THE EMPIRE OF ATLANTIS.

quote:

---

The empire of the Titans was clearly the empire of Atlantis.

"We should suppose that
Pluto possibly ruled over the transatlantic possessions of Atlantis in
America, over those "portions of the opposite continent" which Plato
tells us were dominated by Atlas and his posterity, and which, being far
beyond or below sunset, were the "under-world" of the ancients; while
Atlantis, the Canaries, etc., constituted the island division with
Western Africa and Spain. Murray tells us ("Mythology," p. 58) that
Pluto's share of the kingdom was supposed to lie "in the remote west."
The under-world of the dead was simply the world below the western
horizon; "the home of the dead has to do with that far west region where
the sun dies at night." ("Anthropology," p. 350.) "On the coast of
Brittany, where Cape Raz stands out westward into the ocean, there is
'the Bay of Souls,' the launching-place where the departed spirits sail
off across the sea." (Ibid.) In like manner, Odysseus found the land of
the dead in the ocean beyond the Pillars of Hercules. There, indeed, was
the land of the mighty dead, the grave of the drowned Atlanteans.

"However this be," continues F. Pezron, "the empire of the Titans,
according to the ancients, was very extensive; they possessed Phrygia,
Thrace, a part of Greece, the island of Crete, and several other
provinces to the inmost recesses of Spain. To these Sanchoniathon seems
to join Syria; and Diodorus adds a part of Africa, and the kingdoms of
Mauritania." The kingdoms of Mauritania embraced all that north-western
region of Africa nearest to Atlantis in which are the Atlas Mountains,
and in which, in the days of Herodotus, dwelt the Atlantes.

Neptune, or Poseidon, says, in answer to a message from Jupiter,

No vassal god, nor of his train am I.
Three brothers, deities, from Saturn came,
And ancient Rhea, earth's immortal dame;
Assigned by lot our triple rule we know;
Infernal Pluto sways the shades below:
O'er the wide clouds, and o'er the starry plain
Ethereal Jove extends his high domain;
My court beneath the hoary waves I keep,
And hush the roaring of the sacred deep.

Iliad, book xviii.

Homer alludes to Poseidon as

"The god whose liquid arms are hurled
Around the globs, whose earthquakes rock the world."

Mythology tells us that when the Titans were defeated by Saturn they
retreated into the interior of Spain; Jupiter followed them up, and beat
them for the last time near Tartessus, and thus terminated a ten-years'
war. Here we have a real battle on an actual battle-field.

If we needed any further proof that the empire of the Titans was the
empire of Atlantis, we would find it in the names of the Titans: among
these were Oceanus, Saturn or Chronos, and Atlas; they were all the sons
of Uranos. Oceanus was at the base of the Greek mythology. Plato says
("Dialogues," Timæus, vol. ii., p. 533): "Oceanus and Tethys were the
children of Earth and Heaven, and from these sprung Phorcys, and
Chronos, and Rhea, and many more with them; and from Chronos and Rhea
sprung Zeus and Hera, and all those whom we know as their brethren, and
others who were their children." In other words, all their gods came out
of the ocean; they were rulers over some ocean realm; Chronos was the
son of Oceanus, and Chronos was an Atlantean god, and from him the
Atlantic Ocean was called by tho ancients "the Chronian Sea." The elder
Minos was called "the Son of the Ocean:" he first gave civilization to
the Cretans; he engraved his laws on brass, precisely as Plato tells us
the laws of Atlantis were engraved on pillars of brass.

---

Also, the reason that the the Greeks situate their mythical underworld in the west is because, as Donnelly says, it is "the land of the mighty dead, the grave of the drowned Atlanteans."

Donnelly's book may be dated in some ways, but it is more relevant than ever in many others.

quote:
The elder Minos was called "the Son of the Ocean:" he first gave civilization to
the Cretans; he engraved his laws on brass, precisely as Plato tells us
the laws of Atlantis were engraved on pillars of brass.
endquote

After I researched the Carlos Parada website about mythology, I started to become aware that archaeologists have "misnamed" the most advanced phases of Crete's ancient civilization.

Here is a link to the "Chronology" page of Carlos Parada's website. http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/MythicalChronology.html
If you scroll about 1/3 of the way down the chronology webpage, you will find a chart for various city-states. The data for "Crete" shows that Minos 1 lived around 1375 BC.

"The elder Minos", as your quote from Donnelly calls him, arrived in Crete as a son of Europa. This means he was part of the "phoentic alphabet" culture which derived ultimately from Phoenicia (i.e. adapting the Phoenician phonetic type of alphabet, which was first developed in Ugarit, presumably around 1900-1500 BC.)

And perhaps more importantly, the Greek myths tell us that Zeus had already gained control of Crete (accompanied by Aeolian invaders from mainland Greece, from the region near Mt Olympus) shortly before Europa was allowed to migrate from Phoenicia to Crete. http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/Crete.html

In other words, "the elder Minos" lived in the era which archaeologists call "Late Minoan" culture.

Have you researched the possibility that the Titans ruled Crete in either the "Early Minoan", or the "Middle Minoan" phase of Crete's civilization?

Actually, I have been researching the Titans/Minoan connection ever since I saw this quote your provided under the Tribes of Atlantis thread:

quote:

---

“The Titanes had their dwelling in the land about Knosos, at the place where even to this day men point out foundations of a house of Rhea and a cypress grove which has been consecrated to her from ancient times. The Titanes numbered six men and five women, being born, as certain writers of myths relate, of Ouranos and Ge, but according to others, of one of the Kouretes and Titaia, from whom as their mother they derive the name they have. The males were Kronos, Hyperion, Koios, Iapetos, Krios and Okeanos, and their sisters were Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne, Phoibe and Tethys [he omits Theia]. Each one of them was the discover of things of benefit to mankind, and because of the benefaction they conferred upon all men they were accorded honours and everlasting fame.” –Diodorus Siculus 5.66.1

---

It's an interesting theory and certainly merits much looking into. I certainly believe that the Titans/Olympians battles were based on a real life war. Perhaps the settlers of Greece fought a war of settlement with the Minoans, it would make sense. However, it is important to also note that Diodorus wrote hundreds of years after Hesiod, let alone the Minoans were in their prime, so we can't take everything that he says as fact.

Then the so-called Olympian revolution took place. Zeus was said to have been born in that cave, and Zeus married Hera. And then Hera gave birth to Eileithyia.

It seems like a strange way of sublimating the past.

quote:

---

The Minoan influence on Greek culture is quite striking. This can be seen in many Greek myths. The great battle between the Olympian gods and the Titans takes place on the island of Crete, the home of the Minoans. This conflict may be a mythic representation of a conflict between the traditional gods of the Mycenaeans--the Titans--and the gods which the Mycenaeans borrowed from the Minoans--the Olympians. The stories of Theseus and the Minotaur and of Daedalus and Ikarus, both of which center on the Labyrinth, are set on the island of Crete. It is quite likely that the Minotaur, a beast which is half man and half bull is a memory combining the Minoan practices of bull leaping and of human sacrifice. The Labyrinth itself is probably a memory of the great palace complexes of Crete.

---

quote:

---

According to mythology, the first inhabitant of Karpathos was the Titan Impetus who was the son of Uranus and Gaia.

Another mythological interpretation says that the first settlers were the Titans, who were leaving there before the battle of the Titans took place.

---

quote:

---

Karpathos had fascinated the ancient Greeks and they believed that many mythical characters were hosted here. Based on a mythical interpretation the first inhabitant of the island was the Titan Impetus, son of Uranus and Gaia and brother of Saturn the father of Jupiter. Another interpretation wants all the Titans living on the island before the great battle of the Titans took place as narrated by Isiodos, during which the Titans, had all gathered at the peak of mount Orthi, were defeated by Zeus and the twelve gods that had as their base mount Olympus of Thessalia.
 

Nevertheless Karpathos did not only host the Titans, but also the Giants , that were also the children of Gaia. Between them was Nightmare (Efialtis), the twin brother of Otos. This is why the well-known location of Afiarti at the south part of the island seems like a paraphrased word of Efialtis (meaning nightmare in Greek) . Prometheus , son of Impetus that stole the fire from Zeus to offer it to the plain people also lived on the island.

The oldest findings are dated back since approx. 2.500 B.C. The influence of the Minoans starts to become more evident around 1600 B.C. During the 14th century the Mycenaean's made their appearance , they conquered the island and constructed the acropolis of Potidaios. A lot of pottery were found revealing their presence on the island. Homer refers in the Iliad , that Karpathos participated in the Trojan War by sending vessels.

Another population that inhabited the island were the Phoenicians, a shipping population that during those times use to cross the Mediterranean with their vessels, carrying their goods to various countries , expanding commerce this way. Apparently they also used Karpathos as one of their stations.

---

quote:

---

Overview of the Ancient World
Part 1: thru 4th BC  (to part 2)
Asia Minor – eastern coast of Turkey

Bronze Age    3000BC – 1200BC
Crete & Knossos, & Mycenae
Peloponnesis – peninsula
Prehistoric cultures
Linear A > Minoans
Never deciphered
Linear B > Minoans & Mycenaeans
Earliest greek
Minoans:
Sophisticated civ.
Central King and nobles
Palacites – The Palace at Knosses
The maze of the menataur
Largest among all
Religion
Pantheon
Female fertility
Clay
Snakes – assoc. w/ earth à fertility
TOREADOR
Female fair skinned, Male darker
Ritual?  Power over animals?
Interest in Human form
Mycenaens
Closest Greek ancestors
Odessy & Iliad from this time
Citadel plan
Unlike Min. Independent city-states
Religion –
Linear B
Names like Olympian gods
Like Crete
Frescos
gods
Trade – w/ Egyptians

Dark Ages  -   12th cent – 10th BC
Little monumental architecture
Little writing until 6th
Decrease of population – 75%!
* Didorians & Aeoeions migrate to Asia Minor Coast, begin to act Greek
kingship breaks down

---

In Greek mythology, Chronos (not to be confused with the Titan Cronus) was the personification of time. He emerged from the primordial chaos. He is an elderly, gray-haired man with a long beard.

Rhea tricking Cronus with a wrapped stone.

Cronus ("crow", also spelled Cronos, Kronos and Khronos, but not to be confused with Chronos), in Greek mythology (Saturn in Roman mythology), was the leader and (in some myths) the youngest of the first generation of Titans. His mother was Gaia, and his father was Uranus, whom Cronus envied. Uranus hid the youngest children of Gaia, the one-hundred armed giants (Hecatonchires) and the one-eyed giants, the Cyclopes, in Tartarus so that they would not see the light, rejoicing in this evil doing. This caused pain to Gaia (Tartarus was her bowels), so she created grey flint and shaped a great sickle and gathered together Cronus and his brothers to ask them to obey her. Only Cronus was willing to do the deed, so Gaia gave him the sickle and set him in ambush. Cronus jumped out and lopped off his father's testicles, casting them behind him. From his blood on the Earth came forth the Gigantes, Erinyes, and Meliae. From the testicles of Uranus in the sea came forth Aphrodite. For this, Uranus called his sons Titans, meaning "strainers," for they strained and did presumptuously a fearful deed, for which vengeance would come afterwards.

In an alternate version, a more benevolent Cronus overthrew the wicked serpentine Titan, Ophion. In doing so he released the world from bondage and for a time ruled it justly.

After dispatching Uranus, Cronus re-imprisoned the Hecatonchires, the Gigantes, and the Cyclopes and set the monster Campe to guard them. He and Rhea took the throne as King and Queen of the gods. This time was called the Golden Age, as the people of the time had no need for laws or rules; everyone did right, so there was no need.

In Roman mythology, Saturn's wife was sometimes said to be Ops and not Magna Mater, Rhea's equivalent.

Cronus sired several children by Rhea: Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon, but swallowed them all as soon as they were born, since he had learned from Gaia and Uranus that he was destined to be overcome by his own son as he had overthrown his own father. But when Zeus was about to be born, Rhea sought Uranus and Earth to devise a plan to save him, so that Cronus would get his retribution for his acts against Uranus and his own children. Rhea gave birth to Zeus in Crete, handing Cronus a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes which he promptly swallowed.

Then she hid Zeus in a cave on Mount Ida in Crete. According to varying versions of the story:

1. He was then raised by Gaia.
2. He was raised by a goat named Amalthea, while a company of Kouretes, soldiers, or smaller gods danced, shouted, and clapped their hands to make noise so that Cronus would not hear the baby's cries.
3. He was raised by a nymph named Adamanthea. Since Cronus ruled over the earth, the heavens, and the sea, she hid him by dangling him on a rope from a tree so he was suspended between earth, sea, and sky and thus, invisible to his father.

Zeus forced Cronus to disgorge the other children in reverse order of swallowing: first the stone, which was set down at Pytho under the glens of Parnassus to be a sign to mortal men, then the rest. In some versions, Metis gave Cronus an emetic to force him to disgorge the babies, or Zeus cut Cronus's stomach open. Then Zeus released the brothers of Cronus, the Gigantes, the Hecatonchires, and the Cyclopes, who gave him thunder and the thunderbolt and lightning, which had previously been hidden by Gaia. In a war called the Titanomachy, Zeus and his brothers and sisters with the Gigantes, Hecatonchires, and Cyclopes overthrew Cronus and the other Titans. Cronus and the titans were confined in Tartarus, a dank misty gloomy place at the deepest point in the Earth. Ironically, Zeus also imprisoned the hecatonchires and the cyclopes there as well.

Cronus was worshipped as a corn god, from his association with the Golden Age. He was a god of the harvest, grain, nature, and agriculture. He was usually depicted with a sickle, which he used to harvest crops as well as castrate his father. In Athens, on the twelfth day of every month (Hekatombaion), a festival called Kronia was held in honor of Cronus and to celebrate the harvest.

Saturn

In Roman mythology, the Saturnalia was in honor of Saturn. This festival occurred on December 17. It was originally only one day long but later lasted one week. During the Saturnalia, roles of master and slave were reversed, moral restrictions lessened, and the rules of etiquette ignored.

In Rome, Saturn Festival was held in Spring. Encyclopedia Britanica says this festival become carnival.

Saturn had a temple on the Forum Romanum; it contained the Royal Treasury.

Saturn was the father of Veritas.

Consorts/Children:

1. With Aphrodite

1. Pothos

2. With Philyra

1. Chiron

3. With Rhea

1. Demeter
2. Hades
3. Hera
4. Hestia
5. Poseidon
6. Zeus

4. With unknown mother

1. Veritas (Roman mythology)

References

reference: http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/PLEIADES.html

TAYGETE moved to southeast Peloponese and her descendents founded Laconia/Lacedaemon (=classical Sparta). Her descendents served as the first 3 kings of Crete.

MAIA moved to Arcadia in the center of the Peloponese. Her son was the Olympian god Hermes.

MEROPE moved to Corinth at the north end of Peloponese with her husband Sisyphus. Her grandson Bellerophon was banished to Cilicia around 1180 BC, where Bellerophon fought in the chaos (= mythical Chimera, three superpowers entangled in one body: Hittites, Egyptians, and Assuwa League) which Ramses III describes as the primary destructive activity by Sea Peoples.

ALCYONE moved to Troezen (= classical Argolis) on the east side of Peloponese, with her sons Hyperenor 1 and Anthas, who served as kings in Troezen. (Alcyone may be a namesake for the maritime superpower which Hittite scribes called: Ahhiyawa.)

STEROPE moved to the northwest side of the Peloponese (=the classical region of Elis) and married the warlord Oenomaus, who was eventually deposed by the Asiatic Pelops, from whom the peninsula became known as Peloponese.

ELECTRA lived at Troy until the end of the famous Trojan war. Afterwards, Electra moved to the land of Hyperboreans. Her name is cognate with amber, which came mainly from the Baltic Sea.

CELAENO moved to the far western paradise called the Islands of the Blessed, with her son, Lycus 2.

quote:

---

Atlantis: “Land of the Dead”?

In many peoples eyes Atlantis is equated either with the point of creation or the Isles of the Blessed to which the souls of the dead migrate. How can the two ideas be reconciled?

The islands of the blessed.

Was Atlantis paradise on Earth?

As well as being associated with the point of creation - the Garden of Eden - Atlantis is also thought of in terms of the land of rest towards which the souls of the dead migrate. This duality of perception is perhaps not hard to comprehend. If life started on Atlantis it was perhaps logical that this is where the soul should go upon being separated from the body.

The Elysian Fields.

In much of the ancient world the land of the dead was thought to be in the west. Part of the reason for this - albeit symbolically - is that this is the direction where the sun sets. However there is a more potent reason. It is the belief amongst numerous ancient cultures that across the ocean towards the west there existed a blessed isle that was home to the dead. They equate it with the Fortunate Islands, the Elysian Fields of mythology, or the Garden of the Hesperides.

Abode of the happy departed.

According to author Lewis Spence:” The earliest Greek poetry situates the abode of the happy departed spirits far beyond the entrance to the Mediterranean, on islands in the midst of the River Oceanus. Pindar under Orphic influence probably alludes to them as the destination. not only of divine favourites, but of all righteous persons. There he says the gales of Ocean breathe over the Island of the Fortunate, the Earth laughs with golden flowers, and the good appear to occupy themselves chiefly in horsemanship and music.”

Earthly paradise.

In his book “Mystery of Atlantis.” author Charles Berlitz addresses the notion of a western paradise in the following manner: “ The Welsh and ancient English pointed to the western ocean for their Earthly paradise, which they called Avalon... The Babylonians placed their paradise in the western ocean and referred to it as Aralu, while the Egyptians situated their abode of the souls ‘far to the west in the middle of the ocean’ and called it amongst other names, AAU, or Aalu as well as Amenti. The Celtic tribes of Spain and also the Basques preserve traditions of their homeland in the western ocean; and the original Gauls of France, especially those in the western sections, had the tradition that their ancestors came from the middle of the western ocean as the result of a catastrophe which destroyed their homeland.”

Common belief.

The link between Atlantis and the Blessed Isles is approached by author Lewis Spence in the following terms: “There are however good grounds for believing that the whole idea of the continued existence of souls after death in the West arose out of the memory of Atlantis. Indeed we find it believed in by all the races who must have in some degree acquired the Atlantean civilisation.

The Celts, whose long association with the Iberians in Spain must have imbued them with the idea, devoutly believed that the abode of the dead, was situated in the Atlantic, and we find the Greeks, and Romans and Cretans holding the same belief. The very fact that the whole of Western and Mediterranean Europe looked to the west as the location of the Great Island of the Dead, is surely sufficient proof that they regarded it as their ancient home from which their religion and culture had been drawn.

Land of the Gods.

Another interesting anomaly is that on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean in the Americas the gods were always believed to have come from the opposite direction that is to say from the east. To the Aztecs the Land of the Blessed was in the north, and to the Chinese it was the east. But of course to the civilisations of the early Americas Atlantis would have been towards the east, and this gives the whole idea of Atlantis - as the Blessed Isles all the more credibility.

Caught in the middle between the locations of what later became the greatest civilisations on Earth it was inevitable that these later cultures would describe the Land of the Gods or the Blessed Isles in terms of their own geographical position. Hence the reason why these cultures saw the great island either as east or west according to the position of Atlantis. Their spiritual and emotional homeland whose influence exists even to these present times.

---

In regard to the theme of dead people, I once posted a word study when Jonas Bergman was posting about Chellah Rabat. My analysis showed that there is a 2-word phrase in Semitic languages, which seems to identify a specific "tell", or manmade hill, at Rabat as the land of the dead.

quote from: http://www.stevequayle.com/Giants/Ancient.Civ_Technol/ataw103.html

Ælian, in his "Varia Historia" (book iii., chap. xviii.), tells us that Theopompus (400 B.C.) related the particulars of an interview between Midas, King of Phrygia, and Silenus, in which Silenus reported the existence of a great continent beyond the Atlantic, "larger than Asia, Europe, and Libya together." He stated that a race of men called Meropes dwelt there, and had extensive cities. They were persuaded that their country alone was a continent. Out of curiosity some of them crossed the ocean and visited the Hyperboreans.

Good website!

Need I remind you that your references are theories, they are not facts. You present them as facts, nonetheless, they are theories.

After our discussion concerning Coptic/Demotic verses the other day, I did my best to research Georgeos' academic credentials concerning ancient languages as something didn't seem "right" to me. All I managed to find was that he lacks any sort of academic degrees, he appears to be self-taught and once also went by the name of "Jorge Diaz Sanchez" at one point, of which there also seems a lack of solid academic credit.

In addition he taught an online course in Egyptian hieroglyphics: one student in two years, $12 in tuition.

Consider me among the many here who now feel as though they have been "had."

I have petitioned the Administrator of Atlantis Rising for your immediate removal.It is one thing to engage in discussion with others on the Internet, it is another thing altogether to misrepresent one's position and then viciously insult others in order to keep it.

There are other things I could say, but, not knowing Georgeos personally, I will give him the benefit of the doubt.

If, by some chance, you stay at this site, I will thank you for not contacting me with yet another one of your furious retorts. I would hate for this to get even uglier.

Ariel, a word of caution, be careful in which false idols you place your faith.

ZEUS' first love was the Okeanis METIS, a Titan-Goddess who counselled him in his youth, before even the Titan-War. When the god learnt from an oracle that a child born of Metis was destined to overthrow him, he swallowed the Nymphe whole, trapping her in his belly. There she gave birth to their daughter, the goddess Athene, who emerged fully grown from the head of the god.

Offspring of Zeus and Metis

ATHENE (Theogony 887, 924; Apollodorus 1.20)

"Zeus, as king of the gods, took as his first wife Metis, and she knew more than all the gods or mortal people. But when she was about to be delivered of the goddess, gray-eyed Athene, then Zeus, deceiving her perception by treachery and by slippery speeches, put her away inside his own belly. This was by the advices of Gaia and starry Ouranos, for so they counselled, in order that no other everlasting god, beside Zeus, should ever be given kingly position. For it had been arranged that, from her, children surpassing in wisdom should be born, first the gray-eyed girl, the Tritogeneia Athene ... but then a son to be king over gods and mortals was to be born to her and his heart would be overmastering; but before this, Zeus put her away inside his own belly so that this goddess should think for him, for good and for evil." -Theogony 886

"[Zeus], apart from Hera, had lain in love with a fair-faced daughter of Okeanos and lovley-haired Tethys, Metis, whom he deceived, for all she was so resourceful, for he snatched her up in his hands and put her inside his belly for fear that she might bring forth a thunderbolt stronger than his own; therefore the son of Kronos .. swallowed her down of a sudden, but she then conceived Pallas Athene, but the father of gods and men gave birth to her near the summit of Triton beside the banks of the river. But Metis herself, hidden away under the vitals of Zeus, stayed there; she was Athene's mother; worker of right actions, beyond all the gods and beyond all mortal people in knowledge; and there Athene had given to her hands what made her supreme over all other immortals who have their homes on Olympos; for Metis made that armor of Athene, terror of armies, in which Athene was born." -Theogony 924

"Zeus slept with Metis, although she turned herself into many forms in order to avoid having sex with him. When she was pregnant, Zeus took the precaution of swallowing her, because she had said that, after giving birth to the daughter presently in her womb [Athena], she would bear a son who would gain the lordship of the sky." -Apollodorus 1.20

Sources:

(1) THE HORAI (named EUNOMIA, EIRENE, DIKE) (Theogony 901, Pindar Frag 13, Apollodorus 1.13, Hyginus Fab 183)
(2) THE MOIRAI (named ATROPOS, KLOTHO, LAKHESIS)
(Theogony 901, Apollodorus 1.13)
(3) THE THRIAI (Apollodorus 2.114)

"Next [after Metis] he [Zeus] married bright Themis who bare the Horai (Seasons), and Eunomia (Order), Dike (Justice), and blooming Eirene (Peace), who mind the works of mortal men, and the Moirai (Fates) to whom wise Zeus gave the greatest honour, Klotho, and Lakhesis, and Atropos who give mortal men evil and good to have." -Theogony 901

“Eunomia and that unsullied fountain Dike (Justice), her sister, sure support of cities; and Eirene (Peace) of the same kin, who are the stewards of wealth for mankind – three glorious daughters of wise-counselled Themis.” –Pindar Olympian 13 str1-ant1

“First did the Moirai in their golden chariot bring heavenly Themis, wise in counsel, by a gleaming pathway from the springs of Okeanos to the sacred stair of Olympos, there to be the primal bride of the Saviour Zeus. And she bare him the Horai with golden fillet and gleaming fruit, - the Horai that are ever true.” –Pindar Frag 30

"With Themis, the daughter of Ouranos, he [Zeus] fathered his daughters the Horai, by name Eirene, Eunomia, and Dike; also the Moirai, called Klotho, Lakhesis, and Atropos." -Apollodorus 1.13

"Herakles continued by foot through the Illyrians’ land and hurried on to the Eridanos river where he found the Nymphai who were daughters of Zeus and Themis." -Apollodorus 2.114

“The figures of Horai next to them [the images of Zeus and Hera in the temple of Hera at Olympia], seated upon thrones, were made by the Aiginetan Smilis. Beside them stands an image of Themis, as being mother of the Horai.” –Pausanias 5.17.1

"From Jove [Zeus] and Themis [were born]: Horae." -Hyginus Pref

"The names of the Horae, daughters of Jove [Zeus], son of Saturn [Kronos], and Themis, daughter Titanidis, are these: Auxo, Eunomia (Order), Pherusa, Carpo (Fruit), Dice (Justice), Euporia, Irene (Peace), Orthosie, Thallo.” –Hyginus Fabulae 183

Sources:

Hesiod, Theogony - Greek Epic C8th-7th BC
Pindar, Odes - Greek Lyric C5th BC
Pindar, Fragments - Greek Lyric C5th BC
Apollodorus, The Library - Greek Mythography C2nd BC
Pausanias, Guide to Greece - Greek Geography C2nd AD
Hyginus, Fabulae - Latin Mythography C2nd AD

ZEUS' third consort was the Okeanis and Titan-Goddess EURYNOME. According to some, she was the former Queen of Heaven, wife of the elder Titan Ophion.

Offspring of Zeus and Eurynome

(1) THE KHARITES (Theogony 907, Apollodorus 1.13, Callimachus Aetia Frag 6, Hyginus Pref)
(2) ASOPOS (Apollodorus 1.156)

"And [after Zeus consorted with Themis] Eurynome, the daughter of Okeanos, beautiful in form, bare him [Zeus] three fair-cheeked Kharites (Graces), Aglaia, and Euphrosyne, and lovely Thaleia, from whose eyes as they glanced flowed love that unnerves the limbs: and beautiful is their glance beneath their brows." -Theogony 90

"And by Okeanos' daughter Eurynome he [Zeus] had the Kharites, named Aglaia, Euphrosyne, and Thaleia." -Apollodorus 1.13

"The Asopos river was born of Okeanos and Tethys .... [but] others say of Zeus and Eurynome." -Apollodorus 3.156

“Others said that the Titenia (Titaness) Eurynome gave birth to the Kharites.” –Callimachus Aetia Frag 6

"From Jove [Zeus] and Eurynome [were born]: Gratiae (Graces)." -Hyginus Pref

Sources:

Hesiod, Theogony - Greek Epic C8th-7th BC
Apollodorus, The Library - Greek Mythography C2nd BC
Callimachus, Fragments - Greek C3rd BC
Hyginus, Fabulae - Latin Mythography C2nd AD
.

The fifth goddess to be loved by ZEUS was the Titaness MNEMOSYNE. She was seduced by Zeus on the Pierian slopes of Mt Olympos in the guise of a shepherd. After laying with her for nine nights she conceived and bore him nine daughters - the Mousai, goddesses of music.

Offspring of Zeus and Mnemosyne

THE MOUSAI (Theogony 53, Homeric Hymn IV, Orphic Hymn 76 & 77, Pindar Isthmian 6, Terpander Frag 4, Alcman Frag 8, Apollodorus 1.13, Antoninus Liberalis 9, Hyginus Pref, De Natura Deorum 3.21)

"Them [the Mousai] in Pieria did Mnemosyne, who reigns over the hills of Eleuther, bear of union with the father, the son of Kronos [Zeus], a forgetting of ills and a rest from sorrow. For nine nights did wise Zeus lie with her, entering her holy bed remote from the immortals. And when a year was passed and the seasons came round as the months waned, and many days were accomplished, she bare nine daughters, all of one mind, whose hearts are set upon song and their spirit free from care, a little way from the topmost peak of snowy Olympus." -Theogony 53

"And again, he [Zeus, after lying with Demeter] loved Mnemosyne with the beautiful hair: and of her the nine gold-crowned Moisai (Muses) were born." -Theogony 915-917

“To Mnemosyne (Memory) ... The consort I invoke of Zeus divine; source of the holy, sweetly speaking Mousai nine.” –Orphic Hymn 77 to Mnemosyne

“The deep-bosomed daughters of golden-robed Mnamosyne.” –Pindar Isthmian 6 ep3

“Blessed Mosai, whom Mnamosyna (Memory) bore to Zeus having lain with him.” -Greek Lyric II Alcman Frag 8

"[By] Mnemosyne [Zeus fathered] the Mousai, the eldest of whom was Kalliope, followed by Kleio, Melpomene, Euterpe, Erato, Terpsikhore, Ourania, Thaleia, and Polymnia." -Apollodorus 1.13

“Zeus made love to Mnemosyne in Pieria and became father of the Mousai.” –Antoninus Liberalis 9

"From Jove [Zeus] and Moneta [Mnemosyne] [were born]: Musae." -Hyginus Preface

"As a shepherd [Zeus] snared Mnemosyne." -Metamorphoses 6.114

“Mnemosyne in the old time before us; how he [Zeus] lay by her side for nine whole nights, with eyes ever wakeful, full of passion for many children in that unresting bridal. Another allvanquishing god, winged like Hypnos (Sleep), little Eros (Love), conquered Kronides with a tiny dart.” –Dionysiaca 31.168

Sources:

The sixth love of ZEUS was the Titaness LETO. Shortly after their affair Zeus married Hera. The goddess tormented the pregnant Leto, driving her from land to land, wroth that Leto was destined to bear the first born son of Zeus.

Offspring of Zeus and Leto

APOLLON, ARTEMIS (Theogony 918, Works & Days 770f, Iliad 1.9 & 21.495, Odyssey 6.100 & 11.318, Homeric Hymn XXVII to Artemis, Orphic Hymn 35, Pindar Nemean 6 & 8, Pindar Processional Song on Delos, Callimachus Hymn to Artemis & Hymn to Delos, Apollodorus 1.21 & 3.46, Pausanias 8.9.1 & 8.53.1. Hyginus Fab 9 & 140, et al)

"And Leto was joined in love with Zeus who holds the aegis, and bare Apollon and Artemis delighting in arrows, children lovely above all the sons of Heaven." -Theogony 918

For the story of the Persecution of Leto by Hera and the Birth of Apollon and Artemis see LETO

Sources:

Hesiod, Theogony - Greek Epic C8th-7th BC

ZEUS attempted to seduce the Titaness ASTERIA around the same time as he sister Leto. Asteria, however, fled from the embraces of the god by transforming herself into a quail and leaping from the heights of heaven into the sea where she became the floating island of Delos. Her sister Leto later came to the island seeking refuge from Hera when she was pregnant by Zeus with the twins Apollon and Artemis.

Offspring of Zeus and Asteria

None (Zeus failed in his attempt to seduce her)

"Of the daughters of [the Titan] Koios, Asteria in the form of a quail threw herself into the sea while fleeing a sexual union with Zeus. A polis was originally named Asteria after her: later on it became Delos. The other daughter Leto had relations with Zeus, for which she was hounded by Hera all over the earth. She finally reached Delos and gave birth to Artemis, who thereupon helped her deliver Apollon." -Apollodorus 1.21

“Though Jove [Zeus] loved Asterie, daughter of Titan [Koios], she scorned him. Therefore she was transformed in to the bird ortyks, which we call a quail, and he cast her into the sea. From her an island sprang up, which was named Ortygia. This was floating. Later Latona [Leto] was borne there at Jove’s command by the wind Aquilo [Boreas], at the time when the Python was pursuing her, and there, clinging to an olive, she gave birth to Apollo and Diana [Artemis]. This island later was called Delos.” –Hyginus Fabulae 53

"Asterie in the struggling eagle’s clutch [Zeus' animal disguise]." -Metamorphoses 6.108

Sources:

THE ATLANTES were the inhabitants of the lost continent of Atlantis which was sunk beneath the sea by Zeus as punishment for the lack of morality.

Parents of Euenor First King of Atlantis

None, he was sprung self-formed from the Earth (Plato Critias 113d)

Parents of the Ten Kings of Atlantis

POSEIDON & KLEITO (daughter of Euenor and Leukippe) (Plato Critias 113d)

Names of the Ten King of Atlantis

ATLAS, GADEIROS, AMPHERES, EUAIMON, MNESEOS, AUTOKHTHON, ELASIPPOS, MESTOR, AZAES, DIAPREPRES (Plato Critias 114b)

"Plato, ambitious to elaborate and adorn the subject of the lost Atlantis, as if it were the soil of a fair estate unoccupied, but appropriately his by virtue of some kinship with Solon, began the work by laying out great porches, enclosures, and courtyards, such as no story, tale, or poesy ever had before. But he was late in beginning, and ended his life before his work. Therefore the greater our delight in what he actually wrote, the greater is our distress in view of what he left undone. For as the Olympieion in the city of Athens, so the tale of the lost Atlantis in the wisdom of Plato is the only one among many beautiful works to remain unfinished." -Plutarch Solon 32.1

“Those who live on the shores of Okeanos tell a fable of how the ancient kings of Atlantis, sprung from the seed of Poseidon, wore upon their head the bands from the male Ram-fish, as an emblem of their authority, while their wives, the queens, wore the curls of the females as a proof of theirs.” –Aelian On Animals 15.2

"There is reported to be another island off [African] Mount Atlas [in the Atlantic], itself also called Atlantis, from which a two days’ voyage along the coast reaches the desert district in the neighbourhood of the Western Aethiopes and the cape mentioned above as the Horn of the West, the point at which the coastline begins to curve westward in the direction of the Atlantic." -Pliny Natural History 6.199

Sources:

Plato, Critias - Greek Philosophy C4th BC
Plutarch, Lives - Greek Historian C1st-2nd AD
Aelian, On Animals - Greek Natural History C2nd - C3rd AD
Pliny the Elder, Natural History - Latin Natural History C1st AD

Atlantis was a legendary ancient culture and island, whose existence or location have never been confirmed. It was originally mentioned by the classical Greek philosopher Plato, who said that it was destroyed by a natural disaster (possibly an earthquake or tsunami) about 9,000 years before his own time.

Accounts
Plato's Timaeus and Critias are the only written mentions of Atlantis, in which he gives some information on the size and location of the Atlantis island. Atlantis might be a work of pure fiction, however, possibly intended to illustrate Plato's philosophy on the ideal government. Plato's account purports to be based on a visit to Egypt by the Athenian lawgiver Solon. Sonchis, priest of Thebes, translated it into Greek for Solon.

Aristotle wrote of a large island in the Atlantic that the Carthaginians knew as Antilia. Proclus, the commentator of "Timaeus" mentions that Marcellus, relying on ancient historians, stated in his Aethiopiaka that in the Outer Ocean (the Atlantic) there were seven small islands dedicated to Persephone, and three large ones; one of these, comprising 1,000 stadia in length, was dedicated to Poseidon. Proclus tells us that Crantor reported that he, too, had seen the columns on which the story of Atlantis was preserved as reported by Plato: the Sais priest showed him its history in hieroglyph characters. Some other writers called it Poseidonis after Poseidon. Plutarch mentions Saturnia or Ogygia about five days' sail to the west of Britain. He added that westwards from that island, there were the three islands of Cronus, to where proud and warlike men used to come from the continent beyond the islands, in order to offer sacrifice to the gods of the ocean.

An important Greek festival of Pallas Athene, the Panathenaea was dated from the days of king Theseus. It consisted of a solemn procession to the Acropolis in which a peplos was carried to the goddess, for she had once saved the city, gaining victory over the nation of Poseidon, that is, the Atlanteans. As Lewis Spence comments, this cult was in existence already 125 years before Plato, which means that the story could not be invented by him. The historian Ammianus Marcellinus wrote that "the intelligentsia of Alexandria considered the destruction of Atlantis an historical fact, described a class of earthquakes that suddenly, by a violent motion, opened up huge mouths and so swallowed up portions of the earth, as once in the Atlantic Ocean a large island was swallowed up. Diodorus Siculus recorded that the Atlanteans did not know the fruits of Ceres. In fact, cereals were unknown to American Indians. Pausanias called this island "Satyrides," referring to the Atlantes and those who profess to know the measurements of the earth. He states that far west of the Ocean there lies a group of islands whose inhabitants are red-skinned and whose hair is like that of the horse. (Christopher Columbus described the Indians similarly.)

A fragmentary work of Theophrastus of Lesbos tells about the colonies of Atlantis in the sea. Hesiod wrote that the garden of the Hesperides was on an island in the sea where the sun sets. Pliny the Elder recorded that this land was 12,000 km distant from Cádiz, and Uba, a Numidian king intended to establish a stock farm of purple Murex there. Diodorus declares that the ancient Phoenicians and Etruscans knew America, the enormous island outside the Pillars of Heracles. He describes it as the climate is very mild, fruits and vegetables grow ripe throughout the year. There are huge mountains covered with large forests, and wide, irrigable plains with navigable rivers. Scylax of Caryanda gives similar account.

Marcellus claims that the survivors of the sinking Atlantis migrated to Western Europe. Timagenes tells almost the same, citing the Druids of Gaul as his sources. He tries to classify the Gallic tribes according to their origins and tells of one of these claiming that they were colonists who came there from a remote island. Theopompus of Chios, a Greek historian called this land beyond the ocean as "Meropis". The dialogue between King Midas and the wise Silenus mentions the Meropids, the first men with huge cities of gold and silver. Silenus knows that besides the well-known portions of the world there is another, unknown, of incredible immensity, where immeasurably vast blooming meadows and pastures feed herds of various, huge and mighty beasts. Claudius Aelianus cites Theopompus, knowing of the existence of the huge island out in the Atlantic as a continuing tradition among the Phoenicians or Carthaginians of Cádiz. Perhaps the Byzantine friar Cosmas Indicopleustes understood Plato better than the ancient and modern "Aristotelians", says Merezhkovsky. In his Topographia Christiana he included a chart of the terrestrial globe: it showed an inner sphere, a compact mainland surrounded by sea, having no visible support and being suspended, as it were, in the air; and this was surrounded by an outer sphere, with the inscription, "The earth beyond the Ocean, where men lived before the Flood."

In the mid-6th century, the Byzantine writer Jordanes, who was no navigator himself, simply repeated common folklore of the eastern end of the Mediterranean when he said

"This same Ocean has in its western region certain islands known to almost everyone by reason of the great number of those that journey to and fro. And there are two not far from the neighborhood of the Strait of Gades, one the Blessed Isle and another called the Fortunate. Although some reckon as islands of Ocean the twin promontories of Galicia and Lusitania, where are still to be seen the Temple of Hercules on one and Scipio's Monument on the other, yet since they are joined to the extremity of the Galician country, they belong rather to the great land of Europe than to the islands of Ocean." —Jordanes, Getica, chapter 1:4.
Recent esoteric writers such as Helena Blavatsky, Edgar Cayce, and Jane Roberts/Seth proposed that Atlantis was an ancient, now-submerged, highly-evolved civilization. The metaphysical significance being that it was a land from which many of us continue to reincarnate, with Cayce adding that the Atlanteans also had ships and aircraft powered by a mysterious form of energy crystal.

With rare exceptions, such as Francis Bacon's book The New Atlantis, interest in Atlantis then languished for 2,200 years until the 1882 publication of Atlantis: the Antediluvian World by Minnesota politician and sometime crankish writer Ignatius Donnelly. Donnelly took Plato's account of Atlantis seriously and attempted to establish that all known ancient civilizations were descended from its high-neolithic culture.

Location Hypotheses

There have been dozens—perhaps hundreds—of locations proposed for Atlantis. Some are more-or-less serious attempts at legitimate scholarly or archaeological works; others have been made by psychic or other pseudoscientific means.

In the original Superman universe, both Aquaman and Lori Lemaris were said to have come from a sunken Atlantis, in Lori Lemaris's case, her people surviving by becoming mermaids and mermen. In the Marvel Universe, the people live in a similar manner, as blue-skinned water breathers with Prince Namor the Sub-Mariner as their ruler.

Recent underwater discoveries off the west coast of Cuba have led some to speculate on an Atlantean connection. However, even before these discoveries were announced, author Andrew Collins had explored the Cuba connection in a book titled "Gateway to Atlantis." Collins supports his hypothesis with a great deal of indirect but compelling historical and geographical evidence. He finally suggests present-day Isle of Youth and the shallow sea bottom that surrounds it as a possible location for Atlantis.

In the book Celestial Matters, the Hellenistic civilization calls Amerindians "Atlanteans".

In the role-playing game Rifts, Atlantis is a continent in the Atlantic west of the Caribbean that rises back out of the sea in the far future. Besides the fairylike Atlanteans, Rifts Atlantis is peopled by alien colonists called the Splugorth, who enslave humans for sale on interdimensional markets.

Atlantis was also the subject of the PC-based Adventure game, Indiana Jones and The Fate of Atlantis, published by LucasArts. In the game, Indiana races the Nazis to find Atlantis and to stop them from discovering the secrets of orichalcum.

In Music
Atlantis has inspired an instrumental by The Shadows, a song by Donovan and concept albums by Dutch band Earth and Fire and English battle metal band Bal-Sagoth.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Phantom islands are islands that are believed to exist and appear on maps for a period of time (sometimes centuries), and they are removed after they are proven not to exist (or the general population stops believing that they exist).

Some phantom islands arose through the mislocation of actual islands: for instance, Pepys Island was actually a misidentification of the Falkland Islands. Others appear to have always been mythical, while a few may have been actual islands or sand banks which are no longer above water.

Antillia (The Island of the Seven Cities)
Atlantis
Bra
Brazil (mythical island) (Hy-Brazil)
St Brendan's Island
Buss Island
Cockaigne, the "land of cakes."
Isle of Demons
Dougherty
Drogeo
Estotiland
Flyaway Islands
Frisland
Groclant
Hunter Island
Icaria
The Lowland Hundred
Isle of Mam
Marcy's Island
Mayda
Morrell Island and Byers Island, west of Hawaii
Pepys Island
Île Philippaux
Podesta
Rupes Nigra
Swain's Island
Symplegades
Sarah Ann
Taprobana
Tyno Helig
Related subject: Islands that some think or thought used to exist.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Apollo is a god in Greek and Roman mythology, the son of Zeus and Leto, and the twin of Artemis (goddess of the hunt). In later times he became in part confused or equated with Helios, god of the sun, and his sister similarly equated with Selene, goddess of the moon in religious contexts. But Apollo and Helios/Sol remained quite separate beings in literary/mythological texts. In Etruscan mythology, he was known as Aplu.

Worship

Temple of Apollo at Delphi.Apollo was considered to have dominion over the plague, light, healing, colonists, medicine, archery, poetry, prophecy, dance, reason, intellectualism and as the patron defender of herds and flocks. Apollo had a famous oracle in Crete and other notable ones in Clarus and Branchidae. As the god of religious healing, Apollo purified those persons guilty of murder or other grievous sins.

Apollo was known as the leader of the Muses ("musagetes") and director of their choir. His attributes included: swans, wolves, dolphins, bows and arrows, a laurel crown, the cithara (or lyre) and plectrum. The sacrificial tripod is another attribute, representative of his prophetic powers. The Pythian Games were held in his honor every four years at Delphi. Paeans were the name of hymns sung to Apollo.

As god of colonization, Apollo gave guidance on colonies, especially during the height of colonization, 750-550 BC. He helped Cretan or Arcadian colonists found the city of Troy.

Apollo popularly (e.g., in literary criticism) represents harmony, order, and reason - characteristics contrasted by those of Dionysus, god of wine, who popularly represents emotion and chaos. The contrast between the roles of these gods is reflected in the adjectives Apollonian and Dionysian. However, Greeks thought of the two qualities as complementary: the two gods are brothers, and when Apollo at winter left for Hyperborea would leave the Delphi Oracle to Dionysus.

Together with Athena, Apollo (under the name Phevos) is designated as a mascot of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.

Apollo in art

In art, Apollo was usually depicted as a handsome young man, often with a lyre or bow in hand.

Appellations
Epithets applied to Apollo included:

Phoebus ("shining one"), for Apollo in the context of the god of light
Smintheus ("mouse-catcher") and Parnopius ("grasshopper"), as god of the plague and defender against rats and locusts.
Delphinios ("dolphin"), for association with dolphins and also the source of the place-name Delphi.
Archegetes, ("director of the foundation") for colonies.
Musagetes ("leader of the muses").
Pythios ("Pythian") at Delphi
Apotropaeus ("he who averts evil")
Nymphegetes ("nymph-leader")
Lukeios ("wolfish") and
Nomios ("wandering"), as the pastoral shepherd-god
Klarios from Doric klaros "allotment of land", for his supervision over cities and colonies.
Kynthios was another epiphet, stemming from his birth on Mt. Cynthus
Loxias ("the obscure"), as Apollo a god of prophecy specifically.

Birth
When Hera discovered that Leto was pregnant and that Hera's husband, Zeus, was the father, she banned Leto from giving birth on "terra-firma", or the mainland, or any island at sea. She found the floating island of Delos, which was neither mainland nor a real island, and gave birth there. The island was surrounded by swans. As a gesture of gratitude, Delos was secured with four pillars. The island later became sacred to Apollo. Alternatively, Hera kidnapped Ilithyia, the goddess of childbirth, to prevent Leto from going into labor. The other gods forced Hera to let her go. Either way, Artemis was born first and then assisted with the birth of Apollo. Another version states that Artemis was born one day before Apollo, on the island of Ortygia and that she helped Leto cross the sea to Delos the next day to give birth to Apollo.

Youth
As a young man, Apollo killed the vicious dragon Python, which lived in Delphi beside the Castalian Spring, according to some because Python had attempted to rape Leto while she was pregnant with Apollo and Artemis. This was the spring which emitted vapors that caused the Oracle at Delphi to give her prophesies. Apollo killed Python but had to be punished for it, since Python was a child of Gaia.

Apollo and Admetus
As punishment, Apollo was banned from Olympus for nine years. During this time he served as shepherd or cowherd for King Admetus of Pherae in Thessaly. Since Admetus was good to Apollo, the god promised him that when time came for King Admetus to die, another would be allowed to take his place instead. Admetus then fell in love with Alcestis. Her father, though, King Pelias would only give permission if Admetus rode a chariot pulled by lions and boars and other wild animals. Apollo helped Admetus accomplish this, and the pair wed. When time came for Admetus to die, Alcestis agreed to die for him. Heracles intervened and both of the pair were allowed to live.

When he returned after the nine years, Apollo came disguised as a dolphin and brought Cretan priests to help found his cult in Delphi. He also blessed the priestess of the Oracle at Delphi, making it one of the most famous and accurate oracles in Greece. He had other oracles, including Clarus and Branchidae.

Apollo During the Trojan War
Apollo shot arrows infected with the plague into the Greek encampment during the Trojan War.

When Diomedes injured Aeneas during the Trojan War, Apollo rescued him. First, Aphrodite tried to rescue Aeneas but Diomedes injured her as well. Aeneas was then enveloped in a cloud by Apollo, who took him to Pergamos, a sacred spot in Troy. Artemis healed Aeneas there.

Niobe
A Queen of Thebes and wife of Amphion, Niobe boasted of her superiority to Leto because she had fourteen children (Niobids), seven male and seven female, while Leto had only two. Apollo killed her sons as they practiced athletics, with the last begging for his life and Artemis her daughters. Apollo and Artemis used poisoned arrows to kill them, though according to some versions a number of the Niobids were spared (Chloris, usually). Amphion, at the sight of his dead sons, either killed himself or was killed by Apollo after swearing revenge. A devastated Niobe fled to Mt. Siplyon in Asia Minor and turned into stone as she wept, or committed suicide. Her tears formed the river Achelous. Zeus had turned all the people of Thebes to stone and so no one buried the Niobids until the ninth day after their death, when the gods themselves entombed them.

Apollo's romantic life and children

Heterosexual relationships

Daphne
Apollo chased the nymph Daphne, daughter of Ladon, who had scorned him. His infatuation was caused by an arrow from Eros, who was jealous because Apollo had made fun of his archery skills. Eros also claimed to be irritated by Apollo's singing. Daphne prayed to the river god Peneus to help her and he changed her into a laurel tree, which became sacred to Apollo.

Leucothea
Apollo had an affair with a mortal princess named Leucothea, daughter of Orchamus and sister of Clytia. Leucothea loved Apollo who disguised himself as Leucothea's mother to gain entrance to her chambers. Clytia, jealous of her sister because she wanted Apollo for herself, told Orchamus the truth, betraying her sister's trust and confidence in her. Enraged, Orchamus ordered Leucothea to be buried alive. Apollo refused to forgive Clytia for betraying his beloved, and a grieving Clytia wilted and slowly died. Apollo changed her into an incense plant, either heliotrope or sunflower, which follows the sun every day.

Marpessa
Marpessa was kidnapped by Idas but loved by Apollo as well. Zeus made her choose between them.

Castalia
Castalia was a nymph whom Apollo loved. She fled from him and dived into the spring at Delphi, at the base of Mt. Parnassos, which was then named after her. Water from this spring was sacred; it was used to clean the Delphian temples and inspire poets.

Cyrene/Aristaeus
By Cyrene, Apollo had a son named Aristaeus, who became the patron god of cattle, fruit trees, hunting, husbandry and bee-keeping. He was also a culture-hero and taught humanity dairy skills and the use of nets and traps in hunting, as well as how to cultivate olives.

Hecuba
With Hecuba, wife of King Priam of Troy, Apollo had a son named Troilius. An oracle prophesied that Troy would not be defeated as long as Troilius reached the age of twenty alive. He and his sister, Polyxena were ambushed and killed by Achilles.

Cassandra
Apollo also fell in love with Cassandra, daughter of Hecuba and Priam, and Troilius' half-sister. He promised Cassandra the gift of prophecy to seduce her, but she rejected him afterwards. Enraged, Apollo cursed her with the ability to know the future but the curse that no one would ever believe her.

Coronis
Coronis, daughter of Phlegyas, King of the Lapiths, was another of Apollo's liasons. Pregnant with Asclepius, Coronis fell in love with Ischys, son of Elatus. A crow informed Apollo of the affair and he sent his sister, Artemis, to kill Coronis. Apollo rescued the baby though and gave it to the centaur Chiron to raise. Phlegyas was irate and torched the Apollonian temple at Delphi and Apollo then killed him.

Homosexual relationships
Apollo, the eternal beardless youth himself, had the most male lovers of all the Greek gods, as could be expected from a god who was god of the palestra, the athletic gathering place for youth, who all competed in the nude. Many of Apollo's young beloveds died "accidentally", a reflection on the function of these myths as part of rites of passage, in which the youth died in order to be reborn as an adult.

Hyacinth
Hyacinth was one of his male lovers. Hyacinth was a Spartan prince, very handsome and athletic. The pair were practicing throwing the discus when Hyacinth was struck by one, blown off course by Zephyrus, who was jealous of Apollo and loved Hyacinth as well. When Hyacinth died, Apollo created the flower from his blood.

Acantha
One of his other liasions was with Acantha, the spirit of the acanthus tree. Upon his death, he was transformed into a sun-loving herb by Apollo, and his bereaved sister, Acanthis, was turned into a thistle finch by the other gods.

Cyparissus
Another male lover was Cyparissus, a descendant of Heracles. Apollo gave the boy a tame deer as a companion but Cyparissus accidentally killed it with a javelin as it lay asleep in the undergrowth. Cyparissus asked Apollo to let his tears fall forever. Apollo turned the sad boy into a cypress tree, which was said to be a sad tree because the sap forms droplets like tears on the trunk.

Apollo and the Birth of Hermes
Hermes was born on Mt. Cyllene in Arcadia. The story is told in the Hymn to Hermes, dubiously attributed to Homer. His mother, Maia, had been secretly impregnated by Zeus, in a secret affair. Maia wrapped the infant in blankets but Hermes escaped while she was asleep. Hermes ran to Thessaly, where Apollo was grazing his cattle. The infant Hermes stole a number of his cows and took them to a cave in the woods near Pylos, covering their tracks. In the cave, he found a tortoise and killed it, then removed the insides. He used one of the cow's intestines and the tortoise shell and made the first lyre. Apollo complained to Maia that her son had stolen his cattle, but Hermes had already replaced himself in the blankets she had wrapped him in, so Maia refused to believe Apollo's claim. Zeus intervened and claimed to have seen the events, and siding with Apollo. Hermes then began to play music on the lyre he had invented. Apollo, a god of music, fell in love with the instrument and offered to allow exchange the cattle for the lyre. Hence, Apollo became a master of the lyre and Hermes invented a kind of pipes-instrument called a syrinx.

Later, Apollo exchanged a caduceus for a syrinx from Hermes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo

Musical contests

Pan

Once Pan had the audacity to compare his music with that of Apollo, and to challenge Apollo, the god of the lyre, to a trial of skill. Tmolus, the mountain-god, was chosen to umpire. Pan blew on his pipes, and with his rustic melody gave great satisfaction to himself and his faithful follower, Midas, who happened to be present. Then Apollo struck the strings of his lyre. Tmolus at once awarded the victory to Apollo, and all but Midas agreed with the judgment. He dissented, and questioned the justice of the award. Apollo would not suffer such a depraved pair of ears any longer, and caused them to become the ears of a donkey.

Marsyas
Marsyas was a satyr who challenged Apollo to a contest of music. He had found an aulos on the ground, tossed away after being invented by Athena because it made her cheeks puffy. Marsyas lost and was flayed alive in a cave near Calaenae in Phrygia for his hubris to challenge a god. His blood turned into the river Marsyas.

Apollo in modern films, TV, etc.
Apollo appeared in an episode of Star Trek, in which he ruled over his own planet and tried to seduce an Enterprise crew member.
Apollo appeared in K.A. Applegate's book series, Everworld

Miscellaneous
When Zeus killed Asclepius for raising the dead and violating the natural order of things, Apollo killed the Cyclopes in response. They had fashioned Zeus' thunderbolts, which he used to kill Apollo's son, Asclepius. Apollo also had a lyre-playing contest with Cinyras, his son, who committed suicide when he lost.

In the Odyssey, Odysseus and his surviving crew landed on an island sacred to Apollo, where he kept sacred cattle. Though Odysseus warned his men not to (as Tiresias had told him), they killed and ate some of the cattle and Apollo destroyed the ship and all the men save Odysseus.

Apollo killed the Aloadae when they attempted to storm Mt. Olympus.

Apollo gave the order, through the Oracle at Delphi, for Orestes to kill his mother, Clytemnestra, and her lover, Aegisthus. Orestes was punished fiercely by the Erinyes for this crime.

It was also said that Apollo rode on the back of a swan to the land of the Hyperboreans during the winter months.

Apollo turned Cephissus into a sea monster.

Consorts/Children

Male Lovers
Acantha
Cyparissus
Hyacinth

Female Lovers
Arsinoe
Asclepius
Cassandra
Calliope
Linus
Orpheus
Chione
Philammon
Coronis
Asclepius
Cyrene
Aristaeus
Daphne
Dryope
Amphissus
Hecuba
Troilius
Polyxena
Leucothea
Manto
Mopsus
Psamathe
Linus
Rhoeo
Anius
Terpsichore
Linus
Unknown Mother
Cinyras
Cycnus
Phemonoe
Urania
Linus

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Temple of Apollo at Delphi.Delphi is an archaeological site and a modern town in Greece. In ancient times it was the site of the Delphic Oracle, dedicated to the god Apollo. Delphi was revered throughout the Greek world as the omphalos, the centre of the universe.

Delphi is located in a plateau on the side of Mt. Parnassus. This semicircular spur is known as Phaedriades; it overlooks the Pleistos Valley. Southwest of Delphi, about 15 km away, is the harbor-city of Kirrha on the Corinthian Gulf.

The name "Delphi" probably stems from Delphinios, an epithet for Apollo stemming from his connection to dolphins. According to legend, Apollo came to Delphi with Cretan priests on the backs of dolphins. Another legend held that Apollo walked to Delphi from the north and stopped at Tempe, a city in Thessaly to pick laurel, a plant sacred to him. In commemoration of this legend, the winners at the Pythian Games received a laurel wreath picked in Tempe.

Delphi was the site of a major temple to Phoebus Apollo, as well as the Pythian Games and a famous oracle.

As a young man, Apollo killed the vicious dragon Python, which lived in Delphi beside the Castalian Spring, according to some because Python had attempted to rape Leto while she was pregnant with Apollo and Artemis. This was the spring which emitted vapors that caused the Oracle at Delphi to give her prophesies. Apollo killed Python but had to be punished for it, since Python was a child of Gaia. The shrine dedicated to Apollo was probably originally dedicated to Gaia and then Poseidon. The oracle at that time predicted the future based on the lapping water and leaves rustling in the trees.

The first oracle at Delphi was commonly known as Sibyl, though her name was Herophile. She sang her predictions, which she received from Gaia. Later, "Sibyl" became a title given to whichever priestess manned the oracle at the time. The Sibyl sat on the Sibylline Rock, breathing in vapors from the ground and gaining her often puzzling predictions from that. Pausanias claimed that the Sibyl was "born between man and goddess, daughter of sea monsters and an immortal nymph". Others said she was sister or daughter to Apollo. Still others claimed the Sibyll received her powers from Gaia originally, who passed the oracle to Themis, who passed it to Phoebe.

This oracle exerted considerable influence across the country, and was consulted before all major undertakings: wars, the founding of colonies, and so forth. She also was respected by the semi-Hellenic countries around the Greek world, such as Macedonia, Lydia, Caria, and even Egypt. Croesus of Lydia consulted Delphi before attacking Persia, and according to Herodotus received the answer "if you do, you will destroy a great empire." Croesus found the response favorable and attacked, and was utterly overthrown (resulting, of course, in the destruction of his own empire).

The oracle is also said to have proclaimed Socrates the wisest man in Greece, to which Socrates said that if so, this was because he alone was aware of his own ignorance. This claim is related to one of the most famous mottos of Delphi, which Socrates said he learned there, Gnothi Seauton (Ãíùèé Óåáõôïí): "know thyself". Another famous motto of Delphi is Meden Agan (Ìçäåí Áãáí ): "nothing in excess".

In the 3rd century A.D., the oracle (perhaps bribed) declared that the god would no longer speak there.

The Twelve Gods of Olympus
Aphrodite
Apollo
Arês
Artemis
Athena
Dêmêtêr
Hephaestus (Hepháistos)
Hêra
Hermês
Hestia (Hestia eventually relinquished her spot to Dionysus).
Poseidon
Zeus
[edit]
Other deities
Achelois
Aeolus (Aiolos)
Alectrona
Amphitrite
Antheia
Aristaeus
Asclepius
Ate
Attis
Bia
Boreas
Brizo
Caerus
Calypso
Ceto
Charon
Circe (Kirkê)
Cybele
Dionysus (Dionysos) or Bacchus
Dioscuri
Castor
Polydeuces
Doris
Efreisone
Eileithyia
Elpis
Enyalius
Enyo
Eos
Esosphorus
The Erinyes, or "Furies"
Eris
Eros
Eurus (Euros)
Glaucus
Hades
Hêbê
Hecate
Hêlios
Heracles
Hespera
Hybris
Hygeia
Hypnos
Iris
Moira
The three Moirae, or "Fates":
Clotho
Lachesis
Atropos
Mania
Metis
Momos
Mormo
Morpheus (Morpheos)
Muses
Calliope
Clio
Erato
Euterpe
Melpomene
Polyhymnia
Terpsichore
Thalia
Urania
Nemesis
Nereus
Nike
Notus
Pan
Perséphonê
Pleiades
Alcyone
Asterope
Celaeno
Electra
Maia
Merope
Taygete
Phorcys
Proteus (Proteos)
Selene
Thanatos
Thetis
Triton
Zephyrus (Zephyrus)

Primeval gods
Aether
Chaos
Erebus
Eros
Gaia
Hemera
Nyx
Pontus
Tartarus (Tartaros)
Uranus (Ouranos)

Titans
Asteria
Astraeus
Atlas
Clymene
Coeus
Crius
Cronus (Kronos)
Dione
Epimetheus (Epithemeos)
Hyperion
Iapetus
Leto
Mnemosyne
Oceanus (Oceanos)
Phoebe
Prometheus (Prometheos)
Rhea
Tethys
Theia
Themis

The Hundred-Handed
Briareus (or Aegaeon)
Gyes
Cottus

Cyclopes
Arges
Brontes
Steropes

River Gods
Achelous
Acheron
Acis
Alpheus
Asopus

Nymphs
Adrasteia
Amphitrite (a Nereid)
Arethusa
Clytie
Crataeis
Daphne
Dryads
Echo
Eidyia
Hamadryads
Naiads
Nereids
Oreads

Giants
Agrius
Alcyoneus
Aloadae
Otus
Ephialtes
Antaeus
Argus
Enceladus