Apollo Timeline and Summary

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• Apollo when he emerges out of his own temple, accompanying Orestes.
• He tells Orestes that he has his back, and that he should go to Athens.
• Then Apollo calls out to his brother, the god Hermes and him to watch over Orestes while he is on his journey to Athens. Then Apollo goes back into his temple.
• While Apollo is gone, the Ghost of Clytemnestra appears. She whips the Furies into a fury and tells them to go get Orestes.
• Now Apollo comes back on stage; this time, he is armed with a bow and arrows.
• Apollo tells the Furies to scram.
• But the Furies aren't going to be scared away quite so easily.
• Instead, they demand that Apollo take responsibility for making Orestes kill his mother.
• Apollo swears to stand by Orestes, through thick and through thin.
• Apollo next appears right before Orestes's trial is about to get underway.
• Apollo starts off by repeating the idea that it was his oracle that told Orestes to kill Clytemnestra. This time, however, he puts a different spin on it—by saying that, through his oracle, he never prophesied anything that was against the will of Zeus.
• Apollo argues that a mother isn't actually a blood relation to her child. She just keeps the embryo warm and nurtures it until it's time to give birth. According to Apollo, only the father is truly a parent.
• Then Apollo turns to Athena and tells her that he will make Athens an awesome city, and will make Argos be its ally.
• There is a lot of nudge-nudge wink-wink going on here—Apollo is trying to pile on the enticements for her to let Orestes off the hook.
• As it turns out, the jury is split, but Athena casts the deciding vote in favor of Orestes.
• Then Orestes heads offstage. Apollo leaves with him.