Apollo's unsuccessful loves
So Matt, you were under the impression that Apollo was the "hottest" god, huh? Well, perhaps you're right in the Greeks' visual sense (Apollo and his twin sister Artemis were sometimes referred to as "the most beautiful of the Olympians", and Apollo
was often kinda "Adonis-ized" in their view [looks-wise]).
But take a look at the love life of the most "all that" god:
Let's start with Cassandra, shall we? A figure in the Trojan War (a daughter of King Priam of Troy), Apollo wooed her, and he even bribed her for her affections by givin' her the gift of prophecy. Yet she rejected his advances, and therefore Apollo cursed her by decreein' that, though she would always know the future, no one would
ever believe her (insert ghostly shiver here).
When he pursued the nymph Daphne (literally---he, like, chased her), she cried out to her father, a river god, and he turned her into a laurel tree to escape Apollo's embrace. (Saddened, he then made a crown of laurel leaves from the tree,
as a way to remember her, and this became the symbol associated with the Olympics and stuff).
Apollo offered the Sibyl of Cumae as many years of life as she had grains of sand in her hands, but she still refused him after he gave her this. Hence, he condemned her to live a thousand years, but get older and older.
A woman Marpessa was once sought after by both Apollo and the mortal Idas. Marpessa chose Idas, afraid that the god would be unfaithful to her (and with good reason---don't trust no Greek gods, now, y'all!).
The nymph Sinope was rather clever---she asked Apollo a favor before she would accept his overtures. He immediately granted her wish, only to hear her say that she wished to remain a virgin until her death.
And then there were his bisexual tendencies---"Goddesses in Classical Mythology" actually
calls Apollo bisexual, but anyway, he did seem to have more male encounters than the other male gods:
He was in love with a young man named Hyacinthus, but Zephyrus, the West Wind, also loved the youth. Zephyrus grew jealous of Apollo and Hyacinthus, and one day when they were together and Apollo threw a discus, Zephyrus blew it so that it struck the boy in the head and killed him. Apollo caused the hyacinth flower to grow from his blood on the ground.
Another beloved man of Apollo's, Cyparissus, accidentally killed a tame stag. The boy could not be consoled, so Apollo turned him into the cypress tree to give him peace.
Now, Apollo did have some successful loves, but these are the fun "loser" ones, lol (well, at least the female ones---the males ones just ended sadly lol).
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