Apollo's Love Interests One of his most famous loves was the nymph Daphne, whom he pursued relentlessly until she was turned into a laurel tree to escape him. Apollo also had a love affair with the Muse Calliope, with whom he had a son, Linus. Apollo was also said to have had a relationship with the goddess Aphrodite.
The reason that Apollo and Aphrodite didn't have a good relationship because they were lacking the trust and purity of love. They both had multiple affairs, but they didn't let know the truth to their partner which made things more complicated in their relationship and as well as their life.
In the myth, Apollo falls madly in love with Daphne, a woman sworn to remain a virgin. Apollo hunts Daphne who refuses to accept his advances. Right at the moment he catches her, she turns into a laurel tree, a scene famously depicted in Bernini's Apollo and Daphne sculpture.
The most celebrated of his loves were the nymph Daphne, princess Koronis (Coronis), huntress Kyrene (Cyrene) and youth Hyakinthos (Hyacinthus). The stories of Apollo's lovers Daphne and Kyrene can be found on their own separate pages--see the Apollo pages sidebar.
In Greek mythology, Aphrodite was married to Hephaestus, the god of fire, blacksmiths and metalworking. Aphrodite was frequently unfaithful to him and had many lovers; in the Odyssey, she is caught in the act of adultery with Ares, the god of war.
Of Aphrodite's mortal lovers, the most important were the Trojan shepherd Anchises, by whom she became the mother of Aeneas, and the handsome youth Adonis (in origin a Semitic nature deity and the consort of Ishtar-Astarte), who was killed by a boar while hunting and was lamented by women at the festival of Adonia.
There are many stories about Apollo's many female lovers, he supposedly was the lover of all nine of the muses along with a collection of nymphs, princesses, queens, and beautiful young women. But Apollo didn't stop with the many many women he loved.
Cassandra was given the gift of prophecy, but was also cursed by the god Apollo so that her true prophecies would not be believed. Many versions of the myth relate that she incurred the god's wrath by refusing him sexual favours after promising herself to him in exchange for the power of prophecy.
Apollo grew jealous of Artemis's affection to Orion and some stories say that sent a scorpion that stung Orion in the heel. Others tell that Apollo bet that Artemis could not shoot a speck in the distance and when she did, she learned that the speck was actually Orion.
The story goes that one day, Apollo was throwing a discus with Hyacinth. Either through his own mistake or through the jealous intervention of Zephyrus, Apollo threw the discus and hit Hyacinthus in the head with it, killing him. Unwilling to let his lover die, Apollo made flowers grow from his spilled blood.
He was unlucky in love
Apollo had many lovers, both male, and female, but he never seemed to have any relationship last. For all his weakness for nymphs and beautiful mortals, very few were willing to receive his advances.
One of the most important and complex of the Greek gods, he is the son of Zeus and Leto, and the twin brother of Artemis, goddess of the hunt. Seen as the most beautiful god and the ideal of the kouros (ephebe, or a beardless, athletic youth). Apollo is known in Greek-influenced Etruscan mythology as Apulu.
One day Apollo saw Coronis and became enamoured of her. He lay with her in her home, and consequently she became pregnant.
HERMES The herald of the gods seduced Aphrodite with the help of his father Zeus. She bore him a son, the godling Hermaphroditos (and some say Eros). NERITES A young sea-god who was the very first love of Aphrodite.
Anchises was a young Trojan nobleman who tended to herds on Mount Ida. Zeus was angry at Aphrodite for making the gods, especially himself, fall in love with mortals and make fools of themselves pursuing them, so he caused Aphrodite to fall madly in love with Anchises.
Apollo had many love affairs, though most had unfortunate endings.
Apollo's first love was Daphne, daughter of the river Peneus. It was not blind chance that caused this, but the wicked anger of Cupid. One day the Delian god, Apollo, flushed with pride at his recent killing of the serpent Python, saw Cupid bending his bow, its string drawn tight. 'Saucy lad!'
Apollo liked cows…but he liked music more.
Although his sacred animals were the wolf, the raven and the dolphin, Apollo was also known as the god of cowherds and kept (bright red) sacred cows, the finest cattle in the world.
Nymphs were Apollo's weaknesses and he was considered unlucky in love. Apollo was involved in several relationships, but never got married. He was also one of the twelve Olympians. Apollo could be cruel, but he was known to be kind to his sister and mother.
Asclepius and Punishment
Asclepius is said to have been Apollo's favorite demigod child. Asclepius became even more skilled in medicine than his father Apollo, most likely because he devoted all of his time to it.
Hermes admitted he hid the cattle and agreed to show Apollo where they were. Eventually, Hermes gave his lyre to Apollo to make amends. They became very good friends.
Python became the chthonic enemy of the later Olympian deity Apollo, who slew it and took over Python's former home and oracle. These were the most famous and revered in the ancient Greek and Roman worlds. Like many monsters, Python was known as Gaia's son and prophesied as Gaia's son.
Apollo and Cassandra
Greek god Apollo never married. But he did inherit his father's lustful ways, and had several love affairs with both men and women.
Apollo was another god with effeminate features. His cheeks and chin are said to be soft and tender. He was beardless and kept his hair long, giving him a feminine appearance.
The youngest, Psyche, possessed beauty that surpassed that of her sisters which resulted in those around her, including priests, comparing her to Aphrodite (referred to as Venus in The Golden Ass). Many went to the extent of saying that she was even fairer than the goddess herself.