Apollo: Character Archetypes
Archetypes of the Sun: Sherlock Holmes, Harvey Specter, Light Yagami, and Spock
How can one guy be the god of the sun, medicine, music, dancing, prophecy, science, mathematics, poetry, archery, knowledge, wisdom, truth, morality, beauty, law, justice, and more. He was the god of so many things, that “even the Greeks got confused” (as The History Press puts it.)
How are we supposed to make sense of such an all-over-the-place archetype?
Hang on . . . Apollo is telling me he’s annoyed by the accusation of being “all over the place.”
Let’s take a step back.
Because at his core, the Apollo archetype is about intellect, logic, rationality, order, and harmony.
Think of him as an organizing principle.
From that perspective, it makes perfect sense that he’s the god of just about everything.
Medicine? Well, that’s about creating order in a disordered body.
Science? Understanding the organization and structure of the universe.
Poetry? Come on. The guy’s got perfect rhythm and meter.
Speaking of perfect rhythm, he’s an excellent musician. His kind of music is the well-ordered harmony of classical artists, like Bach. He’s not the wild and crazy Dionysian type, like jazz.
Beauty? Of course he’s beautiful. The Greeks approached beauty from a mathematical perspective, with the perfect order of proportions and forms.
Law? That gives order to our society so we don’t devolve into anarchy.
Ah, but what about prophecy? That has nothing to do with order and logic, right?
It does for Apollo. If you ask the sun god, prophecy is very logical. It’s not exactly mystical, even though it seems that way to us puny humans who can’t see the big picture. Lord Apollo sees that big picture. Considering who we are and what we’re doing, it’s not hard for him to predict what we will experience in the future.
It’s like, if you’re walking along White Street, he can tell that it eventually veers left and intersects with Red Lane. A few miles up, Red Lane leads to a swamp full of gators and evil faeries. You’re gonna get stuck there, because that’s what happens to dorks like you who get on the road to Gator Faery Swamp (plus it’s really sticky there). Then you’ll make a deal with a Gator Faery, even though your grandmother told you never to do that, but it’s your only way out of the swamp, and that’s how you’ll find yourself owing your firstborn to the Gator Faery King. Woe is you, unfortunate maid.
Apollo can see all of that while you’re still stumbling along White Street.
The sun sheds light on all things, bringing knowledge and making life possible.
In that capacity, Lord Apollo brings the order of life to the chaos of non-existence.
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Apollo has a lot in common with his twin sister
Sure, they’re opposites in a lot of ways. But they also complement one another.
For example, the’re both famous for their isolation.
Artemis secludes herself in the wilderness, and Apollo lives in a high-rise penthouse that others can’t get to (he’s got high-tech cyber locks and he wants you to go away).
They’re both archers. Symbolically, this means they are really fuckin’ good at what they do. They both have the discipline to train for years. They can aim for a target—even a distant one—and hit their mark. In Classical sources, they both have the nicknames “far-distant” and “far-shooting.”
They’re also famously single. They don’t typically partner up. When (and if) they do, things don’t usually go well.
But just as they avoid personal relationships, they also avoid conflict. They tend to think it’s petty and stupid. In The Iliad, Poseidon challenges Apollo to a fight. Apollo’s response?
According to Jean Shinoda Bolen (author of Gods in Everyman), he said:
“You would have me be without measure and without prudence, if I am to fight for insignificant mortals, who now flourish like leaves of the trees and then fade away and are dead.” And when his sister Artemis called him a coward, he still would not be drawn into combat.
Now that we’ve got all of that covered, let’s talk about several ways the Apollo archetype can show up as a character.
Apollo has a few faces
Every archetype has layers. Persephone has the naive little maid and the Queen of the Underworld. Artemis has the man-hating she-bitch, the athlete, and the Lady of the Wild.
Apollo has…
The Golden Son: A perfect collegiate athlete who goes on to achieve a high-status career. He’s hot, awesome, and almost everyone likes him (except for people who hate him for being awesome). But he might secretly have trouble making real friends and maintaining relationships. Examples: Captain America, Superman, Cedric Diggory from Harry Potter, Finnick Odair from The Hunger Games.
The Law Giver: The wise, stern, authoritarian who brings what order he can a world that’s gone to hell. If this version of Apollo goes dark, he becomes a High Inquistor and uses his great understanding to condemn others. Examples: Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird (although this character could also be a Saturn archetype…), and Light Yagami from Death Note.
The Emotionally Stunted Genius: This guy is so out-of-this-world smart that everyone else seems like an idiot in comparison. He doesn’t respect them. Sometimes he uses his genius in service to humanity (he does like to be admired). Other times, he doesn’t care what happens to others and wants everyone to leave him the hell alone. Examples: Sherlock Holmes, Sheldon Cooper, House MD, L. Lawliet from Death Note.
The Intellectual Mystic: I could have included this version of the archetype as the more evolved version of the Emotionally Stunted Genius, but I decided to give him his own bullet point. He’s earned it. He’s the guy who is out-of-this-world smart, but turns his mega-mind inward, bringing order to his inner world. He gets that his inner world reflects the outer, and he’s ultimately at one with all of existence. Examples: Spock.
Each of these aspects has a light and a dark side.
Except for the Intellectual Mystic. That guy’s got his shit figured out.
I’m sure I’ve left some great examples out. Feel free to comment if you think of something!
Over the next few weeks, we’ll take closer looks at some of the different faces of Apollo, and the nuances that show up in various versions of his character. He’s a fun character to play with. He can be super eccentric!
