Apollo Character Analysis

Apollo is the sun god, in both Greek and Roman mythology, who witnesses the fall of Jupiter after Prometheus has been set free. Apollo, like all the gods and natural forces in Shelley’s poem, has been enslaved by Jupiter and is grateful to see the end of Jupiter’s reign. Conversing with Ocean, the personification of and god of the sea, Apollo expresses his delight that he will no longer have to look down from the sky and witness cruelty and violence committed by man, who has been given the knowledge and freedom to act with compassion and kindness through the destruction of Jupiter and emancipation of Prometheus. Apollo is so shocked by Jupiter’s fall that he stands and watches in wonder, causing the night to last into the day as the sun has forgotten to rise.