Who Mourns for Adonais ? ( episode ) The " Enterprise " is captured by an alien claiming to be Apollo , the Greek god of the sun . Summary . Teaser . Montgomery Scott is flirting with Lieutenant Carolyn Palamas on the bridge while Kirk and McCoy lightly tease him . As the nears the planet Pollux IV , a huge green hand made of energy materializes in space , catching and holding the ship . " " Am I . . . seeing things ? " " , Ensign Pavel Chekov exclaims . Captain Kirk orders that the " Enterprise " reverse all engines but the " hand " manages to hold the ship anyway . " " Helm doesn ' t answer . We can ' t move ! " " , Lieutenant Sulu states . Kirk orders Uhura to send word to Starbase 12 . Act One . After a couple of failed attempts to break free of the " hand " holding the " Enterprise " in space , scanner five - seven displays the ghostly , laurel - wreathed head of a man . Claiming the eons have passed , he welcomes the " Enterprise " crew , congratulating his " beloved children " for leaving their plains and valleys and making a " bold venture " into deep space . Among other things , this being claims familiarity with Earth of five thousand years ago , dropping the names of individuals alive then . Captain Kirk ' s repeated demands for freedom finally irritate him , and he threatens to " close his hand " and crush the ship – a threat sufficiently credible that Kirk agrees to visit the planet with his officers , expressly omitting Spock , with Apollo saying that the Vulcan reminds him of Pan , whom he was always bored by . The landing party consists of Kirk , McCoy , Scott , Chekov , and Palamas , who is trained in archaeology , anthropology , and ancient civilizations , all fields likely to be of some use . Materializing on the surface , the five crew members meet the being responsible for their capture , a being familiar with ancient Earth , who introduces himself as Apollo . Despite his claims , McCoy ' s tricorder scans show him to be a " simple humanoid " . Changing to an enormous height , Apollo looks down at Kirk and the crew , and in a loud , booming voice , he intones , " " Welcome to Olympus , Captain Kirk . " " Act Two . Apollo claims he and others – Zeus , Athena , Aphrodite , Hera , Hermes , and Artemis – were a " gallant band of travelers " who visited Earth some five thousand years ago . He demands to be worshiped by the " Enterprise " landing party , and in return offers a simple yet pleasurable life . He reveals himself as petulant and arrogant – qualities that correspond to his depictions as a god . But he controls a dangerous power , as the crew discover in a number of ways : their phaser s are all fused , the transporter device and communicator s are inoperative , and Scott is injured by lightning strikes for other willful acts he commits against Apollo . Moreover , he has developed a romantic interest in Palamas , angering Scott . Aboard the ship , Spock is proceeding under the same assumption , and the crew may be making headway : Lieutenant Uhura rigs a subspace bypass circuit to restore communications , and Sulu discovers a strange radiated power on the planet with no clear source . Spock asks the helmsman to scan the " entire " planet for the source of the power readings by looking where it is not – a simple process of elimination . Sulu , along with Leslie ' s assistance , begins the scan . Apollo , meanwhile , has taken Palamas away from the rest of the " Enterprise " crew . He tells her the gods left Earth when mankind turned away from them , and that they need admiration just like Humans need food . They returned to their home , an empty place without worshipers . But they lacked the strength to leave , and so they waited . And over the course of time , all but Apollo discorporated . Apollo claims the gods are immortal , and can ' t die , at least , not the way Humans understand death . But even they eventually reach a point of no return ; they " spread themselves upon the wind . . . thinner , and thinner , until only the wind remained . . . " He then mentions that he " knew [ Carolyn ] would come to the stars " and be forever by his side as his queen . Palamas doesn ' t understand , but Apollo seduces her by saying that fifty centuries ago , gods took mortals with them to love and care for , as his parents did . As on the " Enterprise " , the landing party has discovered the energy flow but is equally unable to isolate it . Chekov ' s theory is that Apollo can channel this flow of energy through his body without harm to himself , much like the electric eel on Earth or the giant dry worm of Antos IV . Finding the source of this energy is top priority . McCoy notes that , although Apollo is generally a standard humanoid , he has a mysterious extra organ in his chest . Apollo returns to the landing party and tells them Palamas is no concern to them anymore . Scott is enraged and charges at Apollo with a vase , but the god strikes him down with a bolt of lightning , throwing him off his feet . Chekov observes that , as Apollo vanishes , he appears tired or pained . It seems that Apollo has a limited reservoir , and when he expends too much energy , he must retreat and recharge his energy cells . They therefore plan to force him to expend his power , and weaken him so that he might be overpowered . Aboard ship , Spock asks Kyle to take his equations to the nuclear electronics lab so that they can generate M - ray s on selected wavelengths to punch a few holes in Apollo ' s force field to fire their phaser bank s through . On Apollo ' s return , the landing party attempts to goad him into attacking someone , however , Palamas , who was not part of the plan , ruins it in her well - meaning attempt to save Kirk from Apollo ' s wrath . Kirk begins to devise another plan – but notes that it depends on Palamas ' loyalty . If his plan does not work , Kirk notes , the " Enterprise " crew had better get used to herding goat s . Act Three . Palamas has fallen in love with Apollo , who has told her she will be his consort , the mother of a new race of gods , and will inspire men throughout the universe . Palamas is returned to the landing party , weakened but content . Palamas tells Kirk of Apollo ' s plans for the crew to live on the surface of the planet , but Kirk tells her she has work to do after noticing her weakened state . " " All our lives , here and on the ship , depend on you . " " She must spurn Apollo ; to do otherwise condemns the crew to " " nothing less than slavery . " " Kirk reminds her of her loyalty to Humanity , since that is where her duty ( and his ) lie . Palamas reveals her sympathy for Apollo ' s plan , but Kirk speaks to her of duty , orders , and the Humanity she shares is tied together beyond any untying with Kirk and others that she cannot share with Apollo . Kirk seems to be getting through to Palamas – when Apollo summons her back . Kirk reminds her of her duty once more before she disappears . Act Four . Uhura is successful in contacting the landing party . Spock determines that the god ' s powers come from his temple . The " Enterprise " has used Spock ' s technique with M - rays to pierce the force field around the ship . The ship could fire phasers , but Kirk needs to know exactly where Apollo and Palamas are first before they are fired . Apollo and Palamas are kissing passionately , but then Palamas tells Apollo she has merely been studying him ; she could no more love him than love " " a new species of bacteria . " " Of course , she is lying through her teeth when she says this , and is broken - hearted , but she must put responsibility before romantic desire , no matter how reluctant she is to do so . She walks away , and there is wind and thunder , noticed by the rest of the landing party . Palamas screams , and the sounds appear to indicate that she and Apollo are near the temple , and a gigantic Apollo looms nearby . Kirk angles to lure Apollo closer to the temple – his power source – and orders phaser fire to destroy the temple , despite the close proximity of the landing party . The " Enterprise " shudders from lightning bolts fired at it by Apollo , but continues firing phasers until the temple is completely destroyed . Apollo , rejected by a mortal woman and bereft of his powers , asks for the Humans ' forgiveness and spreads himself upon the winds to join his fellow gods . After he is gone , McCoy and Kirk regret what they had to do . Now believing that Apollo was the god of the ancient Greeks , Kirk talks about all that Apollo ' s people gave to Earth – their culture and philosophy – and wonders whether another outcome was possible . He muses to McCoy if it really would have hurt them to have gathered just a few laurel leaves . The " Enterprise " departs Pollux IV for open space . Memorable quotes . " " Bones , could you get " that " excited over a cup of coffee ? " " " " Even from here , I can tell his pulse rate ' s up . " " " " Gentlemen ! " " " " I like to think of it not so much as losing an officer as gaining . . . Actually , I ' m losing an officer . " " " " Captain Kirk , I invite you and your officers to join me . But do not bring that one . The one with the pointed ears . He is much like Pan . And Pan always bored me . " " " " If you want to play god and call yourself Apollo , that ' s your business , but you ' re no god to us , mister ! " " " " Insults are effective only where emotion is present . " " " " I am Apollo ! " " " " And I am the czar of all the Russias ! " " " " I have four hundred and thirty people on that ship up there ! " " " " Not anymore , captain ! They are mine now . To save , to cherish , or to destroy at my will . " " " " To coin a phrase , fascinating . " " " " A god cannot survive as a memory . " " " " Spock ' s contaminating this boy , Jim . " " " " Where ' s Apollo ? " " " " He disappeared again like the cat in that Russian story . " " " " Don ' t you mean the English story ? The Cheshire Cat ? " " " " Cheshire ? No . . . Minsk , perhaps . . . " " " " Approach me . I said approach me ! " " " " We ' re busy ! " " ( to Scott ) " " Look after the girl . " " " " You will gather laurel leaves ! Light the ancient fires ! Kill a deer ! Make your sacrifices to me ! Apollo has spoken ! ! " " " " I offer you more than your wildest dreams have ever imagined . You ' ll become the mother of a new race of gods . You ' ll inspire the universe . All men will revere you , almost as a god yourself . And I shall love you , time without end , worlds without end . You shall complete me , and I you . " " " " Mankind has no need for gods . We find the one quite adequate . " " " " A father doesn ' t destroy his children . " " " " We share the same history , the same heritage , the same lives . We ' re tied together beyond any untying . Man or woman , it makes no difference . We ' re Human . " " " " The time has passed . There is no room for gods . " " " " I wish we hadn ' t had to do this . " " " " So do I . They gave us so much . . . In a way , they began the Golden Age . Would it have hurt us , I wonder , just to have gathered a few laurel leaves ? " " Background information . Remastered information . The remastered version of this episode premiered in syndication the weekend of . It featured new shots of the giant hand in space and an enhanced version of the phaser attack on Apollo ' s temple . Links and references . References . 4 billion years ago ; 5 , 000 years ago ; A & A officer ; Agamemnon ; ancient civilizations ; anthropology ; Antos IV ; Aphrodite ; Apollo ' s temple ; appendage ; archaeology ; Athena ; Artemis ; artisan ; atmospheric disturbance ; bacteria ; Beta Geminorum system ; " Bones " ; bow ; cartographic detail ; cartographic section ; cartographic scanner ; ; Cheshire ; Cheshire Cat ; communications system ; class M type ; coffee ; culture ; czar ; Daphne ; deer ; Earth ; egg shell ; electric eel ; encyclopedia ; English ; energy ; evolution ; flock ; fluffy creature ; force field ; giant dry - worm ; goat ; god ; Golden Age ; Greece ; Greek god s ; GSC ; Hector ; Hera ; Hercules ; herd ; intelligent life ; laurel ; Leto ; logic ; lyre ; M - ray s ; Mediterranean ; Minsk ; Mount Olympus ( Olympus ) ; myth ; mythology ; neural damage ; nitrogen ; nuclear electronics lab ; Odysseus ; Olympian ; organ ; oxygen ; Pan ; percentage s ; phaser bank ; philosophy ; polarity reversal ; Pollux IV ; Pollux V ; process of elimination ; pulse rate ; relic ; Russia ; Russian ; sacramental wine ; Saracen ; scientist ; sheep ; shepherd ( shepherdess ) ; shock ; slavery ; social development ; space normal ; standard orbit ; Starbase 12 ; subspace bypass circuit ; thistle ; tractor beam ; tribesman ; tricorder ; Zeus