Apollo
Michael Forest

Lt. Carolyn Palamas
Leslie Parrish

Lt. Kyle
John Winston

While approaching the planet Pollux IV in the Beta Geminorum system the Enterprise is stopped dead in space by what appears to be a giant hand which grabs the ship's saucer section. A bronzed, handsome face appears to the bridge crew and welcomes them, but also demands their complete obedience, threatening to crush the ship if they do not comply.

Kirk leads a landing party down to the planet's surface where they encounter a man in white robes sitting in what appears to be an ancient Greek temple. The being claims to be Apollo, one of the ancient race of Earth's gods, and demands of Kirk that the crew of the Enterprise stay on the planet and worship him. Kirk naturally refuses, at which the being becomes angry, creating an electrical storm and growing to a gigantic size, after which he disappears.

After a short while he calms down and returns, normal-sized, and starts sweet-talking Lieutenant Carolyn Palamas. He changes her uniform into a flowing Greek gown and starts to lead her away from the landing party. Scotty, who is sweet on Palamas, objects violently to Apollo's treatment of her and moves towards him. He is thrown back and nearly killed by a 'thunderbolt', which the being hurls at him. Kirk believes that this race of powerful beings were probably mistaken for gods and worshipped by the ancient Greeks.

He makes plans to try and provoke Apollo's wrath, weakening him by making him use his powers. He succeeds up to a point but Palamas, with the best of intentions, persuades Apollo not to attack them in his anger. She explains to Kirk that Apollo craves the worship of old and wants to provide a paradise for them to live in, saying that all he wants in exchange is their adoration.

Kirk refuses to accept this, managing to persuade her that this would be nothing more than slavery and that, in order to save the crew, she must reject his advances. Palamas returns to Apollo, while Kirk makes contact with Spock, who informs him that the temple building is, in fact, a huge power source. Apollo is furious when Palamas returns and gives him Kirk's reply and creates an electrical storm of great intensity.

Seizing his chance, Kirk orders Spock to fire full phaser power at the temple. It proves to be too much for Apollo to withstand and the temple is destroyed. Standing in the ruined remains, Apollo bemoans the fact that humans seem to have outgrown him and his kind. He makes the decision to follow the path of the other long-departed Greek gods and allows his physical existence to dissipate and be spread on the winds.