Apollo

"Green grass breaks through snow, Artemis pleads for my help, I am so cool.''"

- Apollo

Apollo, (Απόλλων in Ancient Greek) is the Greek god of the sun, healing, plague, disease, music, song, poetry, archery, truth, prophecy, and oracles. He is the twin brother of Artemis. He is also the god of order, and the god of light. He is depicted as the god who drives the sun around in his chariot, a job he received when the original sun god, Helios, faded due to downsizing by the Romans. He and his sister are known as the Twin Archers. Apollo is portrayed by Dimitri Lekkos in The Lightning Thief.

History
When Leto was pregnant, Hera was furious with Zeus' infidelity and forbade his concubine from giving birth on either the islands or mainlands. Fortunately, the floating isle of Delos gave sanctuary to Leto who gave birth to Artemis and Apollo. Hera then sent the dragon serpent, Python to hound Leto. A three-year-old Apollo petitioned Hephaestus for a golden bow and a set of arrows which he used to kill Python. After his defeat of Python, Apollo was placed in charge of the Oracle of Delphi.

During the Trojan War, Apollo shot arrows of plague into the Greek encampment as retribution for Agamemnon's insult to his priest. He demanded her return and the Greeks complied, indirectly.

When Diomedes injured Aeneas during a battle, Apollo rescued him after Aphrodite was wounded by Diomedes as well, trying to save her son. He transported the Trojan to Pergamos where his wound was tended by his mother and sister. Apollo was one of the gods who helped the Trojans during the war, and he constantly drove on Hector and almost destroyed the Greeks. Apollo also aided Paris in slaying Achilles by guiding the arrow of his bow into Achilles' heel.

The Titan's Curse
Apollo first appearance in the series was in The Titan's Curse. Apollo's sister Artemis decides to hunt a powerful monster, one that has the power to bring down the gods and Olympus itself. Before Artemis leaves, she asks Apollo to take her Hunters and various demigods to Camp Half-Blood because this mission is too dangerous for them.

He agrees and makes a haiku about their meeting, but he and Artemis get into a tiny argument about "I am so cool," only being 4 syllables, he then changes it to, "I am so awesome."

Apollo gives Percy, Thalia, Nico, Bianca, and the Hunters a ride, and he allows Thalia to drive his chariot, as she is the daughter of Zeus, lord of the sky, saying that he won't zap her out of the sky. However, Thalia is terrified during the ride, and ends up accidentally scorching New England. Apollo appears to be scared during the drive too, though he did say a few reassuring words during the ride.

The combination results in a gut-retching experience for the group. But at last, they arrive at Camp Half-Blood, and Apollo sees them off, and leaves.

After Artemis is kidnapped, Percy, Thalia, Zoë, Bianca, and Grover leave to rescue her and Annabeth. Apollo is worried about his sister, and when he tries to use his supernatural sight to find her, he discovers she has been clouded from him, so he breaks the Ancient Laws, and helps the questers by getting on a train headed west. Apollo is in disguise as a homeless man named Fred, however he tells Percy a haiku, which reveals himself (as Percy has never met anyone else who could tell such a horrible haiku). He warns Percy not to let anyone know he spoke to him, and advises him to seek out Nereus, the Old Man of the Sea.

Later, at Olympus, Apollo votes for Percy not to be killed, and and gives him a thumbs-up from his throne. He was listening to his iPod at the time, so it is unknown how much of the debate he actually heard.

The Last Olympian
In The Last Olympian, Apollo joins forces with the other gods of Olympus against Typhon. Apollo also cures Annabeth and he presides over the initiation of Rachel as the new Oracle of Delphi at Camp Half-Blood while also healing Chiron. When Poseidon defeats Typhon, Apollo joins the rest of the gods on Olympus, and is there when Percy, Annabeth, and Grover are all thanked for their efforts. When Annabeth is made the official architect of Olympus, Apollo and Ares agree with Aphrodite's suggestion for lots of statues of them. The book also mentions that Percy imagines Apollo wearing a "tight silk shirt and bell-bottoms" when he hears the song "Stayin' Alive" on the elevator to Olympus.

Personality
Apollo has been obsessed with haikus ever since he visited Japan and also appears to obsess over other kinds of poems, depending on where he visits. Although he thinks very highly of himself, he is actually really terrible at it. In The Titan's Curse, Zoë Nightshade briefly mentions that after Apollo visited Ireland, he obsessed over limericks for a time. He loves his 'little' sister Artemis, even though they often clash, as he is the more laid back, less serious twin; he is always hitting on her Hunters as well. Apollo is described as arrogant, self-centered, and cocky. Apollo is also a major flirt, as he often flirts with Artemis' hunters, even though she has forbidden it. Despite his flirting however, the Hunters refuse to be charmed by Apollo.

The sun god drives around in his chariot. He can make the chariot look however he wants, but he prefers a sports car. In The Titan's Curse, Apollo appears driving a Red Maserati Spyder.

Appearance
Apollo normally appears as a handsome teenage boy (When Thalia first met Apollo, she said "Whoa. Apollo is hot." And Percy replied, "He's the sun god." She replied, "That's not what I meant."), around seventeen or eighteen, sandy hair, a bright cocky smile, and outdoorsy good looks. When Percy meets him for the first time, he was wearing a white, sleeveless T-shirt, blue jeans, and loafers. Percy describes Apollo as looking like Luke, without the jagged scar on the cheek. However, he can appear as anyone, as he is a god. While helping Percy on his quest, he shows himself as a homeless man named "Fred" (he's incognito). He is often seen driving the sun chariot.

Apollo (Roman)
Apollo can change into his Roman aspect. In this form; he becomes more disciplined, militaristic, and warlike. Apollo may have children along with his descendants at Camp Jupiter near San Francisco. To the Greeks, Apollo was the divine patron of their culture. To the Romans, Apollo was known commonly as Phoebus in his capacity as the god of the sun.

Abilities
Apollo has the standard powers of a god with personal abilities such as:
 * Divine intellect
 * Musical and poetic expertise
 * Mastery over archery
 * Near-omnipotent control over fire, healing, and light
 * Omniscient foresight

Family
Apollo loves both his mother and twin above all other women and will fiercely defend them. Apollo is surpassed only by his father, Zeus, and uncle, Poseidon, in his romances. Unmarried, Apollo has the most children of the Olympian gods at in the series.

Apollo's Chariot
"This chariot is built out of human dreams about the sun, kid. It's as old as Western Civilization. Every day, it drives across the sky from east to west, lighting up all those puny little mortal lives. The chariot is a manifestation of the sun's power, the way mortals perceive it."

- Apollo Apollo's sun chariot is the one that brings light to the world, making the mortals believe that it is a huge ball of fire-the sun-in outer space (although Apollo infers that the Sun does still exist in space, but its effects and visible appearance on Earth is the Sun Chariot). Apollo's sun chariot can also turn to any other car; as shown in The Titan's Curse, the chariot changed into a Maserati and a bus.

The Lightning Thief (film)
Apollo is played by Dimitri Lekkos. In the movie, Apollo only appears once, during the scene with the whole council, and is not addressed, but is zoomed in on with Artemis at his side.

Trivia

 * Apollo gave Midas donkey ears after he declared Pan the winner in a music contest between the two gods.
 * Artemis calls him big-headed and many other names siblings often call one another.
 * He slayed Marsyas, a mortal musician because he dared to challenge the god of music with a challenge, but it was Apollo who won.
 * He likes to make Haikus (Japanese poems) which probably mirrors the fact that Japan is referred as the 'Land of the rising sun' and Apollo is the sun god.
 * Apollo is the only Olympian to share his name with his Roman aspect because "Perfection can't be improved".
 * Apollo is the only Olympian that is described as having blond hair.
 * Apollo's incognito name 'Fred' may have been taken from the author of The Face of Apollo, by Fred Saberhagen.

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