Apollo was an important Greek God associated with arch, music and divination. Epitome of youth and beauty, source of life and healing, patron of the arts and as bright and powerful as the Sun itself, Apollo was possibly the most beloved of all gods. He was worshiped in Delphi and Delos, places that housed some of Greece's most famous religious sanctuaries.
The son of Zeus and Leto, and twin brother of Artemis, Apollo was born on the island of Delos (in Hesiod's Theogony he wields a golden sword). His mother, fearful of the revenge of Zeus's wife, Hera, had chosen the barren island of Delos as the safest refuge she could find. It is said that upon first tasting ambrosia, he was immediately transformed from a baby to a man. Apollo was then given his bow, made by the master craftsman of Mount Olympus, Hephaestus.
Apollo is a significant protagonist in Homer's account of the Trojan War, the Iliad. Being on the side of the Trojans, he renders special assistance to the Trojan heroes Hector, Aeneas, and Glaucus, saving their lives on more than one occasion with his divine intervention. He brought plague to the Achaeans, led the entire Trojan army (holding the fearsome aegis of Zeus) in an attack that destroyed the defensive walls of the Greek camps, and was also responsible for guiding the arrow of Paris to Achilles' heel, killing Greek hero, who was apparently invincible. Apollo is frequently described by Homer and Hesiod as the "far shooter", the "far worker", the "agitator of armies", and "Phoebus Apollo".
