Apollo is a god of Antiterra, son of Leto and Zeus, a winged archer tied to the setting sun. Two independent sources hold that his true name is Barbatos.
Description
Asked “Apollo. Does he exist?”, the world answered: “Of course”. He has wings “and is like an archer”. His devotees keep the formula «La puerta y la llave» (“The door and the key”), never completed.
Cult
Apollo is identified with the setting sun: to him go “the last prayers made to the king star as it departs”, at sunset only. The practice is common on the Island of Leucas. A sacred island of the god Apollo, under his protection, is a mythical destination. He is named with Achilles and Poseidon in a shared island pantheon.
The oath
Whoever tries to swear by Apollo without being able to spits blood and falls to their knees.
Sons
“Son of Apollo” can be claimed as a credential; one such son was “raised by a dragon”. The god can be summoned through his son: “I have your son. Come to me. Apolo”. It is also said that “Apollo loves the woman”.
The leucrottas
The leucrottas are “one of the beasts he should have hunted”; he did not, and they roam free.
The true name
Two independent voices give his true name as Barbatos; the record marks the confusion without resolving it.
Open questions
- Whether Apollo and Barbatos are one god or two overlapping cults, and whether “Barbatos” is said by the world or only by the claimed son.
- Whether the Island of Leucas and the island of Apollo are the same.
- Door to what, and key to what.
- Who may swear by him; the sunset prayer; temples, images, offerings, priesthood.
- How many sons he has, and whether anyone besides the claimant recognizes them.
- Why the archer did not hunt the leucrottas.