Apollo

Apollo was the god of the sun. Each day he drove his chariot of fiery horses across the sky to give light to the world.

He was also the god of healing, so sick people prayed to him.

His most famous temple was at Delphi. There, his priestess would prophesy the future. But she wasn't easy to understand. One day, a great king asked the priestess if he should invade a nearby kingdom. She said, "If you do this, a great kingdom will be destroyed." He thought that she meant he would be successful, and so started the war. He lost disastrously. It was his own kingdom that got destroyed!

Apollo had a son called Phaethon, who was human. Phaethon nagged at Apollo to let him borrow the sun chariot and fly across the sky. Finally Apollo agreed. Phaethon proudly drove the sun chariot up into the sky, but then he lost control of the horses. The sun chariot dived towards the earth, burning everything. Finally Jupiter had to stop him with a thunder bolt.

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