#but it makes me think Leto Asteria Lelantos

[thepaintalive]

the fact that artemis has 3 quails on her in hades

[apollosgiftofprophecy]

ToA Theory 1 - Apollo's Waking Visions

First official theory post, here we go! :D

Alright. So. After rereading The Dark Prophecy, I started wondering about something. In TDP, Apollo experiences waking visions, where he conks out for a bit and has prophetic visions.

I found this interesting because, well...isn't Apollo supposed to be cut off from prophecy? With Python back in control of Delphi?

Because think about it. Python controls Delphi, the root of all earthly prophecy. This would include Dodona, Trophonius, Herophile, and Sibyl - sure, they aren't strictly connected to Delphi, but it's pretty heavily stated that Delphi just straight-up Makes The Future. It's prophecies are The Big Deal and you Should Listen.

Meanwhile the other Oracles seem more guiding and "beware!" instead of "this is how it's gonna be".

(sidenote: found out there are MORE oracles and I wanna know WHERE THEY ARE IN RRVERSE CANON because I want my boy Branchus okay??? Okay. Branchus's oracle was second only to Delphi let's give Apollo's first boyfriend the attention he deserves!)

So of course, like all great members of this fandom, I started thinking.

Let's do a little family history first. ;)

Buckle up. We go down a deep rabbit hole 😎

Apollo and Artemis are twins, born to Leto and Zeus. Zeus's parents are Kronos and Rhea. Leto's are Koios and Phoebe.

Rhea has connections to Dodona, as we learn in-series, but she doesn't really seem to be all that involved with prophecy.

Her siblings, meanwhile...ho ho ho, they are a WHOLE NOTHER STORY!

Let's start with Phoebe. Phoebe, like all first generation Titans, is the daughter of Gaea and Ouranos. She married her brother Koios. Her children consist of Asteria, Lelantos, and Leto. As well as Artemis and Apollo, her other two grandchildren are Hecate (Asteria) and Aura (Lelantos).

Her name means "bright" and is the root of Apollo's most famous epithet - Phoebus. She is often described as "golden-crowned" and is the Titan of bright intellect, the overseer of Earthly Prophecies, and is the second guardian of Delphi, after her sister Themis. She gifted Delphi to Apollo for his birthday after he defeated Python.

Classic grandmother move.

Anyway. There's a bit of Phoebe lore. Time for her elusive husband :3

Koios. His names means "question" or "questioning", probably because he's the Titan of inquiring intellect. He's also the overseer of Heavenly Prophecies, and has an oracle up in the North Pole guarded by an earth-dragon - you'd know this serpent by the name of Draco, the constellation btw. Additionally, Hyperborea (where Apollo goes in the winter times) is part of his domain.

eyes

Unfortunately, we have very little mythological lore on these two, and even less in the RRverse (I cling to that one (1) Koios scene) which sucks because I love them already BUT it does give me lots of legroom to mess around with canon >:)

Back to the theory now. As you may have guessed, I'll be taking us in a direction concerning Apollo's mysterious grandparents. But what does this have to do with Apollo's visions?

Well. Remember when I mentioned that Delphi is the root of all earthly prophecies?

...look at Phoebe's paragraphs. She's the overseer of Earthly Prophecies, right? So it makes sense she's been affected by Python's takeover too.

(if you've read my fics you'd know this already lmao)

Asteria, Apollo's aunt, is a little trickier. She, too, has a hand in divination, but mainly through the night/stars and dreams. <-will come back to that later.

Koios, again, is overseer of Heavenly Prophecies, and is heavily implied to be able to commune with Ouranos's spirit. This is, apparently, a Big Deal because nobody else is mentioned to be able to do this.

...Except...remember this throwaway line in The Hidden Oracle?

^Apollo can see Ouranos too.

Within this theory is a sub-theory, so to speak - that immortals with the gift of prophecy can see Ouranos, since they can see what cannot be seen. This would include Phoebe, Asteria, Koios, and Apollo.

And it'll make sense why they'd keep it to themselves. Kronos wouldn't have been happy to hear his dad was still around. Neither would Zeus, for that matter.

So here I was. Contemplating. Wrote a few fics based around this idea. And one in particular got me thinking (fic in question being When The Stars Align), and a little ways down the road I realized something.

If Phoebe, the overseer of Earthly Prophecies, would have been affected by Python's takeover...was Koios? Could he even be affected?

Because here's the deal: Koios is the overseer of Heavenly Prophecies. Prophecies from the Sky.

Phoebe's are of the Earth - the Earth that Python has taken control of. And Delphi is the root of Earthly Prophecies - not Heavenly.

That would be Koios's oracle, up in the North Pole with Draco.

...So that means Heavenly Prophecy must have still been in business during ToA.

But then comes the question: If it was still within the gods' control, why didn't they use it?

Well...Draco's there, for one. He's probably the Python-equivalent of the North, and clearly he's still there since no myth has spoken of his death (that I know of).

If you ask me, I just think the gods are too nervous/afraid to try Koios's oracle. They were too scared to face Python, after all, until Apollo arrived. I think they'd be scared of a serpent who comes and goes from the stars as he pleases.

And as for why Apollo hasn't done anything about it...well, I think his fight with Python left him rather scarred, don't you think? He probably went "yeah grandma's oracle is enough" and the only time he ever got close to Koios's was during his time in Hyperborea.

So getting back to the main theory now. (So many rabbit holes to dive into with this post. The ADHD Urge is real)

Since Heavenly Prophecies is still active, but Earthly is in Python's control, I conclude Apollo's visions come from the Heavenly source.

Could they have come from the now-working Dodona? Maybe. But Dodona's all about those windchimes and trees. It doesn't have the Vibe, so to speak, for granting visions.

And remember. Trophonius, Herophile, and Sibyl aren't destroyed/freed yet. They have Zero connection to Apollo at this point because Python cut him off from them.

...but he didn't from the North. From Koios's divine power.

Because remember. Apollo is the god of prophecy.

Not of Earthly Prophecies, like Phoebe.

Not of Heavenly Prophecies, like Koios.

Not of nighttime divination and dreams like Asteria.

Of. Prophecy.

Prophecy as a whole. The entirety. The whole enchilada.

Every part of prophecy he's the god of, be it tarot cards to the Oracle of Delphi itself.

In my opinion, I think whatever Koios's Oracle is, it has just as must power as Delphi. The only problem was that...everybody just left it be. Nobody considered it because:

1) scary dragon

2) scary titan ruled the place

3) honestly at this point I think it's just straight-up forgotten about. Like Branchus's Oracle. I think at one point Apollo himself mentions there are other Oracles besides the ones in-series, but there's so many that his mortal brain cannot comprehend how many.

If the Grove of Dodona nearly faded into obscurity, then I think it's entirely possible Koios's Oracle was forgotten about (or so we think...I'm gonna be chewing on this for a while.)

Coming back round to TDP...I think this is a reasonable explanation about Apollo's visions. To summarize:

Apollo is cut off from Earthly Prophecy, his usual source of foresight that he gets from Phoebe

The unused, near-forgotten-about Heavenly Prophecy side of Apollo ignites to steer him on the right path

This is possible because Apollo is the god of prophecy itself, and not a single subset of prophecy, so he's not limited in the same way Phoebe is

Koios's Oracle is still out there and kicking and I will die on this hill

One problem. What about Asteria? She can interpret the future from the stars...aka the Sky. Like Koios. So couldn't she provide some insight to the future, since she, too, is connected to Heavenly Prophecy?

This is where things get a lil' tricky. And where I really slap on my tinfoil hat and start headcanoning my way through lmao

Basically, I think that since Asteria became the island of Delos (long story) a good chunk of her power is ingrained there. She's not as strong as she used to be, so her foresight isn't as strong.

This, in turn, I think could also serve as a reason why Koios's Oracle is "asleep" so to speak and nearly lost to memory in the RRverse - in fact, I think Asteria and Phoebe are the only ones who bother to remember its existence.

And Leto, of course. But I don't think she wants her son to know of another Oracle with a giant snake guarding it. She's had enough heart-attacks, thank you.

(Same with Lelantos, tbh.)

Canon is my sandbox and I am making some sweet sandcastles out of it XD

TL;DR

Apollo's visions in TDP stem from Koios's source of Heaven Prophecy because Phoebe's source of Earthly Prophecy (Delphi) has been taken over by Python. Koios's source firmly knocks on Apollo's mental doors and decides to kick back into gear to help its titular patron's grandson out. Because Apollo is the god of prophecy itself - every bit of it.

Extras:

I find it fascinating how magic and prophecy are both part of the same family tree (Hecate & Apollo).

and yes. You should expect a fic concerning Koios's Oracle at some point. but no promises on when :3

Thank you for coming to Insane Theory Time With Alder. I hope there will be more lmao

Websites you can look into:

Koios (Theoi)

Phoebe (Theoi)

Hyperborea (Theoi)

[literallyjusttoa]

SUUUNNYYYY

I was reblogging some posts of yours on my sideblog (@apollosgiftofprophecy) and!!!! found!!!!! your art of the Delphic Family!!!!!

YOU SAID YOU HAVE IDEAS AND THOUGHTS ABOUT THEM👀👀👀

ABOUT MY FAV KOIOS AND PHOEBE???? ASTERIA PERSES HECATE LELANTOS AND AURA???

I LUB THEM SO MUCH. PLEASE. PLEASE INDULGE ME. I AM BEGGING YOU. I WILL WRITE FANFICS - I HAVE WROTE FANFICS ABOUT THEM AND I HAVE MORE FANFICS ABOUT THEM

LITERALLY BEGGING YOU TO SPILL THE TEA

OK OK I DON’T KNOW IF I’M AS WELL VERSED IN THIS SIDE OF THE FAMILY AS YOU ARE BUT HERE ARE SOME OF MY LITTLE HC’S

All the cousins are besties, but Artemis is closer to Aura and Apollo is closer to Hecate. Artemis and Aura hunt together all the time, and Apollo researches magic practices a lot (God of knowledge and all that) so the two of them have fun experimenting with mystic stuff.

Asteria, Lelantos, and Leto were very close growing up, but the titanomachy put them all on different paths. They all still care for each other deeply, but scars from the past hold them back from being truly close. Recently, Asteria and Leto have been reconnecting, but Lelantos is still reluctant. 

Also because of the Titanomachy, the three siblings have various levels of strained relationships with their parents. Asteria sees her parents most favorably, and she and Leto are still regularly in contact with their mother. Leto holds a grudge against their father, and Lelantos doesn't speak with either of them. 

All of the third generation (Hecate, Aura, Apollo, Artemis) love their parents so fucking much (minus Zeus, of course) And not only that, they love each other’s parents too!! Hecate thinks Leto is the most kickass coolest aunt she could ever have! Artemis looks up to Perses like nobody's business! If Lelantos didn’t exist, Aura would ask Asteria to adopt her! And of course I have my little post-toa hc that Apollo and Lelantos become v close and wholesome and I love this family. 

Phoibe loves to brag on her kids and grandkids. Specifically, she loves to brag on the twins. See, Phoibe is not a fan of Olympus, or gods, in general. So to her, Apollo and Artemis are the only redeeming qualities of the immortal world today. So whenever something good comes out of Olympus, Phoibe is like “Well of course that was 100% because of my grandchildren. They get it all from their mother you know, nothing from that nasty child of Kronos. Oh how glorious, and you don’t see any of the godly children becoming the rulers of the sun and moon hmmm? Exactly.” 

Also according to her Apollo and Artemis are honorary titans. 

Koios hasn’t been able to interact with his grandchildren much, but he’s just as proud of them as Phoibe is, just in a … less wholesome way. Mans is certain he can convince his grandkids to retake Olympus for titan glory, which is never gonna happen. Whenever he brings it up the rest of the family just smile and nod awkwardly. 

Bonus: A little blurb about Leto I wrote about a month ago

During the titanomachy, Leto stayed on Hyperborea with her mother. She shored the defenses and kept the other titans alive. Leto had no exceptional healing or magical abilities, but she worked tirelessly and kept her heart open. She cared easily and earnestly. She fought to get her brother out of trouble with the gods after the fight ended, though she could not do the same for her parents. For years, it was just the two of them, until Leto met Zeus.

Zeus was everything Leto wanted to be. He was confident and assured, and so kind with her. They sang and danced and spoke about everything, and Leto did what she could to soothe his fears. When she get pregnant, Zeus was overjoyed. However, after the twins were born, he became colder and distant.

Leto was basically abandoned, her children taken to Olympus and her lover rebuffing any attempts at being close. She resolved to make a place for her family to return to, but they came less and less. Now Leto keeps her hearth steady, as she has for her whole life, wishing desperately that someone would stop drifting away, and come back to her. In her solitude and grief, she doesn't even realize that the earth itself will set down roots if she only asked, just as it had before.