Apollo Karen Aijo/Bond Story

Apollo is the God of the Sun and of the arts. Even someone as beautiful and strong as him couldn't stop his sister from falling in love. His anger led to tragic consequences... An excerpt from the play, “Tragic Orion.”

Apollo's Background

Karen:

Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians. Represented as a noble god, he was the main deity of Turkey.

Karen:

I thought, "Turkey...not Greece?" Well, I looked it up, and apparently it happened often in Ancient Greece.

Karen:

Many deities from other civilizations were also worshipped in the Greek pantheon.

Karen:

When the worshippers of Zeus attacked other lands, they also assimilated their gods.

Karen:

That's why the Greek pantheon is composed of several deities surrounding Zeus - the main god.

Karen:

The more they increased their territory, the bigger this family of gods grew, and the more relatives Zeus gained...

Karen:

If this was a thing in the real world, I don't want to imagine how hard it would've been to greet everyone during the holidays...

Karen:

Or how much money Zeus would have had to give out in allowances...

Karen:

Huh? What was I talking about again...?

Karen:

Oh, yes, Apollo! He was a noble deity from Anatolia.

Karen:

Ah! Maybe he became noble because he was the main deity of the Anatolians?

Karen:

This could be useful for the play! *scribble scribble*

Karen:

Apollo had a twin sister called Artemis.

Karen:

Both of them were masters of the bow, and their personalities were very similar.

Karen:

Each liked nature and beautiful things, and they were both a bit too serious and lacked flexibility.

Karen:

I'm sure they got along really well as siblings.

Karen:

Besides, Apollo and Artemis had many retainers.

Karen:

Apollo, the god of the arts, had the Muses - goddesses of literature, science, and the arts.

Karen:

While Artemis brought along the Nymphs when she went hunting.

Karen:

One episode tells how Apollo conspired with a Muse.

Karen:

He was also the god of music, and a master of the lyre. One day, Marsyas showed up. He was extremely skilled with the aulos, a wind instrument.

Karen:

Angered that there was someone as well-versed in music as he was, Apollo challenged him to a contest. The terms stated that the winner could do anything he wanted to the loser.

Karen:

Marsyas proved to be superior to Apollo, but the Muses were the judges.

Karen:

And so Apollo was declared the winner of the contest.

Karen:

I don't know whether Apollo was full of pride, or he had no pride at all...

Karen:

Anyway, for the performance I better remember that he wasn't a perfect person.

Karen:

Other than his myths as god of the Sun, he was also the god of medicine.

Karen:

However, originally Apollo was considered the god of disease.

Karen:

Some stories say that being struck by his arrow led to an instant painless death.

Karen:

That's how he became the god of disease.

Karen:

And the fact that he could cause disease also meant that he could cure it as well...

Karen:

And so Apollo became the god of medicine. He must have been really busy handing out diseases and curing them...

Karen:

Either way, Apollo possessed several different aspects, which can only mean his worshippers demanded a lot from him.

Karen:

Speaking of him being the god of medicine, even if not directly related...

Karen:

...This aspect connects to the story of Artemis and Orion.

Karen:

When Orion died following Apollo's plot, Artemis desperately looked for a healer.

Karen:

She asked him to bring her beloved back to life...

Karen:

Normally, a common doctor wouldn't be enough, but there was one understanding.

Karen:

Asclepius could bring back the dead. He was the son of Apollo...

Karen:

The more I research about Apollo, the more stories pop up here and there.

Karen:

Apollo is a very difficult role to perform, but it'll definitely be worth it! He has so many different aspects.

Apollo's Fury

Karen:

When I first read the script for "Tragic Orion", I posed a question to myself.

Karen:

How should I capture the essence of Apollo, and portray him on stage?

Karen:

Why did he lead Artemis to killing Orion?

Karen:

I guess the logical answer is that he's a god, and this is just a story, but...

Karen:

If I'm going to perform as Apollo, and Hikari-chan as Orion, I should think more about it.

Karen:

When I read the script, I only knew that Apollo was the god of the Sun and fire, so I tried going from there.

Karen:

The Sun is extremely important to all human beings and living things.

Karen:

Someone described as sunny is usually cheerful and full of energy.

Karen:

Sunrise and sunset are used to indicate the beginning and end of something...

Karen:

The Sun fascinated people in many ways.

Karen:

On the other hand, it also symbolizes fiery emotions like jealousy and anger.

Karen:

When I thought about it, I could see all these elements in "Tragic Orion" as well.

Karen:

His precious twin sister, who knew nothing about love, met with Orion and fell in love with him...

Karen:

They grew fond of each other, and this rumor spread to Apollo.

Karen:

He must have felt lost when he understood he was going to lose her...

Karen:

Besides, Orion had a reputation for being a womanizer, and he was a descendant of the Titans, a race that had fought against his father Zeus.

Karen:

Apollo told Artemis to break up with Orion.

Karen:

And I'm sure his anger was like a burning sun.

Karen:

But she refused to listen to his words.

Karen:

She who was his irreplaceable sister didn't listen to him. Apollo went mad with anger.

Karen:

And that's when he proceeded to do the unthinkable.

Karen:

He made Artemis kill her beloved with her own hands.

Karen:

He chose the worst possible way to end their relationship...

Karen:

I think that just shows how angry Apollo was and how much he hated Orion.

Karen:

His plan went smoothly. Orion fled from the scorpion and hid in the sea...

Karen:

Artemis lost her cool when Apollo challenged her, and she released the arrow.

Karen:

It struck Orion directly and killed him. What a sad ending to the story of two siblings and two lovers...

Karen:

How did Apollo react when he saw hwo heartbroken Artemis was?

Karen:

I'm sure once his anger settled down, he felt a huge regret.

Karen:

That's also something I had in mind when I performed as him on stage - his regret.

Karen:

And then there are other things I found out about him by doing some research... For example...

Karen:

After Orion died, Artemis asked Asclepius to bring him back to life.

Karen:

However, Hades, the god of the underworld, opposed their plan.

Karen:

So Artemis asked Zeus to make Orion into a constellation in the sky.

Karen:

This meant that Apollo's plan would ultimately amount to nothing.

Karen:

...But it doesn't look like he tried to interfere with her.

Karen:

He could have easily stopped Asclepius, or asked Zeus not to listen to her wish.

Karen:

...But Apollo didn't do that.

Karen:

Maybe it's just not recorded in any myths, but I'm sure he didn't.

Karen:

Artemis' wish came true, and Orion was made into a constellation...

Karen:

Once a month, she crosses his path on her chariot. And that's when she meets him again.

Karen:

I believe that after the tragic death of Orion, Apollo regretted his plan and didn't fall prey to his own emotions again.

Karen:

The Apollo I performed was based on this!

Karen:

I have to tell Hikari-chan and Yukishiro-san what I found out!

Karen:

That way we'll be able to make our next play even better!

Karen:

Apollo was also the god of the arts. Maybe us Stage Girls are connected to him too.

Karen:

Apollo sure was the god of so many things... He was the god of the Sun, the god of music, the god of prophecies...

Karen:

He must have worked really hard to be able to do so many different things!

Karen:

I should follow his example and improve my singing and dancing...and even learn about art theory!