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APOLLO (Gr. 'A2r6XXwv,'Airkkhwv)

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Originally appearing in Volume V02, Page 186 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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APOLLO (Gr. 'A2r6XXwv,'Airkkhwv) , in See also:Greek See also:mythology, one of the most important and many-sided of the Olympian divinities. No satisfactory See also:etymology of the name has been given, the least improbable perhaps being that which connects it with the Doric awilXa (" See also:assembly "),' so that Apollo would be the See also:god of See also:political See also:life (for other suggested derivations, See also:ancient and See also:modern, see C. Wernicke in Pauly-Wissowa's Realencyclopddie). The derivation of all the functions assigned to him from the See also:idea of a single See also:original See also:light- or See also:sun-god, worked out in his Lexikon der Mythologie by See also:Roscher, who regards it as " one of the most certain facts in mythology," has not found See also:general See also:acceptance, although no doubt some features of his See also:character can be readily explained on this See also:assumption. In the See also:legend, as set forth in the Homeric hymn to Apollo and the See also:ode of See also:Callimachus to See also:Delos, Apollo is the son of See also:Zeus and Leto. The latter, pursued by the jealous See also:Hera, after See also:long wandering found shelter in Delos (originally See also:Asteria)', where she See also:bore a son, Apollo, under a See also:palm-See also:tree at the See also:foot of See also:Mount Cynthus. Before this, Delos—like See also:Rhodes, the centre of the See also:worship of the sun-god Helios, with whom Apollo was wrongly identified in later times—had been a barren, floating See also:rock, but now became stationary, being fastened down by chains to the bottom of the See also:sea. Apollo was See also:born on the 7th See also:day (g0boµayevi7s) of the See also:month Thargelion according to Delian, of the month Bysios according to Delphian, tradition. The 7th and loth, the days of the new and full See also:moon, were ever afterwards held sacred to him. In See also:Homer Apollo appears only as the god of prophecy, the sender of plagues, and sometimes as a See also:warrior, but elsewhere as exercising the most varied functions. He is the god of See also:agriculture, specially connected with See also:Aristaeus (q.v.), which, originally a See also:mere epithet, became an See also:independent See also:personality (see, however, Farnell, Cults of the Greek States, iv.

123). This See also:

side of his character is clearly expressed in the titles Sitalcas (" See also:protector of See also:corn "); Erythibius (" preventer of blight "); Parnopius (" destroyer of locusts "); Smintheus (" destroyer of mice "), in which, however, some modern inquirers see a totemistic significance (e.g. A. See also:Lang, " Apollo and the See also:Mouse,"' in See also:Custom and Myth, p. rot; against this, W. W. See also:Fowler, in Classical See also:Review, See also:November 1892); Erithius (" god of reapers "); and Pasparius (" god of See also:meal "). He is further the god of vegetation generally—Nomios, " god of pastures " (explained, however, by See also:Cicero, as " god of See also:law "), Hersos, " sender of the fertilizing See also:dew." Valleys and groves are under his See also:protection, unless the epithets Napaeus and Hylates belong to a more See also:primitive aspect of the god as supporting himself by the See also:chase, and roaming the glades and forests in pursuit of See also:prey. Certain trees and See also:plants, especially the See also:laurel, were sacred to him. As the god of agriculture and vegetation he is naturally connected with the course of the See also:year and the arrangement of the seasons, so important in farming operations, and becomes the orderer of See also:time (Horomedon, " ruler of the seasons "), and frequently appears on monuments in See also:company with the Horae. Apollo is also the protector of See also:cattle and herds, hence Poimnius (" god of flocks "), Tragius (" of goats "), Kereatas (" of horned animals "). Carneius (probably " horned ") is considered by some to be a pre-Dorian god of cattle, also connected with See also:harvest operations, whose cult was grafted on to that of Apollo; by others, to have been originally an epithet of Apollo, afterwards detached as a See also:separate personality (Farnell, Cults, iv. p. 131).

The epithet Maleatas, which, as the quantity of the first vowel (a) shows,2 cannot mean god of " See also:

sheep " or " the See also:apple-tree," is probably a See also:local See also:adjective derived from Malea (perhaps Cape Malea), and may refer to an originally distinct personality, subsequently merged in that of Apollo (see below). Apollo him-self is spoken of as a keeper of flocks, and the legends of his service as a herdsman with See also:Laomedon and See also:Admetus point in the same direction. Here probably also is to be referred the epithet Lyceius, which, formerly connected with wK- (`•` shine ") and used to support the conception of Apollo as a light-god, is now 3 See also:Hesychius; who also gives the explanation etisbs ("See also:fold"), in which See also:case Apollo would be the god of flocks and herds. 2 The authority for the quantity is See also:Isyllus.generally referred to abKos (" See also:wolf ") and explained as he who keeps away the wolves from the See also:flock (cf. Xvx6spyos, XuKOKTOVOS). In accordance with this, the epithet XvKf'yeelis will not mean " born of " or " begetting light," but rather " born from the she-wolf," in which See also:form Leto herself was said to have been conducted by wolves to Delos. The See also:consecration of the wolf to Apollo is probably the relic of an ancient totemistic See also:religion (Farnell, Cults, i. 41; W. See also:Robertson See also:Smith, Religion of the Semites, new ed., 1894, p. 226). With the care of the fruits of the See also:earth and the See also:lower animals is associated that of the highest See also:animal, See also:man, especially the youth on his passage to manhood. As such Apollo is Koepoeporf,os (" rearer of boys ") and See also:patron of the See also:palaestra.

In many places gymnastic contests form a feature of his festivals, and he himself is proficient in athletic exercises (ieay(lvtos). Thus he was supposed to be the first See also:

victor at, the Olympic See also:games; he over-comes See also:Hermes in the foot-See also:race, and See also:Ares in See also:boxing. The transition is easy to Apollo as a warlike god; in fact, the earlier legends represent him as engaged in strife with See also:Python, Tityus, the See also:Cyclopes and the Aloidae. He is Boedromios (" the. helper "), Eleleus (" god of the See also:war-cry "), and the Paean was said to have been originally a See also:song of See also:triumph composed by him after his victory over Python. In Homer he frequently appears on the See also:field, like Ares and Athene, bearing the See also:aegis to frighten the foe. This aspect is confirmed by the epithets Argyrotoxos (" god of the See also:silver See also:bow "), Hecatebolos (" the shooter from afar "), Chrysaoros (" wearer of the See also:golden See also:sword "), and his statues are often equipped with the accoutrements of war.3 The fame of the Pythiad See also:oracle at See also:Delphi, connected with the slaying of Python by the god immediately after his See also:birth, gave especial prominence to the idea of Apollo as a god of prophecy. Python, always represented in the form of a snake, sometimes nameless, is the See also:symbol of the old chthonian divinity whose See also:home was the See also:place of " enquiry (7ru%aOat). When Apollo Delphinius with his worshippers from See also:Crete took See also:possession of the earth-oracle Python, he received in consequence the name Pythius. That Python was no fearful See also:monster, symbolizing the darkness of See also:winter which is scattered by the See also:advent of See also:spring, is shown by the fact that Apollo was considered to have been guilty of See also:murder in slaying it, and compelled to wander for a See also:term of years and expiate his See also:crime by See also:servitude and See also:purification. Possibly at Delphi and other places there was an old See also:serpent-worship ousted by that of Apollo, which may See also:account for expiation for the slaying of Python being considered necessary. In the See also:solar explanation, the serpent is the darkness driven away by the rays of the sun. (On the Delphian.cult of Apollo and its political significance, see AmplucrYONY, DELPHI, ORACLE; and Farnell, Cults, iv. pp.

179-218.) Oracular responses were also given at Claros near See also:

Colophon in See also:Ionia by means of the See also:water of a spring which inspired those who drank of it; at See also:Patara in See also:Lycia; and at Didyma near See also:Miletus through the priestly See also:family of the Branchidae. Apollo's oracles, which he did not deliver on his own initiative but as the See also:mouthpiece of Zeus, were in-fallible, but the human mind was not always able to grasp their meaning; hence he is called Loxias (" crooked," " ambiguous "). To certain favoured mortals he communicated the See also:gift of prophecy (See also:Cassandra, the Cumaean sibyl, See also:Helenus, See also:Melampus and See also:Epimenides). Although his favourite method was by word of mouth, yet signs were sometimes used; thus See also:Calchas interpreted the See also:flight of birds; burning offerings, sacrificial See also:barley, the arrow of the god, dreams and the See also:lot, all played their See also:part in communicating the will of the gods. Closely connected with the god of oracles was the god of the healing See also:art, the oracle being frequently consulted in cases of sickness. These two functions are indicated by the titles Iatromantis (" physician and seer ") and Oulios, probably meaning " See also:health-giving " (so Suidas) rather than " destructive." This side of Apollo's character does not appear in Homer, where Paieon is mentioned as the physician of the gods. Here again, as in the case of Aristaeus and Carneius, the question arises 2 Hence some have derived " Apollo " from kiroW , to destroy..,, whether Paean (or Paeon) was originally an epithet of Apollo, subsequently See also:developed into an independent personality, or an independent deity merged in the later arrival (Farnell, Cults, iv. p. 234). According to Wilamowitz-Mollendorff in his edition of Isyllus, the epithet Maleatas alluded to above is also connected with the functions of the healing god, imported into See also:Athens in the 4th See also:century B.C. with other well-known health divinities. In this connexion, it is said to mean the See also:gentle one," who gave his name to the rock Mallon or Maleas (0. Gruppe, Griechische Mythologie, ii. 1442) on the Gortynian See also:coast.

Apollo is further supposed to be the See also:

father of Asclepius (See also:Aesculapius), whose See also:ritual is closely modelled upon his. The healing god could-also prevent disease and misfortune of all kinds: hence he is &X iKaKos (" averter of evil ") and iwrorpinraios. Further, he is able to purify the guilty and to cleanse from See also:sin (here some refer the epithet iarpbµavris, in the sense of " physician of the soul "). Such a task can be fitly undertaken by Apollo, since he himself underwent purification after slaying Python. According to the Delphic legend, this took place in the laurel See also:grove of See also:Tempe, and after nine years of See also:penance the god returned, as was represented in the festival called Stepterion or Septerion (see A. See also:Mommsen, Del phika, 1878). Thus the old law of See also:blood for blood, which only perpetuated the crime from See also:generation to generation, gave way to the milder idea of the expiatory See also:power of See also:atonement for murder (cf. the See also:court called ro AeXc wtc,, at Athens, which retained See also:jurisdiction in cases where justifiable See also:homicide was pleaded). The same See also:element of See also:enthusiasm that affects the priestess of the oracle at Delphi produces song and See also:music. The See also:close connexion between prophecy and song is indicated in Homer (Odyssey, viii. 488), where See also:Odysseus suggests that the See also:lay of the fall of See also:Troy by Demodocus was inspired by Apollo or the Muse. The metrical form of the oracular responses at Delphi, the important part played by the paean and the Pythian nomos in his ritual, contributed to make Apollo a god of song and music, friend and See also:leader of the See also:Muses (µouoayErrts). He plays the See also:lyre at the banquets of the gods, and causes See also:Marsyas to be flayed alive because he had boasted of his See also:superior skill in playing the See also:flute, and the ears of See also:Midas to grow long because he had declared in favour of See also:Pan, who contended that the flute was a better See also:instrument than Apollo's favourite, the lyre.

A less important aspect of Apollo is that of a marine deity, due to the spread of his cult to the Greek colonies and islands. As such, his commonest name is Delphinius, the See also:

dolphin god," in whose See also:honour the festival See also:Delphinia was celebrated in See also:Attica. This cult probably originated in Crete, whence the god in the form of a dolphin led his Cretan worshippers to the Delphian See also:shore, where he bade them erect an See also:altar in his honour. He is Epibaterius and Apobaterius (" embarker " and " disembarker "), Nasiotas (" the islander "), Euryalus (" god of the broad sea "). Like See also:Poseidon, he looks forth over his watery See also:kingdom from lofty cliffs and promontories *rams, and perhaps iKpiras). These maritime cults of Apollo are probably due to his importance as the god of colonization, who accompanied emigrants on their voyage. As such he is aryitrwp (" leader "), olxh rrts (" founder "), bwµarirtls (" god of the home "). As Agyieus (" god of streets and ways "), in the form of a See also:stone See also:pillar with painted See also:head, placed before the doors of houses, he let in the See also:good and kept out the evil (see Farnell, Cults, iv. p. 150, who takes Agyieus to mean " leader ") ; on the epithet Prostaterius, he who " stands before the See also:house," hence " protector," see G. M. Hirst in See also:Journal of Hellenic Studies, xxii. (1902).

Lastly, as the originator and protector of See also:

civil See also:order, Apollo was regarded as the founder of cities and legislation. Thus, at Athens,Apollo Patrons was known as the protector of the See also:Ionians, and the Spartans referred the institutions of See also:Lycurgus to the Delphic oracle.. It has been mentioned above that W. H. Roscher, in the See also:article " Apollo " in his Lexikon der Mythologie, derives all the aspects and functions of Apollo from the conception of an original light-and sun-god. The See also:chief objections to this are the following. It cannot be shown that on Greek See also:soil Apollo originally had the meaning of a sun-god; in Homer, See also:Aeschylus and See also:Plato, thesun-god Helios is distinctly separated from See also:Phoebus Apollo; the See also:constant epithet coif3os, usually explained as the brightness of the sun, may equally well refer to his See also:physical beauty or moral purity; XvKnyev-its has already been noticed. It is not until the beginning of the 5th century B.C. that the See also:identification makes its See also:appearance. The first See also:literary See also:evidence is a fragment of See also:Euripides (See also:Phaethon), in which it is especially characterized as an innovation. The idea was taken up by the See also:Stoics, and in the See also:Roman See also:period generally accepted. But the fact of the See also:gradual development of Apollo as a god of light and See also:heaven, and his identification with See also:foreign sun-gods, is no See also:proof of an original Greek solar conception of him. Apollo-Helios must be regarded as " a See also:late by-product of Greek religion " (Farnell, Cults, iv. p.

136; Wernicke in Pauly-Wissowa's Realencyclopadie). For the manner in which the solar theory is developed, reference must be made to Roscher's article, but one legend may here be mentioned, since it See also:

helps to trace the spread of the cult of the god. It was said that Apollo soon after his birth spent a year amongst the See also:Hyperboreans, who dwelt in a See also:land of perpetual See also:sunshine, before his return to Delphi. This return is explained as the second birth of the god and his victory over the See also:powers of winter; the name Hyperboreans is explained as the " dwellers beyond the See also:north See also:wind." This See also:interpretation is now, however, generally rejected in favour of that of H. L. See also:Ahrens,—that Hyperborei is identical with the Perpherees (" the See also:carriers''), who are described as the servants of Apollo, carriers of cereal offerings from one community to another (See also:Herodotus iv. 33), This would point to the fact that certain settlements of Apolline worship along the northernmost border of See also:Greece (See also:Illyria, See also:Thrace, See also:Macedonia) were in the See also:habit of sending offerings to the god to a centre of his worship farther See also:south (probably Delphi), advancing by the route from Tempe through See also:Thessaly, Pherae and See also:Doris to Delphi; while others adopted the route through Illyria, See also:Epirus, See also:Dodona, the Malian gulf, Carystus in See also:Euboea, and Tenos to Delos (Farnell, Cults, iv. p. 'co). The most usual attributes of Apollo were the lyre and the bow; the See also:tripod especially was dedicated to him as the god of prophecy. Among plants, the See also:bay, used in expiatory sacrifices and also for making the See also:crown of victory at the Pythian games, and the palm-tree, under which he was born in Delos, were sacred to him; among animals and birds, the wolf, the See also:roe, the See also:swan, the See also:hawk, the See also:raven, the See also:crow, the snake, the mouse, the grass-hopper and the See also:griffin, a mixture of the See also:eagle and the See also:lion evidently of Eastern origin. The swan and See also:grasshopper symbolize music and song; the hawk, raven, crow and snake have reference to his functions as the god of prophecy. The chief festivals held in honour of Apollo were the Carneia, See also:Daphnephoria, See also:Delia, Hyacinthia, See also:Pyanepsia, Pythia and See also:Thargelia (see separate articles).

Among the See also:

Romans the worship of Apollo was adopted from the Greeks. There is a tradition that the Delphian oracle was consulted as See also:early as the period of the See also:kings during the reign of Tarquinius Superbus, and in 430 a See also:temple was dedicated to Apollo on the occasion of a pestilence, and during the Second Punic War (in 212) the Ludi Apollinares were instituted in his honour. Bd't it was, in the time of See also:Augustus, who considered himself under the See also:special protection of Apollo and was even said to be his son, that his worship developed and he became one of the chief gods of See also:Rome. After the See also:battle of See also:Actium, Augustus enlarged his old temple, dedicated a portion of the spoil to him, and instituted quinquennial games in his honour. He also erected a new temple on the See also:Palatine See also:hill and transferred the See also:secular games, for which See also:Horace composed his Carmen Saeculare, to Apollo and See also:Diana. Apollo was represented more frequently than any other deity in ancient art. As Apollo Agyieus he was shown by a See also:simple conic pillar; the Apollo of Amyclae was a pillar of See also:bronze surmounted by a helmeted head, with extended arms carrying See also:lance and bow. There were also See also:rude idols of him in See also:wood ( xoana) , in which the human form was scarcely recognizable. In the 6th century, his statues of stone were naked, stiff and rigid in attitude, shoulders square, limbs strong and broad, See also:hair falling down the back. III the riper period of art the type is softer, and Apollo appears in a form which seeks to combine manhood and eternal youth. His long hair is usually tied in a large See also:knot above his forehead. The most famous statue of him is the Apollo See also:Belvidere in the Vatican (found at See also:Frascati, 1455), an See also:imitation belonging to the early imperial period of a bronze statue representing him, with aegis in' his See also:left See also:hand, See also:driving back the Gauls from his temple at Delphi (279 B.C.), or, according to another view, fighting with the Pythian See also:dragon.

In the Apollo Citharoedus or Musagetes in the Vatican, he is crowned with laurel and wears the long, flowing robe of the Ionic See also:

bard, and his form is almost feminine in its fulness; in a statue at Rome of the older and more vigorous type he is naked and holds a lyre in his left hand; his right See also:arm rests upon his head, and a griffin is seated at his side. The Apollo Sauroctonus (after See also:Praxiteles), copied in bronze at the See also:Villa See also:Albani in Rome and in See also:marble at See also:Paris, is a naked, youthful, almost boyish figure, leaning against a tree, waiting to strike a See also:lizard climbing up the See also:trunk. The gigantic statue of Helios (the sun-god), " the See also:colossus of Rhodes," by See also:Chares of Lindus, celebrated as one of the seven wonders of the See also:world, is unknown to us. Bas-reliefs and painted vases reproduce the contests of Apollo with Tityus, Marsyas, and Heracles, the slaughter of the daughters of See also:Niobe, and other incidents in his life.

End of Article: APOLLO (Gr. 'A2r6XXwv,'Airkkhwv)

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