The Golden God: Apollo

Greek Myths

by Doris Gates

Retells the myths surrounding the figure of Apollo, the Greek god of medicine and music, protector of flocks and voyagers, the most feared and best loved of all the gods on Mount Olympus.

Genres: Nonfiction

112 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

Doris Gates, 1901-1987

A lifelong resident of California, Doris Gates was for many years, she was a librarian for the Fresno County Free Library. However, she is remembered for her many beloved children's books. Of these, the best known and most influential was Blue Willow (1940), selected as a Newbery Honor Book in 1941. Many consider Blue Willow to have been the first realistic, problem novel for children, and it was recognized both for its lasting literary merit and for its expansion of the range of subjects which could be explored in books for children. She died in 1987.

Reviews

[Stuart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Doris Gates finishes her series on the Greek Myths with a treasury of stories centered around the god Apollo, and by default, his twin sister Artemis. Born with all the promise of a young and perfect god, Apollo's story, when seen as an arc, is one of loss upon loss, slowly transforming the idealistic young god into the rather lonely and cynical prophet who ultimately brings plague as often as he brings healing. Told in Gates' no-frills style, the plainness of the language is set off against an unusual (for her) amount of dialogue and inner narrative, making this collection closer to a novel. When she ends on the rather awful story of Clytie, punished by Apollo for desiring him so much, there is a grandness to it evoking some 19th century literature's best accounts of how a soul gets broken, and then revisits that pain on everyone else.

[Brandon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good intro and refresher of the myths.