Apollo In Greek mythology , Apollo was one of the most important Olympian god s . The son of the god Zeus and the goddess Leto , Apollo was often associated with prophecy , medicine , music and poetry , archery , and the care of flocks and herds . He was also frequently associated with the higher developments of civilization , such as law , philosophy , and the arts . Finally , in Greek mythology , Apollo driving his chariot through the sky was associated with the movement of the Sun . He was twin brother to Artemis , goddess of hunting , though Athena was also a sister of his as well . The image of Apollo was preserved for thousands of years in artistic works . One of these artistic works , the design for the mission insignia of " Apollo 17 " , included a profile of Apollo facing to his left . Additionally , the mission insignia for " Apollo 13 " depicted the steeds of Apollo riding over Luna . ( ) In 2267 , the encountered Apollo on Pollux IV . There , they learned that the Greek gods were in fact a band of explorers who had visited Earth five thousand years earlier , and established themselves as gods to the people of that era . From things Apollo said to Carolyn Palamas , it seems that they may actually have , in some sense , considered themselves to be gods , but it is clear they also knew they weren ' t gods in the same sense the ancient Greeks believed them to be . Personality . Apollo came across as arrogant and accustomed to obedience from his ' children ' ( really , his slaves ) . While claiming to be in love with Carolyn Palamas , after she rejected him he showed signs that he wanted to control her like the slave - master her captain said he truly was ( forbidding her to leave his presence and ordering her to stay there with him , for instance ) . When he seduced her , his words implied that he was offering her joint rule of Pollux IV , to sit by his side as his queen . During Carolyn ' s rejection of him , Apollo stated to her that he has " " chosen her " " for that duty , and earlier he noted her fearlessness , commenting that she is " " fit indeed " " to be his consort . Despite this he did show some signs of a softer side . It is implied that the loss of his family and worshippers had left him terribly lonely . He did indicate that he would have truly cared for the Humans under his rule , and for the woman that would have had become his queen , despite Kirk ' s notions of him being a slave - master initially . He showed extreme despondency at being rejected by Humanity , and Carolyn especially , and knowing that he had waited in vain . History . Apollo claimed he and his fellow travelers visited Earth , and there thrived on the worship and love of its people . But eventually , mankind turned away from the gods . Unable to survive as memories , the gods returned to Pollux IV , their home . They found it an empty place without worshipers , but they lacked the strength to leave . So they waited . Eventually , all of the gods save Apollo lost hope , and " " spread themselves upon the wings of the wind . . . thinner , and thinner , until only the wind remained . " " Apollo claimed this was not death , at least , not as Human s understood it . But clearly , those who had departed in this fashion were beyond returning . Only Apollo was confident that mankind would one day leave Earth , and find the gods again . And when it happened , he planned to " restore the proper order " – to restore man to a worshipful species , provided for and loved by a new race of gods , fathered by him ( He needed a wife to accomplish this task , and so chose Carolyn to be his queen based on her beauty and intelligence ) . This , unfortunately for Apollo , was a state of affairs unacceptable to men . James T . Kirk and his landing party schemed continuously ; between them , and members of the crew still in orbit , they were eventually able to overcome Apollo , and destroy the source of his power . With his temple gone and his power broken , Apollo spread himself upon the wind , imploring his fellow gods to take him , and vanished . Powers and abilities . Apollo , at various times , demonstrated command of an enormous reservoir of energy that he could evidently direct by acts of will . He was able to generate a powerful force field that caught and held the " Enterprise " , and resisted most attempts to break and disrupt it . On approach to the planet , the ship encountered what appeared , visually , to be an enormous , translucent , green Human hand . In fact , it was a force field , conventional in composition but on unusual wavelengths , generated by Apollo . This field was powerful enough to stop the ship , and impulse engine s could not break the ship free . Attempts to push it away with the tractor beam , and to reverse its polarity were equally unsuccessful in disrupting it . In addition to merely holding the ship , Apollo could exert pressure beyond the ship ' s tolerance , and in this fashion , threaten the ship . Spock was eventually able to pierce the field with powerful bursts of M - ray s on carefully calculated wavelengths . Although this did not destroy the field , it enabled the " Enterprise " to fire her phaser s . " Prior to 2263 in the alternate reality , it had been speculated that the ' s disappearance was possibly the result of an encounter with " a giant , green space hand " possibly being that of Apollo . " ( " " ) Apollo could alter his physical form and the forms of material objects in his vicinity . He could hurl lightning - like energy bolts , interfere with Federation technology , transform s into ancient Greek clothing by simply waving his hand , transport himself and others from place to place , and alter the weather ( at least locally ) . His senses extended great distances ; while on the surface of his world , he was able to sense happenings on the bridge of the Enterprise and project his image and voice into her equipment for the purpose of conversation . Apollo at one point claimed he could wipe out a man with a gesture , and bring him back again as easily . But he never demonstrated this particular ability . A tricorder scan registered Apollo as a normal humanoid , but with an extra organ in his chest whose function was unknown to McCoy . It was presumed that this organ permitted him to tap a powerful field of energy generated within his temple . Even with this ability , Apollo occasionally overextended himself , requiring a brief period of rest during which his vitality was restored . Presumably , then , the organ tapped the energy field , stored some quantity of energy , and made that energy responsive to Apollo ' s wishes . After the temple was destroyed , Apollo demonstrated that he still possessed some abilities when he expanded his corporeal form . However , from his reaction to the temple ' s destruction , it seems likely that when he expended the last of his stored energy , he would be powerless , or nearly so . ( ) Appendices . Background information . The depiction of Apollo in " Who Mourns for Adonais " was considerably changed during the episode ' s rewrite process . Writer and story editor D . C . Fontana offered , " " He was [ originally ] something of an empty character and we needed to give him more character , more interaction with our regular leads . " " ( " Writer ' s Notebook : D . C . Fontana " , TOS Season 2 DVD & Blu - ray special features ) Apollo was played by actor Michael Forest . This portrayal varied from how Apollo has usually been depicted in mythological and artistic tradition , since the character is normally golden haired . The original casting choice for the role , Jon Voight is indeed blonde - haired . Roman gods ( which were based on Greek counterparts ) also appear on planet 892 - IV , yet it is unknown if Apollo and his compatriots visited this world as well or if the similarity is due to some other reason . Captain Kirk also shows little reaction to the Roman Gods when he learns of them , even though he had already met Apollo by that point . ( ) In the credits for , what appears to be Apollo ' s " giant green hand " can been seen floating in space – a callback to ' s line regarding the mysterious disappearance of the earlier in that film . According to the , Apollo visited Earth around the year 3000 BCE . Apocrypha . Michael Forest reprises his role as Apollo in the first episode of the TOS fan series " Star Trek Continues " . In the comic book story " A Rude Awakening ! " , Apollo was mentioned as harassing space travelers .