Apollo

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

- Apollo

Apollo is the Greek god of the sun, light, healing, music, poetry, archery, and prophecy. He is the twin brother of the goddess Artemis. 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 him being downsized by the Romans. He and his sister, are known as the Twin Archers. Apollo is portrayed by Dimitri Lekkos in The Lightning Thief (film).

History
When Leto was pregnant, Hera was furious with Zeus' unfaithfulness 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 the god and goddess Artemis and Apollo. Hera then sent the dragon serpent, Python, to hound Leto. A four day-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.

When Niobe insulted his mother, saying her children were better, Apollo shot all of Niobe's sons and killed them.

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. He 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. 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.

When Hermes was born, he stole Apollo's sacred cattle. 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. After that, Hermes and Apollo became friends, 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.

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 four syllables, he then changes it to, "I am so awesome." His haikus are really bad.

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 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, 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
Apollo joins forces with the other gods of Olympus against Typhon in his golden chariot. Apollo also cures Annabeth Chase 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 the gods.

The Son of Neptune
Frank Zhang wishes to be claimed by Apollo due to his amazing skill in archery. He doesn't think he fits anywhere else. He knows he's not good at poetry, prophecy, or healing, but he thought the archery would be good enough.

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 considers himself a great poet, 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. He is also shown to have good relations with his demigod relatives, such as Percy, illegally helping him during his quest, and offering to teach him archery. 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, due to their oath. However, there is also a darker side to Apollo, and he is shown to be capable of cruelty, shown when he placed a terrible curse on his son Halcyon Green, just because the latter tried to go against fate.

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 and with a smile that is blinding enough without the sun car as Percy says. 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.

Abilities
Apollo is known to be Zeus's most powerful son, since Zeus trusted Apollo with more significant powers than any other of his children. Therefore, Apollo is an extremely powerful god, surpassed only by the elder Olympians, or at least, by the big three.


 * Archery: Apollo excels in archery, as well as other target-shooting-based activities, such as basketball.
 * Musical Ability: As the god of Music, Apollo is an expert musician, and can play any musical instrument.
 * Photokinesis: As the god of light, Apollo has absolute control over it.
 * Pyrokinesis: As the god of the sun, Apollo has absolute control over the flames of his Sun Chariot.
 * Vitakinesis: As the god of medicine, Apollo can manipulate and modify a person's anatomy.
 * He can instantly heal almost any wounds.
 * He can enhance senses and biological functions.
 * Prophecy: Being the god of prophecy, Apollo is able to see events in the future. However, he is unable to tell anyone future events as then the information would become meaningless. This is a dangerous ability, and his only child known to have inherited it is Halcyon Green.
 * Divine Wisdom: Apollo is the god of intellect and is intelligent, although only Athena and Zeus may surpass him.
 * Disease Manipulation: If angered, Apollo can cause several diseases, mainly plague. During the Trojan War, when Agamemnon offended him, Apollo infected the latter's army with plague.
 * Apollo is also the god of truth and was known to never tell a lie.

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, 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
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. In fact, when Percy 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.
 * 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.
 * Apollo is the god of music, and he owns an iPod, a top-notch music player, and also has headphones to go along.
 * Apollo describes Artemis as little sis even though she is older.
 * Apollo told Thalia that "I hate it when pretty girls turn in to trees." This is a reference Apollo's first love, Daphne. She was a maiden goddess 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"