Apollo Slays The Python And Offends Cupid
The story of Apollo and Daphne in Ovid's Metamorphoses (I. 438-567) took place right after Apollo killed the Python, the great snake that terrorized mankind.
Apollo and Daphne
Apollo had made one too many jokes at Eros' expense. To punish him, Eros shot Apollo with one of his golden arrows, which made Apollo fall madly in love with the nymph Daphne. Unfortunately for Apollo, Eros had shot Daphne with a lead arrow, which made her reject the god.
Apollo and Daphne
Apollo's most famous love interest was Daphne, a nymph who had once vowed to Artemis to remain eternally innocent. Apollo, however, fell for her and persistently stalked her, until one day Daphne couldn't take it no more.
Apollo the God of Light, the eternally beautiful youth, was also know for his affairs with both men and women.
It is said that Daphne was the first love of Apollo but unfortunately the girl never responded his love. It was not usual or possible for a nymph or a mortal woman in the Greek mythology to resist to the love of a god, but Daphne did so and in fact, she lost her life trying to escape this love.
In Greek mythology, Hyacinthus was a Spartan prince of remarkable beauty and a lover of the sun god Apollo.
Apollo's Women
Marpessa: daughter of Euenos. Their offspring was Kleopatra, wife of Meleager, although her father may have been Idas. Chione: daughter of Daedalion. Their son was Philammon, sometimes said to be the son of Philonis.
Apollo was quite taken with Cassandra, and he tried to win over her affection by gifting her the gift of prophecy. When she spurned his advances, Apollo's infatuation quickly turned sour, and he made sure that no one would ever believe her predictions were true.
Muses, the nine goddesses of arts, poetry, and song were all his lovers.
Greek Mythology states that Apollo had been mocking the God of Love, Eros (also known as Cupid). In retaliation, Eros fired two arrows: a gold arrow that struck Apollo and made him fall in love with Daphne, and a lead arrow that made Daphne hate Apollo.
Cupid is, quite literally, the child of the goddess of love, Venus. In Greek mythology, he is known as Eros, and, depending on the source, was thought to be a primordial god who came into the world either asexually, from an egg, or the son of Aphrodite (Venus' Hellenistic counterpart).
The most celebrated of his loves were the nymph Daphne, princess Koronis (Coronis), huntress Kyrene (Cyrene) and youth Hyakinthos (Hyacinthus). The stories of Apollo's lovers Daphne and Kyrene can be found on their own separate pages--see the Apollo pages sidebar.
Strengths: Creative, handsome, supportive of all the arts of civilization. Weaknesses: Like his father Zeus, Apollo gets in trouble over love. Birthplace: On the sunny Greek island of Delos, where he was born along with his twin sister, Artemis.
Apollo angered his father Zeus and ended up being sent to Earth and is in the body of a 16 year-old boy named Lester Papadopolous. Zeus punishes Apollo for the role that he played in the battle between the gods in Gaea. Apollo is of course upset about this and is wondering how soon he can get back to god status.
Daphne was the first love of Apollo, the sun god, the son of Zeus and Leto. Although the sun god Apollo fell in love with many girls many times, Apollo's love for Daphne will always remain in the history of Greek mythology as an eternal one-sided tragic love story.
Apollo is the god who affords help and wards off evil; various epithets call him the "averter of evil". Medicine and healing are associated with Apollo, whether through the god himself or mediated through his son Asclepius.
ARISTAIOS (Aristaeus) The patron god of beekeeping, olive oil manufacture, and the Etesian Winds. He was a son of Apollon and the nymph Kyrene. ASKLEPIOS (Asclepius) The god of medicine. He was the son of Apollon and Koronis (or Arsinoe).
After that, Hermes and Apollo became the best of friends. Their friendship was so firm that Apollo said to Hermes that he was the most beloved of the gods to him. Later on, Hermes became an Olympian.
Apollo never married, but there once came a time when he came very near to marrying. This story occurred in Aetolia, in West Greece, with the beautiful princess Marpissa. Marpissa's father, King Evinos, was a son of Ares, the god of war, and therefore a very skilled fighter.
One day Apollo saw Coronis and became enamoured of her. He lay with her in her home, and consequently she became pregnant.
Apollo was a much-loved god, and this was most likely due to his association with many positive aspects of the human condition such as music, poetry, purification, healing, and medicine. The god was also associated with moderation in all things.
Cupid was the enemy of chastity, and the poet Ovid opposes him to Diana, the virgin goddess of the hunt who likewise carries a bow but who hates Cupid's passion-provoking arrows.