PHŒBUS—APOLLO.
Ques. Who was Apollo?
Ans. He was the son of Jupiter and Lato´na. This god was, with his twin-sister Diana, born at Delos, an island in which Lato´na had taken refuge from the anger of Juno. This goddess, jealous of Lato´na, sent the serpent Python to destroy her. One of the first exploits of Apollo was to kill the Python with his arrows.
Ques. How is this god generally represented?
Ans. As a young man, comely and graceful. He wears a laurel crown over his flowing hair; his garments are embroidered with gold; in his right hand he carries his bow, and bears on his shoulder a quiver filled with arrows. Apollo and his sister Diana presided respectively over the sun and moon. The sun is often called Phœbus, or Apollo, and in ancient pictures the head of the god is represented as darting rays. Apollo, like other divinities, had many names.
Ques. What was the cause of Apollo’s being driven from heaven?
Ans. He had a son named Æsculapius, who was so skilled in medicine that he was even able to restore the dead to life. Hippol´ytus, son of Theseus, king of Athens, was killed by sea-monsters. Æsculapius, by bringing him to life, so offended Jupiter that the latter killed him with a thunderbolt. Apollo was much grieved, and, as he could not take revenge on Jupiter, he killed the Cyclops who forged the thunderbolts. For this reason Jupiter banished Apollo from heaven.
Ques. How did he occupy himself in his banishment?
Ans. He guarded the flocks of Admetus, king of Thessaly. Here he had the misfortune accidentally to kill Hyacinthus, a boy to whom he was much attached. Apollo mourned deeply for the youth, and caused a flower to spring from his blood, which is called the hyacinth. Cyparis´sus was also beloved by the god. The boy grieved so deeply at having unintentionally killed a favorite deer, that he begged Apollo to make his mourning perpetual. The god heard his prayer and changed him to a cypress, the branches of which tree were always used at funerals. After many adventures and wanderings, Apollo was restored to the favor of Jupiter, and to heaven.
Ques. What favor did Apollo confer on King Admetus?