be king. But as a son of Apollo as well as Priam and Hecuba - why would he not have the right to lay here?

Teeth grit, Ganymede clutched the small oinochoe closer and went inside. Down a slightly winding corridor, carved with prayers and names and the images of dead kings - he paused to brush a touch over both his father and brother's carven shapes, but then didn't stop until he stood in front of the right urn, wrapped in soft, purple cloth.

Ganymede fished out a small, golden toy horse from the bag he'd brought - fine as anything, it looked real. Zeus had handed it to him the other day without a word but with a brush to his cheek. Put it on the shelf next to the urn, and just as he was about to pour the small amount of nectar he'd brought as a libation, a noise behind him froze him still.

He should probably have come here later, when it was dark. But he'd wanted to be able to see Troy before he went down here and now---

"Is anyone there?"

Lowering both oinochoe and deer-headed rhyton made of gold, Ganymede turned around, asking even if he'd known what he'd heard. The shift of gravel underfoot.

[toasecretsanta]

(2 of 2 fics)

MERRY CHRISTMAS PART 2! :D

Another fic [by @firealder2005] based off of the prompt list by @literallyjusttoa :3 This one is Apollo/Admetus, be it in older times or the modern day!

I will have this posted on Ao3 once the submission is up! :D

Warnings: I have this rated Teen & Up. Only warning is Apollo being rather depressed.

Also fluff alert! :3 This is Admetus/Apollo we’re talking about haha

ENJOY!

Nothing Else To Give But Love…

A soft nose grazed his hand. He shifted and absently began stroking the poofy wool on top of the sheep’s head.

Apollo hummed as the sheep’s baa echoed through the sleepy, spring-green field. Despite the mild warmth, he shivered, one hand nearly strangling the cords wrapped around his hand, the rest of the twine cinched about his waist.

The field was quiet. Simple. Nothing like Olympus had been during, or even before…before…

Before it had happened…

His son’s young face, blue eyes wide and startled as a clap of thunder rolled through the sky and electricity shattered the world around them leaving —

Apollo took in a shuddering breath and squeezed his eyes shut, fighting back the tears welling in them.

Oh, Asclepius… He inwardly whispered. I’m so, so sorry, my sweet, sweet son.

He hadn’t deserved such a wonderful child — frankly, all of his children were marvelous and he couldn’t fathom what he’d done to deserve such bright kids. Apollo didn’t deserve them. He didn’t deserve Asclepius — hadn’t deserved him…

Apollo’s grasp on the cord loosened, letting the rough cords fall from his fingers. He raked a hand through his hair, the locks empty without the laurel wreath usually nestled in them. He hadn’t been casted down to Earth with it the first time, and it was no different now.

He shamefully missed the weight of the crown in his hair. The guilt he made himself carry day in and out. Never letting himself forget her.

Her. Another person he hadn’t deserved…

Did he deserve anything? He, the most glorious of gods…but now nothing more than a mere servant. A shepherd. 

(Not that there was anything wrong with shepherds, mind you. He was the god of them, and had dated a few. Branchus had been a beloved lover, and the person who made Miletus one of Apollo’s favorite cities.)

And what made it worse…he was here because of his own actions. His father’s enraged expression was still fresh in his mind, though the memories were tinted red by his own fiery, destructive fury.

Actions have consequences, my son, Zeus’s voice winded its way through his head. Even you are not above the law.

So here Apollo was. Laying in a field, dressed like a servant. Deprived of even more divinity than he’d had the first time he’d been casted down to Earth to work for Laomedon (the name made him shudder). He thought he felt mortal during his time in Ilion — or Troy, as it was now called. For the first time, his hands had ached. He experienced fatigue and thirst.

Last time was nothing compared to now. By the end of the day, he was exhausted. It was harder to access his divine power to keep himself awake at night, even if dear Admetus attempted to get him to go to sleep, insisting it was natural to need rest after a long day.

But he couldn’t — Apollo didn’t need to rest. He was a god, he could go centuries without rest.

It was only temporary, after all.

(He ignored the yawn that tugged at his lips. The heaviness of his eyes.)

(Temporary. All temporary.)

Footsteps made his head turn. Apollo subconsciously brought a hand up to his hair and played with a strand as he caught sight of Admetus coming closer. Handsome face, dark, soulful eyes and equally dark hair. Stubble grew on his perfect jaw.

Apollo felt his heart flutter when the king softly smiled at him.

He straightened when Admetus slid down beside him, patting the sheep lazing on his other side on the head as he looped an arm around Apollo. The god leaned against him and rested his head on his shoulder, humming happily when Admetus placed a kiss on his hair.

“Slow day?” the king murmured against his hair.

Apollo shrugged, fighting back a yawn. “Pretty much. I think the wolves and bears have decided to go elsewhere.”

“They bow before their lord,” Admetus grinned. Apollo giggled into his shoulder. “As they should.”

The god chuckled again, though a slight sigh shivered through his body. “Not now, though,” he murmured. “I’m not their lord now.”

Admetus stroked his hair. Apollo could almost imagine the concerned tilt of his head, the slightly raised right eyebrow as he looked at him.

The king hummed, resting his head on Apollo’s. “They seem to think so,” he softly observed. “They still listen and obey you.”

Apollo shuffled his legs and buried his face further into Admetus’s robes. A hand ran through his hair again, gently working at small knots, before it was removed and Admetus shuffled around himself.

Peering up, Apollo blinked as the king slid off his light cloak, shook it out, then swung it around Apollo’s shoulders and gently fastened the clasp. Apollo raised his hands to Admetus’s, protesting; “You don’t have too—”

“I insist.”

“Really, I’m fine.”

Admetus kissed his forehead and pulled Apollo into a warm, firm hug. The god gratefully sank into it, eyelids fluttering as sleep tugged on his consciousness. He squeezed his eyes shut and mentally shook himself awake. No sleeping, he ordered himself. Especially not when a handsome king is hugging you!

“You have a lot on your mind,” Admetus murmured. “Don’t you?”

Apollo sighed. “Yes,” he admitted. “I do.”

Admetus stroked the back of his neck, which felt really nice. “Anything I can do to help lighten your load?”

The god softly laughed and rubbed at his heavy eyes. “I don’t know,” he said, pulling away slightly and looping his arms around the king’s neck. Their noses brushed against each other. “Not now, anyway.”

The king cupped his cheek and rested his forehead against Apollo’s. Apollo hummed with contentment at the gesture.

“I have something for you,” Admetus bashfully whispered. Apollo stroked the stubble on the king’s chin and blinked slowly at him, a small smile pulling on his lips at Admetus’s flustered expression.

Admetus reached into his exposed robes and withdrew a circlet.

The first thing that caught Apollo’s attention was the color. A thick, lush green. Shining in the soft, sleepy sunlight.

Bay laurels.

A laurel wreath.

Hesitantly, Apollo allowed his fingers to brush over the delicate leaves before withdrawing. “I…I can’t. I’m not —”

“A prince?” Admetus quietly supplied. He used his free hand to gently pull Apollo to his feet, adjusting the cloak around him, before placing the wreath in his long, unfurled hair, fingers tracing the skin of his cheek.

“Admetus —”

“Keep them on, my prince,” Admetus whispered, placing a light, loving kiss to Apollo’s forehead. “You’re just as royal as I am.”

Apollo gazed up at him, blinking rapidly as his blue eyes got suspiciously wet. He didn’t deserve this gift, especially from Admetus. He wasn’t worthy of it, of a crown made from the leaves of a woman as great as she had been.

But…Admetus seemed to think he did. A corner of his lips curved into a shy smile. Oh, Admetus… he wistfully thought. You somehow see something good in me.

Before he could stop himself, Apollo surged up and kissed Admetus on the lips. His hands trailed up into the king’s dark hair as Admetus drew him close. Apollo felt his heavy eyes flutter shut, relying on his other senses to navigate the wonderful kiss —

Before he blinked back into awareness, staring bewilderedly into Admetus’s perplexed eyes.

“Um. Hi,” he squeaked. Admetus had caught him in a dip, holding him over the ground below them. Apollo had to admit, it felt quite nice. Though how did he end up in this lovely position?

“Hi,” Admetus chuckled. “You…passed out there, for a moment.”

Apollo felt his face burn. Oh dear, sweet Ouranos…how embarrassing. Did he really just pass out while kissing? His breath stuttered as he avoided meeting the king’s mirthful eyes.

“Did I steal too much air?” Admetus grinned. “Or did you just fall for me?”

Apollo slapped his chest and burst into laughter. “That was so bad,” he snorted, smiling brightly from ear to ear.

“I know,” Admetus’s grin was still beaming. “But it’s worth it to see you smile.”

Apollo bashfully ducked his head, laughing once more when Admetus scooped him into his arms and grin brightly.

“Now, however,” Admetus began. “You should rest. You’ve barely been sleeping.”

Apollo looped his hands around his neck and laid his head on Admetus’s shoulder. “I’m fine,” he murmured, eyes fluttering. He snapped himself awake. “I’m a god, Admetus. I don’t need sleep.”

Admetus hummed in disagreement, beginning to walk back to Pherae’s palace with Apollo still nestled comfortably in his arms. “But you’re deprived of much more divinity this time,” he wisely pointed out. “And that means, you do need sleep.” The king paused and rested his forehead against Apollo’s, adding quietly; “I would never make you do something you don’t want to, but please,” he implored. “Go to sleep. You need it.”

The god huffed before sheepishly smiling. “What about the flocks?”

“I have a feeling they’ll be fine,” Admetus assured him with a grin. “The message that the god of flocks is protecting this place should have gotten around by now.”

They both shared a light chuckle before Admetus softly kissed Apollo. He leaned into the feeling, feeling a soft thrill of contentment ripple through his being, before murmuring; “Alright. But only if you join me.”

Admetus softly laughed. “If that is what you wish, my prince.”

----------

Admetus glanced at where Apollo laid sprawled beside him beneath the covers. The blanket had slipped off him, and Admetus carefully pulled it back up, brushing Apollo’s golden hair out of his face as he did.

Finally, he was getting some rest.

Apollo was a stubborn god, and seemed convinced he didn’t need the necessities mortals did — food, water, sleep — and Admetus had used every trick in the book to get him to pay attention to the very human needs he now had.

Well. Almost every trick.

He absolutely refused to use the control Zeus gave him over Apollo. Absolutely not. It horrified him that the wise and just king of the gods he’d spent his life honoring would just give a complete stranger the ability to manipulate his own son any way they liked.

Admetus had always carefully crafted his words to leave Apollo the opportunity to refuse an order if he so chose — a loophole, if you will. Ironically, he never did except for when Admetus wanted him to listen, like actually sleeping instead of making cheese in the dead of the night.

Sighing fondly, he gently ran his fingers through Apollo’s hair, mindful of the laurels now nestled in them. It felt like the soft silk that came from the East.

It scared him, sometimes. This temporary bond between them. Admetus found himself second-guessing his words before speaking, fretting over the possibility of accidentally using it against Apollo…

He had no desire to force this beautiful being into anything — especially since they became lovers.

Admetus wasn’t a fool. He was very well-aware of the power dynamic between them, and did his damndest to even the field as much as possible. He had never used the control he had against Apollo, and he never would.

And for that matter, why should he? Yes, Apollo was technically in his service and therefore legally and divinely bound to obey him, but he was his own person too. He had his own personality and quirks.

Like making cheese in the dead of the night, Admetus bit back a chuff at the memory, a smile stretching across his face as he tucked his chin over Apollo’s hair. He remembered that moment well. Apollo with jugs of fresh sheep milk, carefully taking the curdled bits and brining them, letting the cheese soak in the liquid.

His face had been pinched, a slight frown on his lips, but his movements had been precise and smooth, as if he’d been making cheese his whole life.

And well. Considering Apollo was the father of Aristaeus, Admetus could believe that.

Apollo had sheepishly admitted to not being able to sleep that night, smile strained as thunder rolled outside, lightning and a simple beeswax candle their only source of light in the darkness. Instead of urging his beloved back to bed, Admetus had dropped down beside him and gently unpinned his hair, letting the frayed, golden locks free and began to braid them.

They had sat there the rest of the night, in quiet, comfortable silence, though it was occasionally interrupted by a thunderclap or flash of lightning. Apollo flinched a few times at these, prompting Admetus to twine their hands together once he finished the Athenian hairstyle.

In response, the divine herdsman glanced at him, a soft smile lighting up his beautiful features, before it curved into a mischievous look.

“What are you—?”

Apollo looped his arms around his neck and slid onto his lap, eyes sparkling with mirth. “Care for a bite?” He impishly asked, freeing one hand to scoop up a platter of freshly-made cheese.

Admetus raised a brow, lips twitching, as he asked; “Did you slip something in it?”

Apollo scoffed. “Of course not,” he placed his unoccupied hand to his chest, as if offended. “Only the finest of cheese for my favorite king.”

“And only the finest of the gods could ever make it,” Admetus teased, accepting the offered cheese platter, only to pause when Apollo clucked his tongue and nimbly plucked a piece up himself.

“Allow me,” his smile softened from teasing to genuine. “Least I can do for your kindness.”

Admetus chuckled awkwardly. “It’s nothing,” he shook his head. “I do think this world could use a little more kindness.”

Apollo hummed. “I suppose you’re right,” he softly said, offering his hand with the cheese out. “Taste?”

Admetus didn’t break eye contact as he ate the cheese from Apollo’s fingers, cupping the god’s hand as he did. The tangy, rich flavor bathed his tongue and he licked his lips.

“Delicious,” the king proclaimed, snagging another off the platter. “You truly make the best cheese I’ve ever tasted.”

Apollo laughed as he ate a bite of cheese himself. “Ah, then you truly have yet to live,” his eyes danced in the darkness. “Remind me to get you some of Aristaeus’s — he is the true master of cheese-making.”

Admetus smiled and kissed Apollo’s cheek, comfortably wrapping his arms around his waist. “I shall await this marvelous cheese,” he whispered against his beloved’s ear. “But for now, I’m very much content with yours.”

Apollo’s bashful duck of the head sent flutters of warmth through him.

Sighing fondly at the memory, Admetus nosed into Apollo’s warm body beside him, breathing in the scent of laurels, glancing momentarily at the wreath still laying in Apollo’s hair. It sat crookedly, the leaves unused to being crushed under the head of a human.

Delicately, Admetus adjusted the wreath until it sat mostly straight, though there wasn’t much he could do about the crumpled leaves. Some golden strands had fallen back into Apollo’s closed eyes.

Even without a crown, he silently thought to himself as he brushed those strands away. He’ll always be royal to me.

 —

My ramblings on ancient greek CHEESE can be found on Ao3 :3

[ukelele-boy]

(this was posted Dec 2021 in the toa discord but I finally found it again cause my brain wouldn't stop looking for it) it's basically some timeline digging I did. I know other toa fans have done their own timelines so I wanna crosscheck. I only put 1-2 hours into this and it was a long time ago.

-------------

Ok I've dated the ademtus and apollo thing to before troy fell in 1200BCE, since ademtus' son, Eumelus, was in the trojan war (greek side). If we assume he is pretty young to fight in the war(20-40), then we can date the apollo ademtus thing to maybe 50-60 years before? But king laomedon, who was the king that apollo and Poseidon served, was the father of king priam who was an old man by the trojan war. So if king priam is like 60-70, we can assume that apollo served under laomedon around 80 years ago. Which makes sense because heracules was around for both laomedon and also to save adetmus' wife. But this means that apollo got turned mortal twice in the span of like 30 years and then 50 years later had to listen to zeus and let troy fall due to fate and lost his two sons.

It also means that the failed rebellion happened first, then apollo becomes a god, jives for like 15 years and then has that drama with ascelpusis mom, has a kid called ascelpius who dies at 14-15 to zeus, and then he gets turned mortal again.

If Hya is a prince of sparta (founded in 900BCE) and we could say he lived at it's peak (around 500 BCE), which means apollo met hya maybe 700 years after the trojan war.

And then around 900 years later Rome falls.

[hamletshoeratio]

Pride was Theseus' fatal flaw.

He abandons Ariadne, the literal only reason he survived the labyrinth, because he feels he can do better or because he doesn't want to acknowledge that he couldn't defeat the minotaur and survive the labyrinth alone. He gets so caught up in his victory that he forgets to raise white flags so his (mortal) father knows he survived, and said father throws himself into the sea in despair and dies thinking his son is dead. Becoming King of Athens as a result of that, he becomes a tyrannical king because of his pride and because a toxic friend uses his pride to manipulate him. Where once he was brave and cared for other people, only attacking after first being attacked, after meeting Pirithous, he began doing dangerous and cruel things without thinking about the consequences of his actions. He becomes cruel and self-serving. He kidnaps a thirteen year old Helen of Sparta, intent on making her his wife (never mind the wife he already has) because she is a beautiful daughter of Zeus, the most beautiful girl on the Earth, who else would be worthy of her?, he thinks. He tries to help his friend kidnap Persephone, a goddess in her own right, so that they both can be married to daughters of Zeus, who could stand in their way? Hercules saves his ass from Hades' punishment, but even despite all of the above bullshit, the Gods still don't abandon him. Not until he murders his own son do they abandon him. He kills his son out of jealousy and out of pride. Now he's old, and his own people despise him, even the gods have abandoned him, so he decides to try and be a hero again. He fails. He's lost everything because of pride. Eventually, he is either pushed or he himself jumps (depends on the retelling) into the sea and drowns. If he was pushed, he was too proud and thought that he couldn't be tricked. If he jumped, maybe he was too proud to believe that his father had abandoned him, or maybe he realised his fatal flaw, realised the devastion that he left in his wake as a result and couldn't live with it.

Theseus represents the worst aspects of Poseidon. He's possessive, temperamental, violent, selfish, impulsive, and all-consuming. He doesn't take no for an answer. He's too proud. If Poseidon is anything, it's a prideful god. See the Odyssey, where he has a long vendetta against Odysseus for killing his son. See the Illiad where he sides the Greeks because Laomedon, the mortal King of Troy generations before Priam, Hector and Paris, promised a temporarily mortal Poseidon great reward for building the walls that would later protect Troy from the Greeks for over a decade, then when the task was done told him that setting him free is the best reward that Poseidon could hope for. Posedion took every opportunity to attack Trojan ships and even sent a blood thirsty sea serpent to terrorise the city. There's countless stories where Posedion's pride is the driving force behind them.

Pride is not all that Posedion is, but it's one of his faults.

Do you understand how significant his surrender is? Because I do and it's driving me insane. He sets it aside and he surrenders to his brother, a brother who once took his powers and made him mortal, the brother who is the very last person in the universe he would ever want to submit to. He does it to save Percy because Percy matters far more to him than his pride.

Posedion is one of the Gods who have grown the most since ancient times. He's no Saint and he will never be one, but he's calmed, he grown, he can now set his pride aside.

It's probably why Kymopoleia was banished (she deserves better from Rick because she is full of untapped potential and ngl hoo did her dirty and I can and probably will rant about it someday just not in this post), because she reminded Posedion too much of his dark side, a side he isn't indulging in as much because he's not conspiring to steal Zeus' throne, because as far as we know he doesn't have any vendetta currently ongoing (other than doing significant damage to Florida when Hera kidnaps Percy in tlh).

We do see Posedion set his pride aside for Percy in the books, in the last olympian when joins Zeus and Co in the battle, letting his own domain face destruction. Kronos doesn't expect Posedion to join Zeus & co because of his pride and he's both shocked and pissed that Posedion has done so. It wasn't part of his plan, he never considered that happening (which makes Hades showing up too so much sweeter). Percy had to ask him to do that. Seeing Posedion set his pride aside without a single word from Percy, who has closed his eyes and accepted his fate? I'M A FUCKING WRECK

[reawakened-revenant]

Places I didn't expect to find Admetus:

...the chariot race in The Thebaid. He's only in there for a couple of paragraphs, but man... the feels.

Context: this occurs in book six during (I assume?) the Nemean games. For those who have never heard of the Thebaid, it's a Roman retelling of the Seven Against Thebes, aka the fallout from Oedipus. During a break in the march to the city, various mythological notables come to take part in a chariot race. As well as the heroes of the poem, this includes Theseus, Hercules (and Hylas), and of all people, Admetus.

Timeline-wise, we're post Alcestis, though for some reason Admetus is being referred to as a prince instead of a king. Roman dislike of kings coming through maybe? (Edit: I’ve been informed the original Latin did call him a king; prince was a translator choice *shrug*) In any case, I'm pretty sure his purpose for appearing is to serve as a kind of foil for Amphiaraus; the best bits come when Apollo notices them both and goes off on a monologue:

Both are devoted to me, and both are dear; nor could I say which holds first place. AW 😍

The one, when I served as thrall on Pelian ground... burnt incense to his slave, nor dared to deem me his inferior. This interested me, because while it's not usually made clear whether Admetus knows who Apollo is while he's serving him, I'd kinda assumed he didn't know (that's how I wrote it in God of the Golden Bow). In this version, he definitely DID know (and was smarter than Laomedon).

For Admetus is old age ordained, and a late death; to thee [Amphiaraus] no joys remain.

The contrast: the one whose fate Apollo was able to change, and the one he won't be able to save 🥲

[tylermileslockett]

Heracles #10: The Parerga: Minor Labors

Heracles also performed Minor Labors, or Parerga(secondary work). As there is no definitive list of these, the following examples are some, but not all, of such labors.

1.) Heracles wrestles the river god Achelous for the hand of Aetolian princess Deianeria. The god was often depicted as a man headed bull or merman. In the battle, Heracles tore off on of the god’s horns.

2.) Heracles defeats the giant Alcyoneus during the Gigantomachy (war of giants). On the advice of Athena, Heracles drags the immortal giant beyond his homeland of Pallene, turning him mortal, and then defeating him. Alcyoneus 7 daughters threw themselves into the sea, but the gods turned them to kingfishers in pity.

3.) Heracles defeats the giant Antaios in a wrestling match. The giant, who collects skulls of those defeated in wrestling matches, draws his power from Gaia earth, so Heracles lifts him off his feet and crushes his ribs.

4.) Heracles shoots down Caucasian eagle, which fed on the titan Prometheus’ regenerating liver after Zues punished him for gifting fire to mankind.

5.) Heracles kills the Arcadian Centaurs with poisoned arrows when they rush to drink the wine of the centaur Pholus. In the frenzy, Heracles accidently fells his beloved centaur tutor, Chiron.

6.) Heracles slays the Centaur Eurytion, who threatens and dishonors Hippolyta at her wedding.

7.) Heracles slays the centaur Nessus with a poisoned arrow after attempting rape against Heracles wife, Deianeira.

8.) Heracles captures the Cercopes, a pair of trickster monkey or gnome like thieves in Lydia, and delivers the captives to his master, and later wife, Omphale.

9.) Heracles slays the Trojan Cetus, and rescues the princess Hesione from the sea serpent sent by Poseidon in anger against King Laomedon.

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[littlesparklight]

Some headcanon thoughts/considerations on (some, lol) deities and their favourite cities in myth:

Hera Argos (the area, and then the city in particular, founded by Phoroneus) is, after Samos, Hera's first favourite city, stemming from Inachos judging her the goddess of the land against Poseidon.

Lakedaimon founds Sparta in honour of his new wife, but they dedicate the city to Hera. First because of Sparta's mother having been fostered by Hera*, and Sparta is her local nymph priestess in the area. Second because Lakedaimon, as a son of Zeus and now marrying a nymph that is important to Hera, wants to honour her. Hera takes surprisingly well to this, and wholeheartedly claims the city Sparta as her own, becoming one of Lakeidamon's main deities. *Sparta's mother being Kleta/Klete, one of a set of two Lakedaimonian Charites/Graces. For myself, I made her and her sister(s)' parents Helios and Aigle, but Hera and Zeus fostered them.

Perseus makes Mycenae into a proper city and fortifies it (it was mostly a village with a palace-like building on the rise for Mykene and Arestor earlier), dedicating it to Hera in the name of his marriage with Andromeda, and much like with Lakedaimon and Sparta, she takes to the dedication very well; the city becomes one of her three favourites.

Apollo We all know how/why Delos and Delphi is one of Apollo's favoured cities, so there's no need to touch on that. But I do think it's interesting how in one version of Meleager's death, Apollo is said to kill him during the war between the Kuretes/Pleuronians and the Kalydonians (sparked from the dispute over the hide of the Kalydonian boar), having come to the defense of the Kuretes. How come? Vaguely wondering if it's because of a connection of this region to Acarnania and Actium/Aktion, which was a major center of worship for Apollo. Otherwise we're left with little to make any connection, so in this case Apollo apparently just. Decided he liked them and the city of Pleuron.

Troy is an interesting case, I think. Because while Poseidon clearly takes complete and total umbrage at Laomedon and feels no further connection to or affection for Troy and its inhabitants, Apollo does. He apparently was imagined as having built more than just the wall, and we have his connections to the royal family through Hektor, Kassandra, Helenos and Hecuba, and Troilus. Hektor was among quite a few authors (Stesichorus, for example, so this was an early idea) thought of as Apollo's son, so perhaps no wonder that he would in that case be defending Hektor so intently. For my own headcanon I imagine that Leto, later being associated with especially Lycia and such, preferred to stay on the coast here when the twins were young, and so met Xanthos - and this led to especially Apollo, but all three becoming focus of worship for the population of the Troad forward.

Zeus His special connection to Dodona I headcanon springs from back when he was presented to Kronos before the war, pretending to be something he wasn't. Zeus makes himself out to be a local water divinity of the place, and he keeps that connection, it being one of the few places he directly (instead of through Apollo's oracles, later) expresses his oracular knowledge.

Troy again, and of course you've got his plain statement of how he's been/being honoured in Troy and by Hektor. We also have the comment that Dardanos was one of his most loved mortal sons, so a continuing fondness for the city and the ruling family would make sense. Too, though, we have Xanthos/Skamander. This river god is the one of only three river gods who are said to be born of Zeus instead of Okeanos and Tethys (and the other two in rather later sources, Xanthos is in the Iliad). While I did decide to go with the Okeanos+Tethys parentage, what I did to lean into the Iliad stating Xanthos is a son of Zeus is to have had Zeus being Xanthos' foster father. And Xanthos is the father of the first (mortal) king of the area in myth, who's daughter is married to Dardanos and Xanthos then marrying a number of naiad daughters into the royal line.

[writingamongther0ses]

Happy STS! What are your favorite scenes from your WIPs? (and if you would like share some lines <3)

So my Greek myth wip is based on the need to do Percy Jackson better since there's a lot of stuff that I'm noticing now that I'm re-reading and older. One of these things is Camp Jupiter and New Rome, because it's kinda weird that they cosplay as ancient Romans when Camp Half-Blood doesn't do that. So I wrote an explanation and I really need to re-write this so it's less exposition.

Part down below:

"Did anyone tell you why the sons of Kronos made that pact to not have any more children?"

Megara shook his head. Honestly, it had barely ever been mentioned before. He was pretty sure some people complained about accepting him since he was a pact-breaking child, but those complaints had never been a big deal. "Didn't it happen after the Civil War? I only heard about it because camp got set up right after the pact."

R.K. nodded. "Yeah. I never knew the story until Hermes told me about it, but apparently the seeds happened when Poseidon was made mortal and forced to be a slave for King Laomedon. Hermes told me that, when he returned, he hated slavery."

"Because the sea didn't like to be restrained." It was why Rome never sailed.

"I mean, yeah, but he had also made friends out of fellow slaves and watched them die. Hermes said that he made big changes when he returned and started targeting slave ships. Most of the mermaid population is made of slaves who jumped overboard."

Megara hummed. "I didn't know that."

"Yeah. Father doesn't talk about it much. When talk of getting rid of slavery started up, his kids followed his lead and became abolitionists, even became conductors on the Underground Railroad." She sighed, staring at the sea. "One of them was a woman named Caroline."

"Oh?"

"She was born free. Her grandmother wasn't. She started talking to other demigods, convincing them to help. A slave owner named Felix Wilson, a son of Zeus, heard about her."

Oh. Oh no. He knew that name.

"He got worried about what would happen if every demigod in the United States at the time were allied against slavery." Megara could imagine it. There probably hadn't been that many demigods in the country at the time, but he could imagine the effects. "When the Confederacy broke away, Felix and some of his friends tracked down Caroline." R.K. looked away from the sea, upwards, and Megara followed her eyes. "There's apparently ways to make children of Poseidon drown, if you're determined enough."

Clouds floated by, and Megara gulped. His fingers tingled, just like whenever he manipulated clouds.

"Felix fled to California, and Uncle made sure Father couldn't attack him there." R.K. sighed, resting her chin on the railing, eyes locked on the endless blue that her sister had died in years ago. "His friends killed a good portion of any children of Poseidon and Hades, since they worked together, they could find. When the war was over, Father and Uncle H demanded Uncle never have another child again, because his son had killed so many of their kids." R.K.'s neutral expression twisted into a frown. "He agreed, but said since they were too attached, that they also had to agree."

"He founded the camp," Megara said, interrupting her. "He founded the camp, but he wasn't very popular. Apparently, someone pushed him off a cliff after a year of him leading, but Jupiter pitched a fit when they tried to change the rules."

[lesbianbanana]

Apollo's first two punishments must've been REALLY close together (for a god) because:

Apollo, Athena, Poseidon and Hera try to overthrow Zeus.

They fail, Apollo and Poseidon are sent down to serve Laomedon, king of Troy.

They build the walls of Troy. They leave

Heracles comes around and sacks Troy. Laomedon dies.

Asclepius does his thing, Zeus zaps him, Apollo kills the Cyclopes, Zeus sends him to Admetus as punishment.

Apollo falls in love, gets free, finds Admetus a wife and tricks the fates into letting Admetus live longer if someone will take his place

Heracles visits his two friends Admetus and Alcestis, the latter on her deathbed, and fights Thanatos.

Now, Laomedon probably wasn't that young, seeing as he had at least a dozen kids, so there could be a decade or two between when Poseidon and Apollo were there and when Heracles came.

Heracles also wasn't that young when he came across Admetus and Alcestis because he's done a number of things at this point including

Started a family, had seven kids, killed them. He's in his twenties.

Done his twelve labours, which would've been AT LEAST 10 years.

Gone halfway on a trip with the Argonauts.

Married AGAIN

Served under Dionysus for a bit

But STILL Apollo's punishments would've been in the same century, maybe the same 50 years. Which is crazy, actually.

[jeannereames]

Aside from Hephaistion, who did Alexander consider to be his friends? Is there anyone who’s been noted as someone he was close to or fond of? Were they around his age, or older, like someone like Kleitus?

No doubt Alexander’s circle changed across his lifespan. Hephaistion appears to have been a constant, and a few others, but we get mention of new friends and acquaintances now and then, also fallings-out, or deaths.

First, we should note that each Macedonian prince was accorded an “official circle” called syntrophoi (σύντροφοι), selected by the king. It means “those who were raised together with,” e.g., schooled with Alexander. His cousin Amyntas would have had the same. (I’m thinking Arrhidaios probably didn’t, but he might have, depending on his actual mental capacity, which isn’t clear.)

If we can’t be 100% certain who were Alexander’s syntrophoi, we can make a few guesses. Perdikkas, Leonnatos, Marsyas, Hektor, Lysimachos, and Seleukos all seem likely—maybe even Kassandros (although he was younger). Probably Hephaistion, although one of the places Sabine Müller and I disagree is when he met Hephaistion. She thinks they met only as adults, whereas I think Hephaistion was a syntrophos. (I won’t go into why; I simply note it.)

The ruins of the palaistra near Mieza turns out to be much bigger than we expected, suggesting there were a lot of boys sent to study with Alexander—more by far than I included in the novel. But I’d already written Dancing with the Lion by the time that excavation occurred, and I’m not sure I’d change it even if I had known, as 100 kids is a lot to keep track of! I did note the size in the Historical Note, however, at the end of book 2. Obviously if there were even 50 (never mind the possible 100), they weren’t all close to Alexander. Probably most weren’t.

Some not syntrophoi, but important to his circle, include Krateros, Philotas, Nikanor, and Ptolemy, all of whom would have been about 10-ish years older, and may have been syntrophoi (at least some) of Alexander’s older cousin Amyntas. Erigyios, Laomedon, Harpalos, and Nearchos, despite my making them Alexandros’s age in the novels, were all almost certainly older, and perhaps by some years (more than Ptolemy and Krateros). Kleitos would have been like a big brother to Alexander, too, but not a syntrophos.

Now, OF those assigned syntrophoi, who were his actual friends? Good question. Keep in mind this is just my own opinion, based on my sense of things from the sources.

In addition to Hephaistion, he seems to have been genuinely fond of Hektor (Parmenion’s youngest). I think he also liked Lysimachos, and Perdikkas. Despite the hatchet-job Ptolemy (et al.) did on Perdikkas’s reputation in the Successor Wars, after Hephaistion’s death, Perdikkas occupied the highest position still at court (with Krateros his most trusted person away from court). I’m not sure if he were actual friends with Krateros, or simply recognized him as an excellent general, Parmenion’s natural successor. If they were close at some point, I can’t imagine the friction with Hephaistion made it easy to continue. For that matter, I’m not sure Hephaistion and Krateros weren’t originally at least friendly, if not friends. The tension seems to bloom late in the campaign after Hephaistion’s rise. Another possible friend was Marsyas, who had more of a literary career than a military one. But like Ptolemy later, he could have exaggerated his importance to Alexander for prestige.

There were also people in-and-out of his personal circle who weren’t Macedonians, or soldiers. We hear less about them. And we should remember that people’s personal circle does change across time. I think most people do probably count only a handful of people as consistent, long-term friends. That’s what makes them special.

Alexander’s unique place as crown prince, then king…then simply the most powerful person in his world, would have complicated enormously who he could call a friend.

It’s why I find his attachment to Hephaistion so fascinating—a unicorn—as it seems to have been both sincere and to have weathered his rise to power. It’s also why I think his own death followed so quickly on Hephaistion’s. It’s lonely at the top. A cliché, but very true. He got lucky enough to have a trusted partner who he brought along from the beginning. When that partner died, he was rudderless. Even if he trusted Perdikkas…Perdikkas wasn’t Hephaistion. Nobody was. That emotional devastation was heightened so much more simply due to his position.

[cer-ber-iii]

So, Apollo and Poseidon conspired against Zeus with Hera, they failed, he stripped the two of their divinity and sent them to serve King Laomedon of Troy. They built a wall and Laomedon pissed them off. Heracles killed the resulting sea monster.

Apollo is the god of the sun right? (Quick google search says Hera is the goddess of gods? And mother of Zeus?) So if I'm understanding this correctly Zeus took away their immortality, not their powers?

[apollosgiftofprophecy]

Hello, I'm a new reader of your fics and found you through AO3, after reading your fic where Apollo n Poseidon are punished with mortality and King idk how to spell his name was talking about getting his daughter married made me wonder about how Greek Marriages and Courtships work/how they were performed and the actual marital rites ofc

Love your work, looking forward to your response •u•

Okay okay, so this requires a lot of know-how and I most definitely don't know everything so this is what I know:

Courtships differed from city-state to city-state. But overall I think they all shared one common factor - a courting gift. Courting gifts were used to basically show off a guy's status in the world, and the better the gift the better chance he had at winning the marriage.

This is actually exemplified in the myth of Cassandra and Apollo! Apollo's courting gift was the gift of prophecy, which Cassandra accepted, ergo confirming their courtship (their relationship was also considered to be a type of marriage btw! Cassandra would have been one of Apollo's 'wives', like the Pythia (essentially married to her job aka Apollo), Cyrene (was literally married to him; eloped with him), or the Muses (his immortal companions) even though they weren't like. married married. they weren't married like Zeus & Hera are, or Hades & Persephone. it was a symbolic one, or even an emotionally-bonded one.

So big gift = better chance at winning her hand. cool.

NOW I WOULD LIKE TO INTERRUPT OUR BROADCAST ON ANCIENT GREECE AND TURN OUR ATTENTION TO COURTSHIPS IN THE MYTHS :D

I've already discussed Apollo&Cassandra, but there are plenty more courtships going on.

Admetus & Alcestis, for one! Odysseus & Penelope! Admetus and Odysseus both had to complete a set task to be seen as "worthy" of marrying their respective wives.

For Admetus, it was yoking a bull and lion to a chariot and riding it into Alcestis's dad's kingdom (which he did with Apollo wingmanning him bless their souls) and for Odysseus, he completed various physical exercises (like a race) and won!

So I guess the overarching message about Greek courting/marriage rituals is the guy has to prove how much of a rich badass he is, and if he can't show off his wealth (like Odysseus), he's gotta make up for it with EXTRA badassness.

As for the marriage itself, it also depended on the region. And it's A Lot so I would recommend skimming this wikipedia article on it and then looking deeper into various other websites - just looked it up, and there are quite a few. I would nail down the main similarities between them as the Facts and the extra info as Potential Facts (my usual method of research - and if the info in corroborated in an informative source, then it is also Fact)

I also see you mentioned Proclia and Laomedon, and what he would have had to do for her marriage. I did find this website on Anatolian marriage customs (since they are in Anatolia and not Greece), but I don't know how reliable it is. If there's anybody out there who knows more, shoot it at me! :D

And thank you anon! :D I promise I have more in store, just working on getting the next couple Hunger Games AU chapters done before moving on to the Delphic fic! :D