Was it ever established whether or not that was an alien or truly apollo? I am talking about the episode Who Mourns for Adonais?
So was that really Apollo on that one planet?
- Thread starter drazzz52923849
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I think that was the point of the episode. I think it is up to the viewer to decide that
It was my take that the guy was Apollo in as much as Q could claim to be god.
Bu that doesnt explain why they(or just this guy) has god like powers.
The extra organ in his chest that directs power generated by the temple structure. When the Enterprise's phasers destroyed the temple, Apollo lost his superhuman powers. Except that his body apparently retained enough energy so he could grow to giant size one more time before vanishing for good.
I wonder, at the end of the story, did Apollo will himself out of existence -- essentially committing suicide -- or did he just become incorporeal and join his fellow gods floating in the ether somewhere?
"Who Mourns for Adonais?" was an early attempt to do what STARGATE SG-1 did: take ancient mythology and bring it to life as a military threat to Earth's security. As with Apophis and Anubis in SG-1, "Who Mourns..." revealed these "gods" to be extra-terrestrials with advanced powers and/or technology. The point Roddenberry and company were making was that Apollo and these other mythological beings got away with passing themselves off as legends because primitive, ancient Earthlings could not comprehend their alien powers. Kinda like the man behind the curtain in THE WIZARD OF OZ.
It's a bit more plausible that a visitation 5,000 years before the episode, that is, about 3,000 BC, in the civilization-free northern shores of the Mediterranean, would leave divine myths - than that a visitation in the full-blown Old Kingdom of Egypt would. There ought to have been actual historical records of a Stargate-style visit, unless the aliens were really careful in destroying such records at departure...
Had Apollo and pals visited classical era Greece, we wouldn't have "Zeus raped Europa". We would have "Zeus raped the grandmother of the second cousin of Laus Anoreksis, in the year 127 after the burning of Iunia, but King Bombastos kept the matter secret because of the pact he had with Zeus on defeating the Aenids. Or so Dimitrios Prophylaktis tells in his Inside Stories, and he can be trusted because his second cousin was a scribe in Dionysos' court".
Timo Saloniemi
Had Apollo and pals visited classical era Greece, we wouldn't have "Zeus raped Europa". We would have "Zeus raped the grandmother of the second cousin of Laus Anoreksis, in the year 127 after the burning of Iunia, but King Bombastos kept the matter secret because of the pact he had with Zeus on defeating the Aenids. Or so Dimitrios Prophylaktis tells in his Inside Stories, and he can be trusted because his second cousin was a scribe in Dionysos' court".
Timo Saloniemi
I think the ep does lean toward the idea that Apollo and his fellows were powerful ETs taken for Gods. But the beauty of the ep is you can interpret it either way, because Kirk and Co.'s conjectures are simply that -- conjectures. They have no solid proof -- they're merely extrapolating from what they see of Apollo and the tricorder readings of Apollo's extra organ and his power base -- the temple-like structure. Certainly, Apollo believed he was some kind of god. The only indication he might not think that is when he says to Caroline Palamas, "In a real sense, we were gods." So I like that the ep leaves it somewhat vague.
We've seen many beings in Trek who have powers we mere humans would consider godly. Like Q, for the most prominent example.
A human with modern tools (a lighter, revolver, a flashlight... etc..) and the knowledge to use them would be easily mistaken for a magician at the very least by most primitive cultures.
By the same token. if an entity with knowledge of science millenia in advance of our current knowledge were to show up in Europe after the fall of Rome... Do you think they could pass themselves off as a god?
To put it another way: What would happen if Ardra (from the TNG episode "Devil's Due") were to reveal herself to the Mintankans (from "Who Watches the Watchers")?
Playing God is what humans do. (Basically, it's the only thing we ever do... We create, we judge, we smite, and then we take a nap.)
You don't need to teleport in front of cavemen in order to impress the audience. It suffices for you to wear a white coat and speak half in Latin. Worship follows.
Certainly Apollo was a God, by any sensible definition. And so was Kirk.
Timo Saloniemi
You don't need to teleport in front of cavemen in order to impress the audience. It suffices for you to wear a white coat and speak half in Latin. Worship follows.
Certainly Apollo was a God, by any sensible definition. And so was Kirk.
Timo Saloniemi
I was just trying to speak to why it seemed Apollo had god-like powers. Pointing out that someone like me were to show up to a primitive culture (I'll go with the Babylonians) with a cigarette lighter and a can of hair spray I could probably have them worshipping me with a day, or they would kill me within an hour.
Apollo had "god-like" powers because his technology was more advanced than Kirk's.
Apollo had "god-like" powers because his technology was more advanced than Kirk's.
You are my hero.
Exactly. There's nothing ambiguous about the episode. The script makes it quite clear that Apollo and the other Greek gods were ancient space travellers whose amazing technology made them seem like gods even in Kirk's time.
With apologies to Arthur C. Clarke: any sufficiently advanced alien lifeform is indistinguishable from a god.
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