Apollo

Apollo, is the son of Zeus and Leto (one of Zeus' many mistresses). Apollo is a Lesser God in the Twelve: the pantheon of Gods in the 'official' religion of the Merebian Empire. Apollo resides in the "First Plane" of the pantheon. On Oberon, the figure of Apollo is the archetypal ancient Greek version of the deity, but as the Roman version has the same name (and much the same representation) then the distinction can be ignored.

A typical representation of Apollo © CypherAIArts

Epithets

Apollo is usually referred to by his worshippers as 'the Radiant'. This is not solely because he is the God of the Sun but also because he brings the 'light' of (Imperial) civilisation to Oberon.

Symbol

Apollo's symbol is that of a golden Sun on a sky blue background.

Sphere of Influence

Apollo's 'spheres of influence are:

• The Sun
• Music
• Healing
• Prophecy

Apollo is often also considered to be the God of Archery prowess (an area he shares with many other deities, such as his twin sister, Artemis).

Description

Due to Apollo's focus of guidance, healing and the arts, many people believe that there are parallels to be made between Apollo and the Elven deity, Corellon. Certainly there are similarities in their depiction - a radiant, blonde haired individual in gleaming armour, carrying a bow and with a blue cloak. However this is based on a surface knowledge of the two deities and seeing some overlap in spheres of influence. In reality Corellon is more fixated on imparting a rigid sense of selfless duty upon his Elven worshippers, whereas Apollo aims to bring culture (specifically Imperial culture) and enlightenment to where these are lacking.

Relationships

Apollo is not especially close to his various half-siblings, with the exception of his twin sister, Artemis. This is primarily due to the jealousy of Zeus's wife, Hera, over Zeus' 'dalliance' with their mother, Leto resulting in Apollo and Artemis being raised separately to Zeus' other children. Apollo is fairly neutral towards his 'aunt', Demeter. Apollo is occasionally portrayed as being quite disapproving of the actions of his half-brother Ares but still will fight alongside him against any threat to the pantheon.

Rituals and Devotions

Considering that Apollo is is the God of the Sun it should come to no surprise that most rituals to Apollo occur at sunrise. Any birth, wedding or funeral that is timed to coincide with the sunrise is thought to be especially blessed. Similarly, any vision of the future that occurs to the priesthood at dawn is thought to be of major import.

Apollo's name is usually invoked whenever any activity related to his 'sphere of influence' are performed but in particular with music, where the phrase "I dedicate this song to the divinity of Apollo - may his radiance fill our lives with light".

Festival

The festival of Apollo is on the day between Sextibus and Septibus. This day is, effectively, Midsummer's Eve.

Worshippers

Apollo is one of the most prominent Gods in 'the Twelve' and hence the vast majority (well over 95%) of his worshippers are either Humans or Tieflings. Apollo is the god of bringing the cultural aspects of Imperial life (music, poetry, theatre, literature) to the masses and so is considered the most erudite of Gods - he doesn't just represent the 'light' of the Sun but the 'light' of the Empire.

The classes that are most likely to follow the teachings of Apollo are Clerics and Bards. Apollo is occasionally followed by Paladins but never by Druids.

Clerics

Although Apollo is typically worshipped by those who aspire to become Bards, he does have his own Clerics. The priesthood of Apollo consists primarily of people who try to be free of rash impulses such as hatred, anger, lust or greed and instead focus on improving the cultural base of the Empire through the arts and medicine. As such, they are generally thought to be gentle souls who seek out the beauty in all things, but it is worth remembering that nothing in the teachings of Apollo stipulates pacifistic behaviour: Clerics of Apollo are just as capable in a fight as those of any of the other members of the Twelve (with the possible exception of Athena and Ares).

Clerics of Apollo are always tastefully, but not ostentatiously dressed. If expecting any conflict they will prefer armour emblazoned with a representation of the Sun. The preferred weapon of Apollo's Clerics is the bow (long or short), although shortswords are also common.

Bards

As Apollo is the God of Music and culture is is little wonder that many Bards are drawn to name him as their patron deity. Bards will often compose songs and poems in his honour or thank him for his blessings when performing.

Paladins

Apollo is not a particularly Paladin-heavy church. Followers of the Paladin class tend towards more martial deities such as Athena or Ares but there is a small group of more militant worshippers who believe that bringing "the Light of the Empire" requires embracing the fact that there will be those that resist and those for whom the light will never be accepted. Hence, Paladins of Apollo tend to either be highly dogmatic or shining paragons of virtue (either "do as I say" or "do as I do"). Paladins of Apollo all carry bows (long or short) but as with others of their class rely more on their skill with melee weapons.