Is it possible for you to do an analysis on Apollo's relationship with Cyrene (Aristaeus' mother) ? She normally doesn't get brought up and I wanted your perspective.
Thanks for the ask, i love Cyrene so is a pleasure to talk a bit about her! First of all, sorry if my english is bad or a made some mistakes in my writing 🙏 I also want to clarify that i'm not an academic nor an Classics expert, i'm still learning and i'll give you my personal view based on what we know with the sources! I'm also able to discuss and debate ✨
Of course, the cultural context behind her relationship with Apollo is linked to the city of Cyrene and it foundation... She is basically, due to him, the founder of the city. She could be also interpreted as the city itself, personified as the huntress nymph, as is said to be the intention in this Anonymous Fragment (is said that perphas was Pamprepius of Panopolis): "Kyrene (Cyrene) calls me, and Phoibos (Phoebus) [Apollon] constrains me and drags me to the knees of that dear nymphe and huntress. Up friends, to the seat of Ptolemaios the Warrior [i.e. the town of Kyrene], where the Mousai Libystides (Libyan Muses) are still calling me."
Cyrene was portrayed in myth as a fiery huntress, who wasn't interested in the household, and that wasn't viewed as bad, her father even trusted in her to guards his cattle! She was, besides, maternal too. We know that she loved her son and how she talks with him in Virgil's Georgics, when she helped him to know what happened with his bees, is very cute! It was her valour and spirit what made Apollo fell in love with her, i love how Pindar narrated their love and the way he talks to Chiron after seeing Cyrene wrestling with the lion: "Son of Philyre, come from your holy cave, and marvel at a woman's spirit and mighty vigour; with what undaunted mind she wages battle, a young maid with a heart that rides o'er every labour, and a spirit never shaken by the cold storms of fear. What mortal father begot this maid? And from what race of men has she been reft, to dwell within the dark dells of these clouded mountains? For her soul breeds a boundless wealth of valour. It is right to lay on her the touch of an ennobling hand, or even to pluck the flower of love, sweeter than honey?" He doesn't even mentioned if she was pretty, it wasn't that what made him fell in love with her as often happens in myths when a god fell in love with a nymph or a mortal princess. And the fact that in Pindar's ode they were married, makes me more happy :'3 Also honorable mention to Apollonius of Rhodes, who said that Apollo made her a nymph (she weren't in all the sources) with the gift of long life ♡ (And yes, i know he abducted her, lol, Hades also abducted Persephone, and that doesn't mean that after they weren't praised or viewed as a marriage with mutual love and respect)
Why she is not popular as, for example, Daphne and Hyacinthus? I believe is due to Renaissance and later Artistic's movements that popularized the mythological's topic in Art, and we know that Daphne and Hyacinthus are the most represented among the lovers of Apollo (i don't like to call Daphne an Apollo's lover, but you understand what i mean, those two are the most well-know surrounding the love life of the god, leaving other figures as Cyrene to the shadows, and also making people think that all of Apollo's loves ends in tragedy...)
These are the fews artistic representations of Cyrene i could found (i'm still researching, anyway):
Look at her, i love that woman, i would also fell in love after seeing her wrestling with a lion 😫💙
She is very underrated, but as i said in comments, i prefer that she still without touch... If modern retellings, whose fell into the same Ancient Greece: men=always evil women=always victim, will twist and ruin her story and characterization, then i prefer that she stay as underrated...
I would love to talk more about her, but i'm terrible at redacting an analysis in english 😭 Sorry if this wasn't a detailed and well-narrated analysis