Star Trek’s Most Tragic Space God, Apollo, Explained

Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and his crew met several god-like beings on Star Trek: The Original Series, including the tragic Greek god Apollo (Michael Forest). As the USS Enterprise explores the galaxy in TOS season 2, episode 2, "Who Mourns for Adonais?," a giant green hand suddenly grabs the ship, holding it in place. Captain Kirk and his crew try various ways to free the ship, but ultimately give in to the demands of the powerful being and prepare to beam down to the planet.

Captain Kirk leads a landing party consisting of Dr. Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelley), Chief Engineer Scotty (James Doohan), Ensign Pavel Chekov (Walter Koenig), and Lt. Carolyn Palamas (Leslie Parrish). The landing party arrives on the planet to find an ancient Greek temple and a humanoid man who claims to be the Greek god Apollo. Although Dr. McCoy's tricorder reads Apollo as human, the supposed deity has powerful abilities originating from an unknown source. Apollo renders the Enterprise transporters and all communication devices inoperable, and informs the landing party that they cannot leave.

The Greek God Apollo In Star Trek, Explained

Apollo Was Played By Character & Theater Actor Michael Forest

In Greek mythology, Apollo was the god of the sun, as well as music and the arts, and he was also considered to be one of the most beautiful of the gods. Apollo claims that he and his fellow gods needed "love, admiration, [and] worship" from humans, just as humans needed food. After humanity moved on from worshiping the Greek gods, Apollo and his fellow travelers returned to Pollux IV. Although the other gods eventually faded away without anyone to worship them, Apollo waited, knowing that humans would one day explore the stars.

It is unclear whether Star Trek's Apollo is the actual deity worshipped in ancient Greece or if he has just taken on that guise. As Apollo shares the story of his origin, he gives two somewhat contradictory accounts. Initially, Apollo tells Kirk that he and his fellow Greek gods were travelers who visited Earth five thousand years before. But he later suggests to Lt. Palamas that he was born on Earth to Zeus and Leto. While advanced alien travelers would likely have been worshiped as gods in ancient Greece, it's also possible that Apollo simply conjured the trappings of Greek culture for the benefit of the mostly human Enterprise crew.

Why Apollo Was Star Trek’s Most Tragic Space God

Apollo's Story Is A Greek Tragedy In Itself

Whether or not Apollo is the true Greek deity, his story has all the markings of a Grecian tragedy. Although Apollo threatens the Enterprise and lashes out with his power, his actions stem largely from loneliness. He brought the Enterprise crew to Pollux IV and pursued Lt. Palamas because he had no other companions. Carolyn recognizes the loneliness in Apollo and comes to love him, but she cannot turn her back on the Enterprise crew. Kirk orders Palamas to reject Apollo and she does, telling him that she "could no more love you than I could love a new species of bacteria."

This devastates and angers Apollo, who creates a massive storm with his power. The Enterprise pinpoints the source of Apollo's power and begins firing at the temple. In the end, with his temple in ruins, Apollo says that he loved Carolyn and would have cherished her and all of the Enterprise crew. When Kirk rejects him one final time, Apollo finally acknowledges that the other gods were right to abandon humanity and he fades away to nothing as Carolyn cries. It's a particularly tragic ending for an episode of Star Trek: The Original Series, and even Kirk and McCoy lament what they had to do.