Apollo was the son of Zeus and the Titaness Leto, and the twin brother of the goddess Artemis, the virgin huntress in ancient Greek mythology. He was one of the most important deities of both Greek and Roman religions, and was the god of prophecy, archery and music. The origin of this name is uncertain, but it is probably non-European.

A fight with the gigantic earth-serpent Python at Delphi gave Apollo the seat of his famous oracle. Python was an offspring of Gaia, the mother earth, which issued revelations through a fissure in the rock so that a priestess, the Pythia, could give answers to any questions that might be asked from her. After he slew the earth-serpent, Apollo took its place, though he had to do penance in Thessaly for the killing. Indeed, Zeus twice force Apollo to be the slave of a mortal man to pay for his crime.

Apollo’s interest in healing suggests an ancient association with the plague and its control. His son Asclepius was also identified with healing and connected with sites in Northern Greece. Indeed, so accomplished was Asclepius in medicine that Zeus slew him with a thunderbolt for daring to bring a man back to life.