Apollo

Apollo was the Olympian god of the Sun, music, poetry, medicine and the arts. He was the son of Zeus and Leto and the twin brother of Artemis. He was also the god of the Oracle of Delphi.

Apollo was killed by Deicidia along with all the other Olympians; later being reincarnated as Phoebus.

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 Gaia, 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 named 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. Apollo has also wrote that Eros has shot a lead arrow into Daphne's heart, therefore Daphne has been stripped of any affection she had for Apollo.''

A chase erupted, with some banter on Apollo's side. When Daphne started to tire, she cried to Gaia 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 created the lyre, a musical instrument, and gave it to Apollo as a peace offering. As soon as Apollo's gaze fell on the lyre, he was deeply mesmerized by it and instantly forgot about the cows. 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. Soon after, Hermes crafted the reed pipes. Apollo begged for them and so Hermes made a deal with him; he would give him the reed pipes in exchange for the caduceus. Apollo agreed to this deal. Apollo, then, became known as the god of music.

First Olympic Games
Apollo was believed to have won the first Olympic Games, established to honor Zeus' victory over Cronus and was originally a game for the gods, and he is said to have defeated Ares at boxing and Hermes at racing. Ever since then, the Ancient Greeks gave laurel branches as rewards to victors in honor of Apollo's success. After all, laurel was the holy tree of Apollo.

Hyacinthus
At some point, Apollo fell in love with a handsome mortal man called 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 mortal. Devastated, Apollo transformed his lover's deceased body into a flower, the hyacinth. In order to avoid Apollo's wrath, Zephyros sought protection from Eros, who had mercy on him because he was driven crazy by love. Cupid took advantage of the situation by forcing the guilt-ridden wind god to work for him forever.

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, Athena, and Apollo himself. That evening the three hid 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 Hekatonkerie, Briares, by the seashore. 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 and Poseidon were temporarily stripped of their godly powers and immortality, and forced to work as laborers on Earth for years. Hera was tied up and suspended on a rope across the abyss of Chaos, and subjected to Zeus' daily threatening of blasting the rope to let her fall into the nothingness and be dissolved. Fortunately for Athena, she managed to completely evade punishment by talking herself out of it.

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 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's 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 Hades from ever resurrecting the dead ever again.

For his murder of the Cyclopes, Apollo was forced by Zeus to live on Earth for a year again, 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.

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 in the form of Agenor 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, rebuking the latter lest he think fit to make an attack upon a god again. He transported the Trojan to Pergamus where his wound was tended by his mother and sister. Throughout the war, he constantly drove on Hector and nearly destroyed the Greeks. At the behest of Zeus, Apollo used Zeus' Aegis to force the Greeks back to their ships. He also threw down the great wall the Greeks built, as easily as a child breaks a sandcastle, according to Homer: "Easy as when ashore an infant stands, And draws imagined houses in the sands; The sportive wanton, pleased with some new play, Sweeps the slight works and fashion'd domes away: Thus vanish'd at thy touch, the towers and walls; The toil of thousands in a moment falls". Apollo also aided Paris in slaying the invulnerable Achilles by guiding the arrow of his bow into his vulnerable (Achilles') heel.