The Dark Side of Apollo | Greek Mythology Stories Explained
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Published 2023-11-04
Episode VII Of Keeping Up With The Greek Gods — The God of Light: Apollo Is Evil
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Notes:
Since this gets commented on a lot, allow me to clarify: The Greek Gods represent ideas or concepts, meaning that in the case of Apollo... sometimes the sun burns things. Sometimes illnesses take people's lives. Sometimes bad things simply happen, and the Greeks attributed that to the will of the gods. That means that whatever good they represent of whichever concept — they also represent the opposite. So, yes, them being evil comes with the territory. If you ask me, that doesn't make their actions any less evil. So if we say "but you can't look at it from today's point of view" — I think we can. It's fun to do that. We live today, and we are revisiting these gods from today's point of view, and the things they got up to.... they're hilarious. I am entertained by the Greek Gods' evil, and I hope you are too. Oh, and also:
Greek mythology is ancient — literally thousands of years old, so the material I am working with here has undergone many, many iterations. Every time I create one of these videos, I piece together the puzzle that is each god's and goddesses' tale. With how popular Apollo was, there are so many tales and so many versions to each tale — Roman and Greek — so bear that in mind. For the sake of this video — and all my videos — I try to streamline all of these tales and versions as much as possible and leave out some details that might make the videos less fun.
So... is this accurate and well researched? Absolutely. Is this the only interpretation or way of telling you about Apollo? No, this is just my way to tell the story.
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I get a lot of questions about my artwork and where it’s from or rather who draws it. Well the answer is that I create it — I don’t draw it. I use AI to create the artwork, using specific prompts, specific style influences from 18th and 19th century artists, and I spend about 6 hours per video just on the artwork. Each video has roughly double the artwork of what you actually see in the video, so a lot of it is unused. The good news here though is that you can get all that artwork on my Patreon — the artwork I do use, and the artwork I don’t use. Plus, by subscribing to my Patreon you are making a major contribution to Briefed and helping me to keep this channel going, because this is my full time job and the survival of the channel and quality of the videos greatly depends on said support. In return for supporting, you get more than the artwork though — you also get exclusive videos and producer credit, as well as access to a producer group that gets to vote on thumbnails, gets behind the scenes etc.
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Sources:
A lot of people ask me about my sources, and… to be honest, they are a mixed bag. One major source is my lifelong interest in storytelling and mythology. Another is the beautiful endless library that is the internet, and, third, I read the occasional book from time to time, which I’m happy to recommend to you, but also… I’m planning to write my own book on mythology, so, in due time it will be…:
Source? Me. Yay.
Music:
- Zachariah Hickman - Argonne
- Wahneta Meixsell - Gymnopedie No. 3
- Beethoven - Moonlight Sonata (by Beethoven)
- Asher Fulero - Nocturne
- Asher Fulero - Surrender
- Cooper Cannell - Bach Cello Suite No. 1, G Major, Prelude
- Asher Fulero - Ceremonial Library
- Cooper Cannell - Lullaby
- Esther Abrami - No.1 A Minor Waltz
All Comments (21)
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You missed a major part of Apollo and Daphne's story. Apollo had angered Eros (Cupid) and so to get back at Apollo, Eros saw his affection for the water nymph and shot her with one of his lead arrows. That is what turned Daphne against Apollo, instead of falling in love with the first person she saw, she was horrified by Apollo's appearance and ran screaming for her father to save her.
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So, here's the fun part. Apollo's association and connection with the sun is quite late in Greek mythology. In earlier traditions (Iliad) he is literally antagonistic and destructive, at the same time he is a healer. That's because he was the God of the Wild Hunt (Odin and Fionn Mac Cumhaill are too). This type of God is known for his violent nature, an impersonal god for everyone.
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The brightest lights cast the darkest shadows
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Zeus always finds a new way to ruin/end someone's life 😂
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I think Apollo is one of the very few not afraid to square up to Zeus. Can’t wait for the Artemis video!!!
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The version of Cassandra I heard was that Hera added the curse because she was on the Greek's side and feared that the Trojans would win because of Cassandra. Since no one can take back a boon from a god (not even another god) she put a caveat on it to nullify it.
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What people don't get about greek pantheom is that it reflex the people that worshiped them. They lived in a chaotic, capricious, and violent world. But the reason these characters are still relevant is because despite being gods they lived lives full of tragedy, conflict, and adversity. In this they validated said lifestyle, plus people are so focused on these stories they ignored the roles these gods played in everyday life. Zeus was the first god to break the chain of fratricide by sparing Kronos, and he didn't persecuted his sons either, as you pointed out. It is easy to be good now-a-days, people are in love with their own goodness despite enver paying any price for it. Let this sink in.
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so excited for when you do artemis, but at the same time kinda scared. i love her but i know i‘m not gonna be able to see her in the same way ever again after you shred into her as well 🙃 another amazing vid <3
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Apollo insulted Eros, Aphrodite's son, so the god cursed Apollo with sick passion for Daphne, but at the same time sick resentment from Daphne.
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Apollo was always ambiguous. He's both Apollo the Wolf slayer and Apollo the werewolf. Also the available stories about Apollo come from more than a thousand years of literary tradition. Just think of the differences between Merlin in the Vita Merlin and T.H.White's Merlin. The gods of most other traditions are either taken from near contemporary sources like the Loa or the Orishas. Or from far less mutable sources like the Shen or the Kami. Apollo represents transitional stages of Greek society from nomadic warrior tribes to the real, if flawed, democracies of the Greek city states.
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Apollo is such an interesting character
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"You gotta do something." Dog: "Bro, are you high?"
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I just binged this whole series and it's so cool. It's fascinating yet terrifying (and a little annoying) the lengths some gods go because they're bored, need therapy, and don't have a 9-5/regular job
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I was looking for Hades & Persephone story, and stumbled upon your videos. Great story telling and wonderful humorous take on otherwise quite disturbing things, however, they still don’t loose their importance! Love that! ♥️ Love these videos, keep up the good work! ♥️
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So we're adding "Grandson Killer" to the many titles owned by the all mighty Zues. Great video as usual bro👌
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Thank you for being so honest about these ancient people who are often praised and worshiped but don’t deserve it. I feel the same way about the Pharaohs, kings, queens and tribal chiefs. It’s sad, most of our “heroes” were narcissistic psychopaths. 😔 😊
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Cool channel man. I find mythology so interesting. It's like an insight into the people who made up these stories. Maybe even an insight into some basic human desires and needs.
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Hera didn't want to be part of the baby shower omg you caught me off guard and I couldn't stop laughing barely got thru the story.😂
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Hi Briefed, that video was a lot of fun to watch ! And I have a suggestion : read the Trials of Apollo series.
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Your videos are brilliant, good humour and good to learn new things from. Really hoping for a full run down if Egyptian mythology after these 🤞 keep up the good work dude!
