Hey, I love your gods&monsters series, could you write something about Apollo? ^Preferably something with a positive vibe, something romantic... But that's totally up to you, anything about Apollo makes me happy
He onlyever has nine daughters.
He hashis first when heâs young, too young to know better.
Daphneis beautiful and coy, and leads him on a merry chase. He catches her, and finallysilences her laughing mouth with his own. They sleep together, and she leavesbite marks up his neck.
Herfather, the river god Peneus, finds out about them. Apollo had not known it wassecret. Peneus is a hard, selfish god, and he slits Daphneâs throat for herimpurity. Better a dead daughter then one who does not listen.
Apollofinds out too late. He arrives to Daphne dead on the side of her fatherâsriverbank, stomach swollen in a way Apollo doesnât remember it being the lasttime he saw her, which was â which was â it couldnât have been that long, couldit?
He cutsopen her stomach, throat too tight to call for his sisterâs help, heart tootight to bear anyone else looking at Daphneâs slack, bloody face.
Hecannot bring himself to bury Daphne, to sentence her to an afterlife beneaththe earth. Instead, he transforms her into a large laurel tree, so her beautywill remain eternal. He presses a hand against her trunk and says, âMy hairwill have you, my lyre will have you, my quiver will have you.â Apollo looksdown at the baby, too small, tucking into the crook of his arm. âOur daughterwill have you.â
Hecalls her Calliope. Their daughter weaves laurel leaves into her hair every dayof her life.
When heis older, but not wiser, he gets drunk on the top of Olympus. It is not thefirst time, nor the last, but this time it is different.
Thistime Hestia, goddess of the hearth, of warmth, of family, places her delicatehand around the back of his neck and leads him to her rooms.
Monthslater, he lands his chariot, the sun finally set. His arms are shaking, and hislegs are covered from burns when the sun grew tired and tried to consume him,but could not. Hestia stands before him, something held in her arms. âWhatâswrong?â he asks roughly, throat dry and the skin of his lips cracking. Hestiararely leaves Olympus.
âI amno mother,â she tells him, and he doesnât understand until she places a warm,squirming bundle in his arms. He holds it to his chest automatically. âHer nameis Terpsichore.â
Sheleaves before he has the chance to question her. He looks down, and the babyhas his golden eyes and her dark hair. âHello, little one.â
Calliopeis fully grown now. Apollo leaves Terpsichore in her care, and promises to comewhen called.
âYes,Father,â Calliope says, rolling her eyes as her little sister grabbing fistfulsof her curly hair. Thereâs an ink smudge across her face, and her home isbursting with books. He should really talk to Athena about letting Calliope useone of her libraries.
Hekisses both their foreheads before leaving.
Apollofalls in love with a Spartan prince, graceful and strong and with a wide,pretty mouth. He falls in love with a mind that can match him, with a smilethat leaves him breathless. Hyacinth captures his affections and attentionsutterly, and for a few short years Apollo is enchanted, for a few short yearsApollo feels a love deep in his chest that is only surpassed by the love he hasfor his sister.
Heshows up at his daughtersâ door, and Calliope and Terpsichore take one look athim and usher him inside. He canât bring himself to speak, but heâs covered inblood that isnât his own, is pale and shaken and mourning.
Theyclean him and care for him and settle him to bed, although he cannot bringhimself to sleep.
Lessthan a week later, there is a mortal woman there looking for him. Her eyes arered, but she stands tall and her lips are pressed into a straight line. Atoddler who shares her dark coloring clutches her skirt. âI am the Princess ofSparta, and wife of Hyacinth.â
Apollohadnât known Hyacinth had a wife. He hadnât asked. Surely he would have noticedâ but then again, perhaps not. Love makes people stupid. âI am sorry for yourloss.â
âAs Iam sorry for yours,â she says in return, which surprises him. âSparta must havea prince. I am to be remarried.â She brings the little girl forward, and shecanât be more than a couple years old. âThis is Urania, the child of myself andmy husband. I have been ordered to kill her.â
Apolloflinches. He knows such things are done, but â she is Hyacinthâs daughter. âIwill take her.â
Shesmiles. âI thought you might.â She kisses the girl on both cheeks, hands her toApollo, then leaves as quickly as sheâd came.
Uraniawatches them with big liquid eyes that she got from her mother. He stays withhis daughters for a year after that, playing with Urania and watchingTerpsichore dance and listening to Calliopeâs beautiful poetry. Urania lovesthe stars. She stares up at them each night, and Apollo patiently explains thename of each one.
Whenshe is fully grown, he begs a piece of ambrosia off Hestia and feeds it to her.
Uraniais his daughter as surely as if his blood ran through her veins. He cannot bearto watch her age and die.
Marpessachooses Ida over him, but it is too late. She already swells with his child,and he could use that to keep her. He could force her to stay at his side, sheloves him, she said so, it would not be such a cruel thing.
But sheis not wrong in her assessment. Apollo is immortal, and will not grow old withher, will not change with her, will not die with her. Ida will.
Thereâsfear on her face, and he thinks she deserves it, for proclaiming to love himand choosing another. But he is not interested in keeping her captive for alifetime.
âHavethe child, and give it to me,â he commands, âand I will leave you to yourlife.â
Ida isfurious in his jealousy that Marpessa will bear a child for Apollo before shebears a child for him, so there is that comfort, at least.
Artemisdelivers the child to ensure it goes smoothly. Sheâs beaming as she holds herniece. âWhat will you call her?â
âYouchoose,â he says, running the back of his finger over the babeâs soft cheek.
Hissister considers the squalling child for a long moment before she says, âIthink you should name her Thalia.â
âThaliait is,â he says.
Sheâsmischievous, and reminds him of himself on his worst days. She grows, and pullspranks on nymphs and deities. Her older sisters are constantly straining tokeep her out of worse trouble.
He getsa frantic message from Calliope that Thalia has gone missing, and he eventuallyfinds her at the edge of a scorched battlefield, the soldiers long gone but thebodies and stench remaining. Heâs furious at her for going to a place sodangerous, but when he marches up to her he sees something that he hadnâtexpected.
Sheâs hallwaythrough a story about pranking a wood nymph that he knows is at least half liesand a quarter exaggeration. Curled up on the ground, clutching his stomach ashe laughs so hard he canât breathe, is Ares.
Apollohasnât seen the tormented god of war this carefree since he was a child.
Thaliafinally notices him, and cuts herself off, paling. âOh, uh. Hi Dad.â
Ares isdownright giggling. âHello Thalia,â Apollo crosses his arms and glares,âYou shouldnât go wandering away from your sisters.â She winces and nods,ducking her head to look up at him through her eyelashes, doing her best tolook contrite and innocent.
Itmight have worked, if Apollo hadnât taught her that look himself.
He sitsdown on the ground next to Ares, who doesnât acknowledge his presence beyondshifting enough to use Apolloâs thigh as his pillow. âWell,â Apollo says, âkeepgoing.â
Thalialights up and launches back into the story, and when she finishes she continuesinto another which is mostly true and somehow even more ridiculous.
Becauseheâs an idiot with a death wish, Apollo ends up spending a monthwith Hecate in the underworld. He stumbles out one night when she falls asleep,because he feels if he doesnât leave now thereâs a possibility that he neverwill.
One ofthe most horrifying moments of his life is looking for the way out, and findingHades instead. The god of death looks to him, walking around naked in hisrealm, to the direction he came from, and says, âThat was you? Are youcrazy?â
âIt âŠit was a good time,â he says faintly.
âObviously,âHades shakes his head, and slices his hand down in the air in front of them,creating a doorway for Apollo out of his realm.
Apollogives him a clumsy salute and steps through.
Roughlya year later, heâs playing his lyre when a little girl with black skin and greyhair and eyes appears in front of him. Itâs terrifying enough that heaccidentally snaps one of his strings.
âLadyStyx,â he says, voice higher pitched than normal. âIs there something I canhelp you with?â
Thechild snorts and reaches her hands into absolutely nothing and pulls outa baby. She holds it out to him. âHecate says this is your problem now.â
Improbably,the babe already has a mouth full of too-sharp teeth. Her eyes shift betweenevery color, unable to decide, and there is something a little too knowingabout her face for one so young. Artemis says he too was born knowing too much.
A childof Apollo and Hecate can only be a mistake, something that will never fit quitewell among others of her own kind.
Hesighs and take the baby. âVery well.â
âI likethe name Clio,â the child goddess says before leaving him.
Thaliatells him itâs too small and to give it back. Urania is fascinated, and takesover most of the childâs care, which is likely for the best since Calliope isneck deep into a new epic, and would be cross if she needed to pull herattention from it to rear a child.
As Clioages, she stays just as unsettling and strange. Hephaestus shows up around thetime she starts breaking into Athenaâs libraries, even though stunts like thatget people worse than killed. âI donât know why she gave her to me,â Apollosays as they watch the teenager devouring a stolen tome on the history of thePersian Empire. âHecate raised you, I donât understand why she didnât want toraise her actual daughter.â
âYouârea better parent than she is,â he says thoughtfully. Apollo gives him anunimpressed look, but he says, âIâm serious. Your girls are turning out to bequite lovely â all of them.â
âOfcourse they are,â he says, nose in the air, but grins when Hephaestus elbowshim the side.
By thetime sheâs an adult, Clio is easily one of the most accomplished scholars toever exist. She and Athena regularly get into academic debates that last weeks,and scare off anyone from daring to come closer.
Shestays strange, and too smart, and Apollo loves her utterly.
Apollois lying on the beach when a large wave overtakes him and drags him into thesea. He struggles for the surface, but canât seem to shake the waves, and isdragged to the sea floor. Heâs a god, so he wonât suffocate, but heâs terrifiedwhen the water drags him down to Poseidonâs palace and deposits him in front ofhis wife. âApollo,â she says, âI can see what your daughters will become.â
He hasno idea what sheâs talking about. âExcuse me?â
Amphitritegrabs his jaw and pulls him closer. He doesnât dare resist. She looks into hiseyes, then smirks. âThe god of prophecy doesnât know that which he has wrought.How ⊠ironic.â
âIsit?â he wonders. He really hopes she doesnât kill him.
âQuite,âshe smirks, and with a flick of her wrist sheâs naked before him. âI wish forone of your daughters to be mine as well. Lay with me.â
âUh,âhe says eloquently, because Amphitrite has never given her husband anychildren, he hadnât even known she could. If he sleeps with her, Poseidon mightkill him, regardless of how many people the god of the sea sleeps with thatarenât his wife. But if he refuses her, shemight kill him, and itâs not like having sex with Amphitrite is any sort ofhardship. Sheâs as gorgeous as she is terrifying. âOkay.â
Heâsdeposited back on the shore the next day, feeling oddly used.
IfPoseidon has any opinions on Apollo knocking up his wife, he doesnât voicethem.
Amphitritedoesnât foist the baby upon him as soon as sheâs born. Instead years pass, andone day a dark skinned, amber eyed sea god shows up at his door. Thereâs ateenager at his side, who has Apolloâs coloring and Amphitriteâs bonestructure, and hair that shimmers golden-green in sunlight. âGlaucus,â Apollogreets warily, âand who might this be?â
âI callher Erato,â Glaucus says, âIâve raised her since birth. Itâs time for her tojoin her sisters.â
Eratois not as terrifying as her mother. Instead thereâs a sweetness about her thatshe must have gotten from Glaucus. Sheâs shy at first, and spends many dayslooking out into the sea. But his daughters are persistent, and soon sheâslaughing and joining them. Thereâs something dreamy about her, and she loveslove, writes romantic ballads and beautiful poems, so much so that Aphroditecommends her talent.
Eratois also the most like him in the area of her love life, meaning she leavesbehind a constant trail of heartbroken men and women.
Calliopecomplains about the constant wailing around their home, and Clio proves she hassome of her motherâs talent with magic when she casts an unplotable spellaround their home so former lovers stop following Erato home. Of course, sheforgets to tell both Apollo and her sisters about this, and itâs very confusingfor everyone until Clio remembers to tell them where the house is.
Hisdaughtersâ home is a place of constant music, poetry, and literature. He thinksheâs starting to suspect what Amphitrite was talking about.
Not allhunts are easy things.
Apollofeels the moment his sister is wounded, the arrow through her abdomen aspainful for him as it is for her. Heâs in his chariot, and he canât leave it,if he leaves his chariot unattended the sun will consume it, and then consumethe earth. âCalliope!â he snaps, and his eldest daughter appears by his side.
âFather?âshe asks, huddling into him and away from the sun. âWhatâs going on?â
âArtemisis hurt, I have to help,â he says urgently, and places the reins into herhands. âYou can do this.â
Shepales, but steps forward, keeping a white knuckled grip on the chariot. âGo.â
Hekisses his forehead, and goes to his sister. Her huntresses have set up anhonor guard around her, defending and dying as cruel faced giants draws closer.âARES!â he screams, and he doesnât know what theyâre fighting for, what thiswar is about, but it doesnât matter. âWE NEED YOU!â
The godof war appears, and heâs clearly come from some other battle, covered in mudand other worse things. He throws himself into the battle, but itâs not untilthey gain more aid that the tides turn in their favor.
Hefirst sees Erato on the field, water swirling around her as she slices throughthem all, the power of her mother making her golden eyes glow. Clio is at herback, the glittering magic Hecate passed on to her filling her hands.
Thaliahas long curved knives flying from her fingers, and all who face her donâtfigure out theyâre dead until sheâs already left them behind. Urania is lettingloose arrows against the giants and though sheâs not his by blood, not agoddess by birth, none would know it watching each of her arrows hit true andtake down another enemy.
Terpsichoreuses her honed abilities of dance differently here on the battlefield, twirlingand ducking around enemies with her sword flashing as it slices through all whogo against her. Celestial fire licks up the sword, and the daughter of Hestiaand Apollo is laughing as she dances through the battlefield.
Hewants to yell at them, to tell them to get off the battlefield, to get tosafety. But it is thanks to them that the fight is being won, so he saysnothing.
Areslooks around, grimaces, and catches Apolloâs eye before he disappears from thebattle. They must be invoking his name. Apollo is only grateful he managed tostay as long as he did.
Thegiants are all dead by the time Apollo manages to make it to his sisterâs side.Sheâs pale and covered in blood, her huntresses seated around her and trying tostop the bleeding. âWhat were you thinking?â Apollo demands, grabbing her handand pushing her hair from her forehead. Terpsichore comes forward and lays herburning sword against the wound, sealing and cauterizing it at once. BothApollo and Artemis scream
âThey âtook â a â child,â she pants, leaning in for his touch, for his comfort, and hehas never been able to deny her anything. He pulls her up, biting back a screamat the pain that rips through them both, and props her up against his chest. âAâ nymphâs child. Zeusâs child. They killed â itâs mother. That â that sort ofinjustice will â will not be â tolerated.â She lays her head back against hisshoulder, tears leaking from the corner of her eyes, and Apollo almost wishesthe battle were not over, because he wants to murder something.
âIâllget it,â Erato says, and a moment later she returns with a toddler in her arms.She has the copper skin of Zeus, and pale blonde hair. âWhat do we do now? Zeusdoes not care for his children.â
âIthink itâs time you became a big sister,â Thalia says, and Erato looksstricken. âRight Dad?â
Helooks to his sister, who nods. âI can think of no better place for her. Shecannot stay with me â a hunting party is not place for children.â
âVerywell,â he sighs. âDoes she have a name?â
Thegirl attempts to hide behind Eratoâs hair, then says, âI am Euterpe.â
âWelcome,Euterpe,â he says.
Itâsthen that the sun finally sets, and Calliope stumbles into existence next tothem. Sheâs covered in deep, bleeding burns, but itâs not as bad he feared it wouldbe. Sheâs certainly faired better at her first time driving the chariot than hehad. âWhatâs happening? Is everything all right?â
âWehave a new sister,â Thalia says brightly, even as Clio rushes forward to tendto her burns.
Euterpe,thankfully, seems to inherit none of Zeusâs madness. She has a singing voicelike a clear bell, and soon surpasses even Calliopeâs talent with the lyre.
Heknows, technically, that Euterpe is his half-sister. But it takes him no timeat all to regard her as his daughter, to love her with same simple ferocity as heloves her sisters.
For awhile, all is well, is quiet. His daughters are all fully grown, accomplishedand beautiful.
ThenDemeter corners him when heâs walking through quiet city and pins him againstan alley wall. âIf Amphitrite thinks she can one up me over this,â the goddesshisses, âsheâs sorely mistaken.â
Atleast this time he knows whatâs going on when Demeter starts pulling her dressoff. âYou canât raise the child,â he says. Heâs not adverse to laying withDemeter, although at this rate it looks like there will be less laying and morestanding against a rough alley wall. But Demeter only knows how to love in away that crushes all it touches. He wonât let her do that to his child.
âFine,âshe snaps, âNow get moving.â
Heâsvaguely terrified the whole time, and it mostly reminds him of his month withHecate. Heâs left alone and naked in the alleyway an hour later.
Ninemonths later, a baby is delivered to his door by a nervous wood nymph. Hisdaughter still has the squashed appearance of a freshly born baby. âShe didnâtwaste any time,â he comments, settling her into the crook of his arms. âDoesshe have a name?â
âPolyhymnia,my lord,â the wood nymph says, then bows before fleeing.
Hebrings her to the home where all his daughters live.
Shegrows, and sheâs the spitting image of Demeter, of Persephone back when sheanswered to the name Kore. Her voice is lower than Euterpeâs, but just as prettyand when they sing together itâs the most beautiful sound heâs ever heard.Sheâs quiet, and thoughtful, her big brown eyes watching all around her with ameasured stare.
Polyhymniaasks after her mother, something none of the others had done, and Apollodoesnât know what to say. The truth is too callous, but he canât bear to lie toher. Instead he begs an audience with Persephone, and says, âYour sister asksafter the mother you share. I donât know what to tell her.â
Persephonehas no advice to offer, but she starts spending some of her time outside of theunderworld with Polyhymnia. It is enough, and her questions stop, and Apollotries not to feel guilty that he never really answered them.
Cassandrais unlike any woman heâs ever met, unlike any person heâs ever met, and theflames of love and passion burn inside him in a way they havenât since hisHyacinth died.
Sheâsbull headed and irritating, and whenever he tries to complain about it Artemisrolls her eyes and his daughters laugh at him. He supposes heâs not doing avery good job hiding that heâs in love with her. Not even from her, because atone point she crossly asks if heâs ever planning to do anything with her, or ifshe should accept the offer from the butcherâs son.
Theydonât leave her house for five days.
She iscurious, hungry for knowledge, hungrier for it then she is of him. She wants toknow impossible things, wants to be an impossible thing, and so Apollo laughsand takes her hand and says, âI will make you a bargain. I will give you thegift of prophecy, if you will grant me the gift of your hand.â
Heâsnever take a bride before. He hasnât wanted to.
Cassandrais screaming and laughing, and she throws her arms around his neck and kisseshim until sheâs breathless. He takes it as a yes.
Thatâswhen everything goes horribly, incredibly wrong.
Itâstoo much, all the horror she sees is too much, and Apollo tries to tell her tofocus on the good, to see the happiness of the future. But she canât, gets toocaught up in too many wars, and she wastes away in front of his eyes even asher stomach swells.
Hetries to take back the gift, tries to save her, but he canât. It cannot beungiven, and his headstrong, vivacious lover fades before his eyes. He onlymanages to alter it, to change it so no one believes the horrible things she criesto prevent the horror people feel when she looks at them and screams the waythat theyâll die.
Artemishelps deliver their child, but halfway through her face goes pinched andworried, and Apollo knows that Cassandra wonât make it.
âIâmsorry,â he weeps, kissing her gaunt face, feeling the sharpness of hercheekbones under his lips, âIâm so sorry, I didnât know this would happen. I didnâtwant this to happen.â
Shelooks at him with glassy eyes, barely reacts when Artemis places their child onher chest. Thereâs a growing pool of blood under her, but she canât be saved,she will die, here, now.
Apollowonders if she saw this coming.
Sheblinks, and meets his gaze with a sharpness and awareness he hasnât seen for along time. âShe is your last daughter,â Cassandra says, âMelpomene is the lastdaughter you will have.â
Hekisses her, his last chance to do so.
Sheâsdead before his lips leaves hers.
Apollotries to flee, to run from the claws tearing apart his heart, but Artemisdoesnât let him. She yanks him back and pushes Melpomene into his arms. âYoucanât leave,â she says harshly, âShe needs you. Your daughter needs you. Youârenot allowed to run.â
Hecrumples, leaning his head onto his sisterâs shoulder as he sobs, and hercalloused hand grasps the back of his neck. Melpomene is stuck between them,soft and warm and alive.
Melpomeneis Thaliaâs other half, her best friend, and they do everything together. Herdark hair is a mass of unruly curls just like her mother, her laughter is just likeher motherâs.
She,like her sisters, is his pride and his joy.
Calliope,who reigns over written epics.
Terpsichore,who reigns over dance.
Urania,who reigns over astronomy.
Thalia,who reigns over comedy.
Clio,who reigns over history.
Erato,who reigns over love poetry.
Euterpe,who reigns over song.
Polyhymnia,who reigns over hymns.
Melpomene,who reigns over tragedy.
Theyare known as the Muses.
gods and monster series, part xxi
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