Apollo's Choice

The jealous Greek goddess Hera was furious at her husband Zeus's unfaithfulness. She forbade the earth to give her rival any place to sleep. The unhappy girl, whose name was Leto, had to leave her home in the far north, where the god Boreas blew icy winds. Poor Leto wandered from place to place with angry Hera close behind. She was chased from the cities, islands and even deserts. At last she took refuge in a deep forest. Afraid of wild animals, she took the form of a she-wolf.

In wolf's guise Leto found a place Hera had overlooked, a little wandering island which was not fixed to the bottom of the sea. There Leto gave birth to twins; the goddess Artemis and the god Apollo.

Leto's troubles were not over. She took her babies to Lycia, 'land of wolves', but shepherds there threw stones at them to chase them away. In revenge she turned them into frogs, and brought up her children in peace.

Zeus gave his son Apollo a lyre, and he became god of music. He grew up radiantly beautiful and many nymphs fell in love with him. Among them was Cyrene, a huntress who guarded her father's herds against wild animals in the forest. When Apollo saw her, Cyrene was being attacked by a lion. The god took wolf's shape and drove the lion away. Then he took back his own shape and carried her off in his chariot.

On the mainland of Greece, at Delphi, Apollo killed the monster Python which lived in a cave on Mount Parnassus and terrorised the inhabitants. The grateful citizens built him a temple. Pilgrims from miles around brought offerings to the god, and soon the temple had a store of treasure. One day a thief took it all.

A wolf howled all night outside Delphi. The people thought it was a sign from the god. They followed it to a wood on the mountain-peak, where they found the stolen treasure and the thief's body. In gratitude, they erected a bronze statue of a wolf next to the statue of Apollo.

A crowd of curious people stood by the harbour at the Greek city of Argos, as they did whenever a ship arrived. This one was magnificent. It had fifty oarsmen, twenty-five on each side. It must have been built for long and perilous journeys. The crowd waited impatiently for the sailors to disembark, eager to question them: 'Who are you? Where are you from?'

Imagine their surprise when they saw that the 'oarsmen' were young girls! Bumbstruck they let the girls pass. The one man on the mysterious ship seemed to be the captain. He addressed the astonished crowd: 'My name is Danaus, and these are my fifty daughters. I have crossed the sea pursued by my fifty nephews and my brother Aegyptus, king of Egypt. Take me to your leader!'

King Gelanor, who ruled Argos, welcomed the new arrival-who thanked him by saying he intended to become king in his place! Gelanor waas displeased, of course, but it was the custom of his country for the people to choose their leader. So he organized a public debate.

Both candidates spoke long and eloquently, but the people of Argos could not decide. Many preferred Gelanor, whom they knew, while Danaus was a stranger, newly arrived the previous day. At dawn, a crowd gathered in the town square to hear the last debate. As the speeches began there was a cry of alarm from some shepherds. A wolf had left the forest and attacked a herd of cattle outside the town. It had killed the bull!

The Greeks believed in omens, and they took this event for one. The god Apollo was friends with the wolves. The wolf's sudden arrival they compared to Danaus's. they decided he was the god's choice, and made him king. in gratitude, he built a great temple to Apollo, god of wolves.