Apollo

""Wow." Thalia muttered. "Apollo is hot." "He's the sun god," I said. "That's not what I meant.""

- Percy and Thalia talking about Apollo The Titan's Curse

Apollo, also known as Lester Papadopolous in his human form, is the Greek god of the sun, light, healing, disease, music, art, poetry, archery, reason, knowledge and prophecy. He is the twin brother of the goddess Artemis and, together, they are known as the Twin Archers. He is depicted as the god who drives the sun around in his chariot - a job he received when Helios, the original sun god, faded due to being downsized by the Romans.

Apollo's Roman form is also called Apollo. However, he is currently trapped in human form due to being cast down from Olympus by his father, Zeus.

Birth and Fight with Python


When Leto was pregnant, Hera was furious with Zeus' unfaithfulness and forbade the Titan from giving birth on either the islands or mainlands. Fortunately, the floating Isle of Delos gave sanctuary to Leto, and through the help of all the goddesses, who begged Hera to allow Eileithyia (who's also her daughter) the goddess of childbirth, to come to Leto, she finally gave birth to the goddess Artemis and, nine days later, Apollo. A four-day-old Apollo petitioned Hephaestus for a golden bow and a set of arrows which he used to kill Python, a dragon that was previously sent by Hera to chase his mother, Leto. After his defeat of Python, Apollo established the Oracle of Delphi as recompense, for Python was the child of Gaea, and Gaea complained to Zeus about Apollo's act. He also established the Pythian Games and named his Oracle the Pythia, to honor his great foe.

First Love
One afternoon, Apollo came across Eros, who was in the form of a child and "playing" with his bow and arrows. He found the sight so humorous that he burst into laughter and mocked the young god of love, who decided to teach Apollo a lesson.

The next afternoon, when Apollo was walking by the riverside in Thessaly, Eros shot an arrow of love straight into his heart, causing him to fall instantly and hopelessly in love with a beautiful naiad who was bathing nearby: Daphne. He approached her and begged for her hand in marriage. Unfortunately for Apollo, Daphne had sworn off men due to the numerous tales of how being beloved by the gods had led many females to tragic endings, and therefore spurned his advances.

A chase erupted, with some banter on Apollo's side. When Daphne started to tire, she cried to Gaea for help, and the goddess took pity on her and transformed her into a laurel tree just as Apollo was about to embrace her. Heartbroken by his loss of her, the god of the sun declared that though she now could not be his wife, he would still honor her: henceforth, the laurel tree would be a symbol of victory, and he would wear a crown of her leaves.

To this day, Apollo had never moved on from her memory, swearing never to marry (though he claims it is because he cannot decide between the Nine Muses.)

Losing his Cows
When Hermes was born, he stole Apollo's sacred cows. Outraged, Apollo demanded something to be done to him as punishment. Instead, to make up for it, Hermes made a lyre, a musical instrument, and gave it to Apollo as a peace offering. As soon as Apollo saw the lyre, he was enchanted by it and instantly forgot about the cows. After that, Hermes and Apollo became the best of friends, so much so that Apollo said to him that he was the most beloved of the gods to him, and Hermes became an Olympian. Soon after, Hermes crafted the reed pipes. Apollo begged for them, so Hermes made a deal with him; he would give him the reed pipes in exchange for the caduceus. Apollo agreed, and then became the god of music.

First Olympic Games
Apollo was believed to have won the first Olympic Games, established to honor Zeus' victory over Kronos and was originally a game for the gods, and he is recorded as to have defeated Ares at boxing and Hermes at racing. So the Ancient Greeks gave laurel branches as rewards to victors in honor of this, as the laurel was the holy tree of Apollo.

Asclepius and Punishment
Apollo is also the god who found Chiron and raised him, attributing Chiron's skills and wisdom to Apollo's tutelage. Thus, after Asclepius, the demigod son of Apollo was born, he was raised by Chiron. The centaur taught the demigod in medicine and would drive him to become the greatest of healers. Asclepius is said to have been Apollo's favorite demigod child.

Asclepius became even more skilled in medicine than his father Apollo, most likely because he devoted all of his time to it. With the help of Gorgon Blood (given to him by Athena), Asclepius could cure any illness, heal any injury, and even bring back the dead with The Physician's Cure. He most notably resurrected Hippolytos at his aunt Artemis' request. Furious, Hades forced Zeus to strike Asclepius dead with lightning as punishment for violating the natural laws.

Apollo was angered and devastated by his favorite son's death but couldn't take out his anger on Zeus himself as the king of gods was way too powerful, so he subsequently killed one of the Cyclopes (who forged Zeus' thunderbolts) in retaliation which caused Apollo to be suspended for a year. To prevent a feud, after Zeus resurrected his cyclopes, Asclepius was resurrected and made into a god, but was forbidden by Hadesfrom ever resurrecting the dead ever again.

For his murder of the Cyclopes, Apollo was forced by Zeus to live on Earth for a year, stripped of his divinity and godly powers, and forced to serve the mortal King Admetus of Thessaly as a shepherd for a year. Fortunately for Apollo, Admetus was very hospitable, and treated the banished god with great respect. As a reward for his hospitality, Apollo even persuaded the Fates to reprieve Admetus of his fated day of death, as long as Admetus could find someone willing to die in his place.

Hyacinthus
At one point, Apollo fell in love with the handsome mortal man Hyacinthus. One day, Zephyros, the god of the west wind, who was also smitten by Hyacinthus, came across him and Apollo playing a game of quoits. Jealous that Hyacinthus preferred the radiant archery god to him, Zephyros shifted the wind and sent a heavy metal ring flung by Apollo right at Hyacinthus’s head, instantly killing the youth. The devastated Apollo would turn his lover's deceased body into a flower, the hyacinth. In order to avoid Apollo's wrath, Zephyros would seek protection from Cupid who had mercy on him because he was driven crazy by love, who forced the guilt-ridden wind god to work for him forever as a result. As mentioned in The Hidden Oracle Hyacinthus would forever remain one of Apollo's two all-time favorite lovers (on par with Daphne).

Punishing Niobe
When Niobe insulted his mother Leto, saying her children were more numerous, and better overall, Apollo shot arrows at Niobe's seven sons, while Artemis shot arrows at Niobe's seven daughters. However, Artemis spared one of her daughters.

Pandora
When his father Zeus decided to create the irresistible Pandora (in order to punish Epimetheus for his brother Prometheus's actions), Apollo helped by teaching the girl how to sing and play the lyre.

Olympian Riot, and Apollo's Punishment
Hera, enraged at her husband's infidelity, decided to start the first (and last) Olympian riot against Zeus. Hera managed to gain the support of Poseidon, as well as Apollo himself, and Athena. That evening, Apollo, Poseidon, and Athena hid themselves in the hall adjacent to Zeus' royal chambers, awaiting Hera's signal. As soon as Zeus had fallen asleep, all four of them quickly tightly bound the King of Olympus with unbreakable and tightening golden chains. Even chained up and completely immobilized, an infuriated Zeus looked very intimidating. Finally, Poseidon attempted to reason with his brother and demanded that Zeus be a better ruler. Zeus refused, which prompted Hera to advocate leaving him chained up in his chambers until he agrees. Shortly thereafter, the four Olympians departed for the Throne Room for the first (and last) democratic meeting of the Olympian Council, which proved to be a very cumbersome task.

Fortunately, the violently thrashing and bellowing King of Olympus was found by the Nereid Thetis. After convincing Zeus to be merciful towards the rioting Olympians, Thetis managed to find the Hekatonkheire, Briares, by the sea shore. He was more than happy to save Zeus, recalling that he owes his own freedom from Tartarus and Kampê to him. Briares quickly unchained Zeus, after which the latter seized his Master Bolt, and barged into the Throne Room, violently ending the meeting. Zeus remained true to his word and was merciful towards the rioters, but he still punished them all accordingly.

Apollo was once again forced to live on Earth stripped of his divinity and godly powers, and forced to serve Laomedon, the mortal King of Troy. Laomedon ordered Apollo to become his shepherd, and tend to his royal herds.

Poseidon and Athena also temporarily lost their powers while Zeus tied Hera on top of Chaos and everyday threatened to break the chains with his master bolt until Hephaestus freed her. This caused Zeus to through Hephaestus off Olympus again.

Trojan War
During the Trojan War, Apollo was the chief patron and protector of the Trojans, Hector in particular. Apollo shot arrows of horrible plague into the Greek encampment as retribution for Agamemnon's insult to his priest, whose daughter had been captured by them. He demanded her return and the Greeks complied, indirectly causing the anger of Achilles, as Agamemnon took Achilles' concubine, Briseis, as compensation. Apollo also taunted Achilles so that he would chase him, giving the Trojans time to escape back to Troy.

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. Throughout the war, he constantly drove on Hector and almost destroyed the Greeks. At the behest of Zeus, Apollo used Zeus' Aegis to force the Greeks back to their ships. He also destroyed the great wall the Greeks built, as easily as a child breaks a sandcastle, according to Homer. Apollo also aided Paris in slaying the invulnerable Achilles by guiding the arrow of his bow into his vulnerable (Achilles') heel.

The Titan's Curse
When Apollo's sister, Artemis, decides to hunt the Ophiotaurus, a powerful monster 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, although Zoë Nightshade wanted to come with her.

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 four syllables, he then changes it to, "I am so awesome." Everyone believes his haikus are terrible.

Apollo gives Percy Jackson, Thalia Grace, Nico and Bianca di Angelo, 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 because of her fear of heights, 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 (by crashing into the lake) where Apollo sees them off, and leaves.

After Artemis is kidnapped, Percy, Thalia, Zoë, Bianca, and Grover Underwood leave to rescue her and Annabeth Chase. 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 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. He also offers Percy the chance to drive his chariot and archery lessons though Percy rejects the latter as he's bad with a bow.

The Battle of the Labyrinth
Apollo is mentioned when Percy is attempting to shoot Geryon through his three hearts, and he prays to Artemis and Apollo to ask them to guide his arrow.

The Last Olympian
Apollo joins forces with the other gods of Olympus against Typhon in his golden chariot. Apollo also cures Annabeth and he presides over the initiation of Rachel Elizabeth Dare 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 the gods.

The Son of Neptune
Due to his archery skills, Frank had initially assumed that he was a son of Apollo, and frequently prayed to the god to claim him and he was rather dismayed after Mars claimed him. Even though Apollo wanted him to be.

The Mark of Athena
Apollo, along with most of the other Olympians, was incapacitated (with his personality split between him and his Roman form) after Leo was manipulated by Gaea into shooting upon Camp Jupiter from the Argo II.

The House of Hades
When Percy sees Apollo's grandfather, the Titan Koios, he notes that he has Apollo's bright smile.

Also, Zephyros mentions to Jason and Nico how both he and Apollo has once been in love with the handsome mortal man Hyacinthus, and how the West Wind killed the youth out of spite and jealousy.

The Blood of Olympus
In Ithaca, Hera/Juno notes how they can find Apollo and Artemis on Delos.

When the Argo II docks at Delos, Leo, Frank and Hazel find the Twins, saying how only on Delos are they not incapacitated with pain by the Greek-Roman schism. Apollo expresses his strong disapproval of his legacy Octavian, and then reveals that he has lost his sight of prophecy, as Python blocks the cave on Delphi once more. Leo talks to Apollo alone, asking for advice on his plan to defeat Gaea, as well as the physician's cure. Apollo remarks that the plan could work, similar to how the Titans once defeated Ouranos, by destroying his physical manifestation while he was at his weakest, as far as possible for his own realm. Apollo, however, warns Leo that any mortal close by would be destroyed if Gaea were to be defeated in such a way. Apollo tells Leo of the curse of Delos, the final ingredient for the physician's cure. When Leto was ready to give birth to Apollo and Artemis, Hera made all the nature spirits swear to reject Leto so she couldn't give birth. However, Delos was a floating island then, so Leto gave birth to the twins, causing the island to bloom yellow flowers out of happiness, but Delos became rooted then, so flowers picked by Apollo or Artemis on Delos are the curse of Delos. Leo trades Apollo a Valdezinator, a musical contraption that translates feelings into music in exchange for his help.

When Reyna, with the help of six pegasi finally manages to place the Athena Parthenos on Half-Blood Hill, golden light ripples across the ground, seeping warmth into the bones of both Greek and Roman demigods, and curing all of the Olympians (including Apollo) of their split personalities. As a result, Apollo and Artemis promptly leave Delos to participate in the final battle with the Giants in Athens. The twins help slay quite a few Giants with their arrows, after which Hades sends their bodes back to Tartarus, by opening up abysses after each Giant is killed.

After the battle, Zeus punishes Apollo for not only encouraging Octavian to follow his dangerous path, but also for revealing the prophecy much too soon. He sends Apollo back to Mount Olympus, even though Apollo told Leo that prophecy doesn't work that way, just that Zeus wants someone to blame.

Later, when Will Solace confronts Octavian, he claims that Apollo would strongly disapprove of the latter's actions. It can be assumed that Apollo wasn't at all saddened by his legacy's horrific fiery demise.

Between the Series
Apollo, due to his current mortal mind, doesn't recall what transpired during the six months between The Blood of Olympus and The Hidden Oracle, and it is only known that his father Zeus went through with his threat to severely punish Apollo, and decides to do so by making Apollo mortal for the third time, but this time without any powers whatsoever.

The Burning Maze
For the past two days Apollo, Meg and Grover have been wandering the Labyrinth. He is worried that the longer it takes to find the Oracles, the harder it will be to become a god again. They stop just as a wave of fire comes before them and head to wear it came from. They hear a sound and run. They make it to a room and he tells Meg and Grover to block the entrance with tomato plants. They do, but a Strix comes in and scratches him, leaving the former god paralyzed. He tells them not to kill it or they will be cursed. Meg defends Apollo and slices off the strix’s wing sending to die by hitting a wall, which he scolds her for. He is taped to Grover’s back and he asks the Arrow of Dodona how to defeat strip with out killing them. The arrow says they need pig entrails, which they do not have. However they could also use abrutus. Just then then more strip break through their barrier. Meg catches up with them and she gives Apollo one of her scimitar. They reach the top and it is sealed. After they realize that a Brutus is a plant similar to strawberries, me plays his combat ukulele as Meg and Grover grow the plants at rapid speed. With the dome over their heads destroyed and the strip disintegrated in the sunlight that shined through the cracks. They have made it to their destination.

After they exit the labyrinth, Apollo passes out. He dreams of a woman shackled over a pit of lava, apologizing and telling Apollo it is a trap. It the shifts to a Roman villa where a praetorian guard informs a young man of a man’s passing. He wakes up in a tent with a sleeping Meg grasping his wrist and Grover standing watch. Grover tells him that they are at his base in Palm Springs. He also tells the fallen god that there has been nature spirit deaths from numerous natural disasters that do not feel natural. He also says Meg was nervous about being here. Just as the daughter of Demeter woke up, Grover invites them to speak with his other companions. He takes them to a green house and introduces them to a group of Dryads. After telling them that they are the only scouting party to return, they disband and he and Grover carry an unconscious Meg to a well and meet up with Mellie and her infant satyr son. She says her husband has not returned and asks the two to look for him at a near by military surplus store.

As they walk Grover tells him that the part of the laberynth beneath Southern California is ‘infected’ by the third emperor. He also tells Apollo that he misses Pan and that preserving the wild is hard as most humans, demigods, and even some gods do not care about it. They arrive at Macro’s Military Madness and find Coach Hedge’s car in the almost empty parking lot. They go inside and find coach Hedge in the fire arms isle. As they are about to leave the the manager who asks if he is Apollo. When he wanders aft being flattered, he tells the employees, both automations, to take Apollo alive and kill the satyrs. Apollo recognizes him as the killer of Tiberius and tells Grover and Hedge to run. He is carried away by Hedge after the satyr causes an explosion to distract Macro and his employees. They make it to the front door but are locked in, just as Macro surrounds them, Grover crushes the manager with a canoe and the three flee. They make it to they back room and barricade the doors. He opens more employee automations and has them surrounded Macro by shouting Plan Twenty-Three. They obey but confuse their order with another and start to self destruct the three open the cargo doors and get out just in time.

They land in a dumpster and hear the voice of a follower of the emperor. He leaves as police arrive and minutes later Apollo and the satyrs head back to base camp and discuss what they learned, mostly the emperor’s name, to the Dryads. Everyone is shocked by this knowledge and asks what to do. Apollo says they need to go into the burning maze and find the The Oracle of Erythaea before confronting Caligula. He is told by Coach and Mellie that Jason Grace and Piper McLean might know where the oracle is being held. He also tells the dryads their home might be destroyed. When he says this, Meg reveals her father built Aeithales. She leaves and Apollo goes after her. When he catches up with her she shows him her memories of her old home and hopes Jason and Piper have the answers they need.

He, Meg and Grover take Voach Hedge’s car and drive to Malibu. He thinks of the oracles and wonders if he was meant to liberate his forgotten oracles. They arrive at the McLean house and find movers emptying the house and Tristan McLean pacing the driveway. He tells them Piper is inside. They meet up with the daughter of Aphrodite and talk to her about their current events. Piper informs them that several associates of her father worked with Caligula to ruin her father. Apollo mentions that he did something similar to Meg and that they need to find the Oracle of Erythaea. Piper agrees to join them and they set out. After they wait for Piper to get her weapons, they head to downtown Los Angeles in a car Piper borrows from her neighbor. He drives and they get out at a metal gate, the entrance to the labyrinth, and stand by as Piper shoots the guard with a blow dart. After the guard is knocked out the four take a service elevator bellow ground. After turning a few corners, they run into two of Grover’s allies, Agave and Money Maker. After Grover and Meg do what they could, Grover takes them above ground to heal properly. He and the girls continue on until they reach an abandoned parking garage and run into Medea. She requests Meg and Apollo come with her. Apollo realizes her plan is is merge the last of his immortal essences with that of Helios to turn Caligula into the new sun god. He stands his ground and she sticks her dragons on them. The dragons are quickly slain by Piper and Meg. However the sorceress soon knocks Meg unconscious and traps Apollo in a swarm of venti. She tells them the only way to reach the oracle is to be allowed to go to the center of the maze by her. Madea agrees to a duel with Piper, however the sorceress uses Helios as a weapon. He takes Meg and hides behind a column. The daughter of Demeter regains consciousnesses and goes to help Piper. Apollo asks the arrow for help and it tells him to fire a dart at the sorceress. Apollo tells this to Piper and the daughter of Aphrodite shoots Medea in the shoulder. After the sorceress passes out, the fire of the titan goes out of control and the three retreat.

The three managed to get back to the service elevator and to the surface before passing out. Apollo dreams of a brief meeting he had with Caligula that kept him away from from Rome for decades. He awakes back in Aeithales and is relaxed that Meg and Piper are going to be fine, however he is upset that Money Maker died. He tells Grover to call a meeting. They discuss what their next move should be and decide it is to ask Jason about what the oracle of Erythethea told him and to find Caligula’s boots to guard them through the maze. That night he dreams of Nero speaking to Python about their plans. He wakes up and helps Meg plant the seeds her father showed her years ago before they head out to talk with Jason in Pasadena with Piper and Meg. They reach his school and head to the son of Jupiter’s dorm room to talk. He tells them of his plan to honor all the gods before telling them what he knew. He agrees to go with them and Apollo stays while Piper and Meg go to the office. He asks the son of Jupiter what he was really told. He speaks with Jason about the prophecy the oracle gave him and said that if they faced Caligula, either he or Piper will die. Apollo tells he he can not hide a prophecy for long. He tells Apollo that he tried to stand up for the fallen god when Zeus sent him to Olympus. Jason asks Apollo to remember what it was like to be human and, in case the son of Jupiter dies, to take his plans for temples to Camp Jupiter. Apollo agrees and they leave to meet up with the girls.

The car they borrowed from Mr. Bedrossian had been towed, so Piper gets them a school van and they drive to Santa Barbara. They search Stearns Wharf but find nothing. During a dinner break they see a small fleet of yachts form a blockade around the harbor, with police, The coastguard and mercenaries going out to help with security. Apollo suggests they start with the middle yacht. Piper manages to lure a dinghy of mercenaries to the shore and take their boat and head for the central yacht. Jason and Piper go on board first and he talks with Meg about her recent violent thoughts. Just then they are captured by two Pandai and taken prisoner. The two are taken aboard and, along with Jason and Piper, to an interrogation room after Meg tells the pandai she wants to kill Caligula. After they reveal the pandas inadvertently reveal the location of the shoes and the location of Caligula to be boats forty-three and twelve respectively, Meg breaks free. While he and the demigods take care of most of the pandai, he takes out a cyclops with the Arrow of Dodonna, with the exception for Crest who Apollo said to spare. They split into two groups, Piper and Apollo find the shoes and Jason and Meg find Caligula. He dresses Piper’s head wound and they set off to find the shoes. They go a few boats without being noticed until they are and Piper asks Apollo to help her while she sings. During the song he learns of her conflicting emotions. They stop in Caligula’s wardrobe boat so Piper can rest. He asks her about her strong emotions during song. The daughter of Aphrodite tells the former god she broke up with Jason be she felt their relationship was forced onto them by Hera and forced to continue by her mother. She says she wants time to define herself without anyone else and Apollo agrees. They make it to the shoe boat and get the location of the shoes. They make it to the room and find the shoes, adult versions of the legionnaire sandals that gave Caligula his nickname, when Crest finds them and tells them Meg and Jason have been captured. Just then Incitatus arrives and knocks out Piper and Crest, subdues Apollo, and takes them to Caligula. Apollo starts to fear for his life. They arrive in the emperor’s throne room and he greets them. Caligula taunts the fallen god and orders Medea to kill Meg and Jason, however Apollo takes the arrow of Dodonna and, knowing Caligula needs him alive, threatens suicide if they die. He performs a standoff until an a pandos came in and told Caligula their attack on Camp Jupiter failed. After the emperor kills the messenger Apollo stabs him self, but the arrow moves away from his heart. Caligula and Medea rush to perform the ritual, just as Apollo hoped so the tornado prisons weaken. He watches as Jason breaks free and takes out the pandai with his lightning and fights Caligula. Piper helps him up and they watch as Caligula kills Jason. They flee on the back of Tempest.

They are taken to Piper’s house and see Crest and Meg. Tempest arrives with Jason’s body, Meg orders Apollo to heal him but can not as he can not cure death. Tristan arrives soon after and tells Apollo to call 911 on the landline in the house. The daughter of Aphrodite tells him to leave. After having Crest call an ambulance, he, Meg and the pandos take Coach Hedge’s pinto to Palm Springs. Meg tells him the son of Jupiter’s death was not his fault. They tell everyone about Jason’s sacrifice and decide to go to find the Oracle in the morning. He is told by Crest of another entrance to the Burning Maze. Meg gets Grover to join them.

He wakes up at three in the afternoon and, after eating an enchilada, overhears Meg and Joshua and goes over to them. The seeds they planted the day before had grown into ash tree saplings. Apollo realizes them as Meliai, the original dryads, and praises the daughter of Demeter and her father for their work and research. Grover gets a car and, with Crest, the head for the old Las Angeles zoo. They find a sealed entrance in an old bear exhibit and have trouble opening it until Grover plays a song. He, Meg and Grover go in while Crest keeps watch. Once they enter he puts on the sandals and, a few moments later, word puzzles start to appear. They go down the path with the same number of glowing tiles their are letter in the awnser. After the the third puzzle, the fallen god realizes it reads APOLLO FACES DEATH, much to his horror. They continue with the next two answers being TARQUIN, the last emperor of the Roman Empire, and TOMB. They then receive a puzzle referring to both his long deceased boyfriend Hyacinthus and the plant named after him, Hyacinth. Apollo becomes frustrated and gets the awnser wrong, the right one being UNLESS,causing the floor to vanish and the three to fall. He and Meg are caught by Grover before falling into the fires of Helios. He has an idea and tells Grover to release him. He falls into the fire and speaks with his predecessor, learning he wants Apollo to kill Medea so the titan can be free. Apollo agrees and the fire vanishes. The three proceed.

The Hammer of Thor
Annabeth Chase mentions the fallen god's situation to her cousin.

Personality
Apollo is described as arrogant, self-centered, and cocky, as is typical among the gods, however in The Trials of Apollo his personality progressively changes as he starts to feel guilt and sorrow,becoming more empathetic and kind. This is especially shown in Chapter 27 of The Hidden Oracle when he sings about Daphne and Hyancithus, the most famous of his lovers, taking the responsibility for their deaths.

He 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. 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, though she has forbidden it, and they refuse to be charmed by him due to their oath. He was also shown to have good relations with his demigod relatives, such as Percy, as demonstrated by how he illegally helped him during one of his quests (though a prominent reason for his help would be because Artemis was in grave danger), and offering to teach him archery.

However, Apollo also has a dark cruel side: he placed a terrible curse on his son, Halcyon Green, for trying to defy fate to help another in need. As shown in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, one of the factors that fueled Apollo's dark side was his protectiveness of his mother, Leto - after Niobe insulted Leto, Apollo ruthlessly killed all seven of her sons. Later on, he personally asked Hades to eternally torture Tityos for harassing his mother.

As revealed in The Hidden Oracle, Apollo's sunny and optimistic demeanor actually conceals deep sorrows: he had never truly moved on from the two greatest loves of his life - Daphne (who turned into a tree to escape his advances) and Hyacinthus (who died due to a feud between Apollo and Zephyros), and was haunted by their memories, to the extent where anything that could be associated with them would almost reduce him to tears if he saw it. Apollo also acknowledged to himself that he secretly harbored a good deal of resentment towards his father, Zeus, and his' killing the Cyclopes who forged Zeus' lightning bolts had not been a rash decision, as it was easier for him to hate and blame the weapons which his father frequently used to threaten him with, than to hate his father himself.

Apollo was also revealed to have a tendency to brag about his previous accomplishments, particularly his victory over Python, to the point of embellishing it: though he told storytellers that he had vanquished Python with a single arrow the instant he arrived at its cave, the truth of the matter was that he had needed all of his godly strength, his divine powers, and his bow (which he described to be the deadliest bow in the world) to defeat Python, who had been "no pushover". In fact, the battle between Apollo and Python had been such that the former suffered from nightmares about the latter for centuries.

After being turned into a mortal, it was evident that Apollo could be intensely selfish, given how he viewed his need of regaining his divinity as well as his issues of struggling with his newfound mortality as being more important than the troubles or concerns of others - including those of his own demigod children. However, even in the midst of this, Apollo still proved to be an open-minded and even, in a way, affectionate person, especialy to his children: he supported the romantic relationship between his son, Will, and Nico, and when his children made sincere effort to welcome him as one of their own and even promised retaliation on those who dared to target him in his current vulnerable state, he was simultaneously touched by their affection and ashamed of himself for not having done more for them.

Besides this, despite his frequent annoyance with Meg, Apollo grew to truly care for her as a most cherished friend, which eventually led him to acquire the courage and the willingness to admit his own faults, and to stand up to Nero. Later on, even after learning that Meg had been a double agent of sorts, Apollo still cared for her, and worried about her when she ran away. It's noticed too that despite his fearful behavior, Apollo showed being able to have a great sense of courage, risking his life to save his children, Austin and Kayla, and Meg after they were kidnapped.

In the burning maze, Apollo seems to understand more about being a human, and started caring more for the "little deaths." When fighting with Caligula, he was willing to sacrifice himself, because he knew Medea would heal him. Even though he says he probably wouldn't have done this if Medea wasn't going to heal him, that was still heroic. After Jason's death, Apollo even cried on the plane the way back for everyone who sacrificed themselves. Apollo still brags about himself and acts like a god, but now Apollo is more sentimental and protective of his friends.

Appearance
In Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Apollo was described to be an extremely handsome god, being as tall and muscular and bronzed as a Baywatch lifeguard, with long golden hair tied back in a "man bun" and eyes that shone like the sun, much like those of Hyperion, though less harsh. His radiance was enhanced by his wearing a Greek robe of gold, and a beautiful golden bow and a quiver of magical arrows over his shoulders. His handsomeness was such that even his stepmother, Hera, who had a deep natural hatred of Zeus' mistresses and illegitimate children, did not dare object to his claiming his place among the Olympian gods. Apollo is often seen driving the Sun Chariot, and almost always has a laurel wreath on his head. The other novels also depict him as handsome and charming (when he chooses to be), though there are some inconsistencies with the description provided by Percy Jackson's Greek Gods.

In Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes, when he first approached Cyrene, Apollo wore his best purple robes, and a laurel wreath across his brow. His smile was "blinding", while his eyes "shown like molten gold", and he was surrounded by a flickering aura of honey-colored light.

In The Titan's Curse, Apollo was portrayed as having a resemblance to Luke Castellan, looking about seventeen or eighteen, with the same sandy hair and outdoorsy good looks. However, he was taller than Luke, with no scar on his face, and his smile was brighter and more playful, and he was dressed in jeans, loafers, and a sleeveless T-shirt. When guiding Percy and his friends to help rescue his sister, he was forced to take the form of a homeless, toothless man who looked like a teddy bear that had been run over by a truck, dressed in a ripped coat and worn-out almost-white jeans. After Artemis was rescued and the Olympians gathered to decide how to prepare for Kronos' uprising, he resumed his former attractive appearance.

In The Blood of Olympus, he was depicted as a seventeen-year-old youth, with curly blond hair and a perfect tan. He wore tattered jeans, a black T-shirt and a white linen jacket with glittering rhinestone lapels.

In The Trials of Apollo, as a mortal, Apollo appears as a Caucasian sixteen-year-old of average build with blue eyes and dark curly hair.

The differences in Apollo' physical description throughout the novels could be attributed to the fact that, as a god, he has the ability to assume any shape he desired, though he is always handsome and attractive when he chooses to be. He also commented in The Hidden Oracle that he always had "eight-pack abs".

Abilities
Apollo is known to be the most powerful son of Zeus, for Zeus trusted him with more significant powers than any of his other children. Hence, Apollo is an extremely powerful god who is surpassed only by the six oldest Olympians (the Big Three, Hera, Demeter, and Hestia). However, as revealed by Percy Jackson's Greek Gods and in The Trials of Apollo, Apollo has been temporarily stripped of his powers thrice, and while he did retain some of his godly powers the other two times, he becomes completely mortal the third time. As revealed in The Dark Prophecy, he can only use small bursts of his godly powers when he is doing selfless acts or for the greater good.
 * Battle Prowess: Apollo has great superhuman strength and combat skills, and the Homeric hymns also described that no ropes could bind him. During the very first Olympic games (which were for the gods), he defeated Ares in boxing and outran Hermes. As shown in Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes, when Hercules attacked his Oracle, Apollo engaged him in battle, and they were equally matched, only when Zeus threw his thunderbolt between the two of them did the fight stop. In The Last Olympian, Apollo participated in the battle between the Olympians and Typhon, and apart being one of those who were not taken out by the colossal Storm Giant, he set Typhon's loincloth on fire by shooting a "blazing volley of arrows".
 * Archery: As the God of Archery, Apollo excelled in archery and other target-shooting-based activities, such as basketball. According to Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, his arrows are invisible to mortals, and would always strike its intended target, regardless of the distance. His archery skills can only be rivaled by his sister, Artemis, and the Giant, Orion.
 * Swordsmanship: Given Homer's description him as "Apollo of the Golden Sword", Apollo is an expert swordsman. In Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, it was revealed that he once had an extremely sharp sword made of adamantine and Imperial Gold, but rarely used it, and he later gave it to Hermes in exchange for the flute.
 * Musical Ability: As the God of Music, Apollo is the leader of the Nine Muses, as well as an expert musician who could play any musical instrument perfectly, though he is most often seen with his lyre. As revealed in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, during his musical contest with Marsyas, Apollo was able to play his lyre flawlessly while holding it behind his back and not looking at the strings. Apollo was also the one who taught Pandora how to sing and play the lyre, making her irresistible to Epimetheus. As of The Blood of Olympus, Apollo is determined to master the newly invented Valdezinator. It was also shown in The Hidden Oracle that, despite being stripped of his godly powers, Apollo had still retained his extraordinary musical talents - his song reduced Meg to tears. An example of an ability he presumably derived from this province is:
 * Audiokinesis: As shown in The Blood of Olympus, Apollo's son, Will Solace, could make a sharp ultrasonic whistle-like sound that can temporarily stun his opponents, making them clutch their ears in confusion, so Apollo himself most likely has this ability as well.
 * Photokinesis: As the God of Light, Apollo has absolute control and divine authority over light.
 * Dazzling Appearance: In Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Apollo appeared before Marsyas in "a blaze of golden light", and in Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes, as he approached Cyrene, Apollo was surrounded by a flickering aura of honey-colored light.
 * Pyrokinesis: As the God of the Sun, Apollo has absolute control and divine authority over the flames of his Sun Chariot. However, this power of his is slightly inferior to that of Hephaestus, the God of Fire. Examples of abilities he derived from this province are:
 * Fiery Appearance: In Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes, Apollo first appeared next to Cyrene in "a huge ball of fire".
 * Fire Immunity: Apollo is completely immune to any amount of fire and heat.
 * Supernatural Sight: As the God of the Sun and Light, Apollo is able to see almost anything and anywhere during the day - he remarked in The Titan's Curse that he "saw a lot".
 * Vitakinesis: As the God of Healing and Medicine, Apollo could manipulate and modify a person's anatomy, as well as restore the injured to full health. Examples of abilities he derived from this province are:
 * Enhanced Healing: As shown in The Last Olympian, Apollo could instantly heal wounds - he healed all of Annabeth's wounds by speaking an incantation, and later did the same with Chiron. His demigod children were able to channel his healing abilities when they hummed a hymn to him in Ancient Greek, but it required a good deal of energy on their part, and in the The Blood of Olympus, his immortal son, Asclepius, was revealed to slightly surpass him in this regard.
 * Disease Manipulation: As revealed in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Apollo also had power over plagues and epidemics, and he channeled this ability through special arrows that exploded into foul vapors that spread the very disease he wanted inflict his victims with. During the Trojan War, when Agamemnon offended him, Apollo infected the latter's army with a plague. Even as Lester he has this power, only it was considerably weaker and required a hymn about himself, creating an arrow that caused hey fever. It managed to affect not only the Nero Colossus but the entirety of Camp Half-Blood.
 * Prophecy: As the God of Prophecy and Foresight, Apollo is able to see into the future. However, he is unable to tell anyone future events, except through his Oracles, as then the information would become meaningless. This is a dangerous ability, and his only children known to have inherited it are Idmon and Halcyon Green, as well as his Roman legacy Octavian. Apollo does not have full control over this power either. He does not always know what the prophecies mean, nor can he always control when they are told.
 * Madness (limited): In Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Apollo drove Orion insane with the urge to hunt every beast on earth.
 * Truth: He is also the God of Truth and was known to never tell a lie. However, in The Titan's Curse, he lied and said his name was Fred. This, however, might not necessarily be a lie, since "Fred" is simply the name of Apollo's alter ego when he poses as a mortal.
 * Couplets Curse: As seen in The Last Olympian, Apollo's demigod children can curse others to only speak in rhyming couplets that can take days or even weeks to wear off, so Apollo himself most likely has this same ability as well.
 * Flight: As revealed in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Apollo has the ability to fly, which was shown when he flew to the island of Delos to slay Python, and when he and Artemis descended on the city of Thebes to punish Queen Niobe for her hubris.
 * Invisibility: While first spying on the playing satyr Marsyas in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Apollo floated invisibly above the gathered crowd.
 * Hypnokinesis (limited): As shown in The Titan's Curse, Apollo has the power to induce slumber - he put Percy to sleep just by snapping his fingers. However, it is unknown as to what extent his power over sleep is.
 * Shapeshifting: Apollo is capable of altering his appearance at will, shown when he transformed into his mortal alter-ego "Fred" in The Titan's Curse. He was later forcibly transformed by Zeus into the mortal teenager, Lester Papadopoulos, in The Hidden Oracle.
 * Granting Powers: As shown in Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes, Apollo had the ability to grant the gifts of longevity and naiad-hood to whomever he desired - he transformed his lover, Cyrene, into a naiad with a very long lifespan. He also, like all gods, has the power to create new gods however this comes at a price. For every god he creates he loses a piece of his own power as seen with Hemithea and her sister. This creates very minor gods bestowed with only a tiny fraction of actual powers. The stronger he makes them, the weaker he becomes.
 * Teleportation: Apollo can forcibly teleport others both to his side and away from him, which he did to Chiron in Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes.

Attributes
Apollo's attributes are his golden bow and arrow, his golden lyre (made for him by Hermes), the laurel wreath (in honor of Daphne, his unrequited love), the sacrificial tripod (representing his prophetic powers), and the hyacinth flower (which sprouted out of the blood of Hyacinthus, Apollo's deceased lover). Apollo's sacred animal is the swan.

As revealed in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, the Caduceus, winged sandals and golden Sword of Hermes used to belong to Apollo. However, he admittedly never used them, and readily gave them to his younger brother Hermes in exchange for the latter's lyre and flute. In Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes it was revealed that he eventually gave his original golden lyre to Orpheus, after the latter's skill impressed it, and created another one for himself.

Attendants
Apollo has several loyal attendants, including the Nine Muses (some of which he fathered children with) and four golden Celedons, all of which accompany Apollo in his musical performances.

Family
Apollo loves both his mother and twin sister, Artemis, above all other women and will fiercely defend them. Apollo is surpassed only by his father and uncle in his romances. Many of his demigod children have become famed poets, writers and musicians (e.g. William Shakespeare)

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, just that the Sun Chariot is the embodiment of the Sun's Effect on Earth). 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
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

 * Hermes was said to have put his Winged Shoes on Apollo when he was sleeping in Athens but then woke up in Argentina from the The Dark Prophecy
 * Apollo and Thalia Grace flirt with each other and Thalia told Percy that Apollo is hot. This is weird considering that they are both children of Zeus and thus half-siblings.
 * Apollo is hot as stated In The Titans Curse considering he is the sun god
 * Apollo is cousins with the Titaness Hecate (his mother's side).
 * 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. In fact, when Nico pointed out that the sun was just a big fiery ball of gas, Apollo said that Artemis had called him a big fiery ball of gas once, which led humans to believe that was indeed what the sun was.
 * Apollo's epithet of "Phoebus Apollo" is mentioned in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods as being a reference to his Titan grandmother Phoebe, from whom he inherited his prophetic powers and the Oracle of Delphi.
 * He slew Marsyas, a mortal musician because he dared to challenge the god of music, but it was Apollo who won. However in The Hidden Oracle Apollo denies these claims.
 * 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 was equated with the Egyptian god Horus during the Hellenistic era, following Alexander the Great's conquest of Egypt.
 * Apollo is the only male Olympian that is described as having blond hair, the female one being his aunt Demeter.
 * Apollo's incognito name 'Fred' may have been taken from the author of The Face of Apollo, by Fred Saberhagen.
 * Apollo's name fits into his mortal alias "Lester Papadopoulos" exactly once.
 * Apollo told Thalia that "I hate it when pretty girls turn into trees." This is a reference to Apollo's first love, Daphne. She was a nymph who became a laurel tree to escape him.
 * Apollo is the one who informs Thalia of her age, which was previously unknown because of her transformation into a pine tree.
 * NASA's spaceflight program that landed the first human on the moon was called the "Apollo Program."
 * As shown in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Poseidon and Apollo are the only two major Olympians who have temporarily been stripped of their divinity and godly powers (by Zeus). Apollo, however, is the only one to whom this has happened twice.
 * Ironically Apollo lies about being the elder twin (Artemis was born nine days before him) despite also being the god of truth. The latter may simply be him messing with his sister for fun (due to her favored form being a 12 year old and his that of a teenager).
 * As of The Hidden Oracle, Apollo will be the first god to ever have a point of view in a Rick Riordan book.
 * As revealed in The Hidden Oracle, Apollo is four thousand six hundred and twelve years old.
 * His Norse equivalent is either Balder or Frey.
 * It should be noted that Apollo is the first confirmed bisexual Olympian god in the series as he loved Daphne (who turned into a tree to escape his advances) and Hyacinthus (who died due to a feud between Apollo and Zephyros).
 * Louis XIV of France was his son. Because of that, all the descendants of this king are legacies, including the Spanish Royal family.
 * Papadoupolos is the most popular Greek surname meaning "son of a priest".
 * Apollo being blamed for the Giant War is similar to Germany being blamed for World War I.