Apollo, a God of Civilization

[Quintus Aurelius Orcus]

Salvete
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Apollo: God of Archery, Sun, Music, Art, Prophecy, Healing

Mythology

Apollo, the youngest one of Zeus and Leto's twins was spared from the punishments Hera used on her partner's unlawful children. This has allot to do with the fact that he was a god and some of the unlawful children were half mortals. Out of respect for Apollo and Artemis, Hera did not punish them. Apollo was always very much loved on Mount Olympus and Zeus gave him the power of knowing the future. As Artemis took the characteristics of the moon goddess Selene, Apollo took all characteristics of Helios, god of the sun. He was most of all designated as Phoebus Apollo ('phoibos' had always been one of Helios' titles). This merging of two different myths has created some confusion. In mythology the sun was a chariot on fire, pulled by two winged horses, used by the god of the sun to drive along the sky during the day. Though Apollo was also seen as a god of the sun, he was never expected to carry out this duty. This work was still done by Helios, who kept his own identity totally independent from Apollo. But none the less, Apollo was also revered as a sun deity who overshadows Helios.
There were almost no stories about Apollo's youth and education. When he was a child, he may have killed the monstrous Python, who was torturing his mother on Hera's command. He could have done this when he was grown up and possibly with his twin sister. This is how he conquered the oracle of Delphi, where the monster lived. Apollo lived on Mount Olympus and was treated with utmost respect by Zeus, though they had a terrible fight when Apollo killed a female dragon consecrated to Gaea. When Asklepios was healing people and raised sometimes them from the dead, Zeus was angered when he heard of this and struck him with his lightning bolt that killed Asklepios but one can assume Asklepios came back as a God. As reaction to this, Apollo killed the Cyclops who made the lightning bolts for Zeus. As his punishment, Apollo was banned from Mount Olympus and was forced to live on earth for nine years. There he served Admetus, king of Thessaly, as a shepherd. The king treated him so well, that Apollo made him immortal, as a reward. Apollo was considered the god of shepherds, and one of his sacrificial animals was the wolf, enemy of all shepherds. Apollo also told Admetus the secret how to cheat death and said that this could only been done if somebody else was prepared to take his place. When Thanatos (or in some, later versions: Hades) finally came, Herakles (Hercules) passed through this town. He wrestled with Thanatos until he gave up and the wife of Admetus was saved. Even though she volunteered to take her husband's place.
Apollo was especially known as the god of music. He is often depicted carrying a lyre, the beloved Greek musical instrument with seven strings. The lyre was also that important because it was used to accompany poetry recitations. Hermes, who invented this musical instrument, gave the lyre to Apollo. Apollo became a master in playing the lyre and he also taught mortals how to play it.
Apollo was very proud of his musical talents. The satyr Marsyas once challenged him for a game, saying the sounds of his flute were much sweeter than those of Apollo's lyre. When the Muses, who were the judges, called Apollo as the winner, he had Marsyas skinned alive as punishment for his brutality. On another occasion Apollo gave king Midas the ears of a donkey, because he liked Pan's flute more than Apollo's lyre. Sometimes Apollo also used his musical gifts to help humanity: when Poseidon founded Troy, Apollo played such wonderful music that the city walls seemed to grow by the sound of his lyre. Another version tells us that Poseidon and Apollo were forced to work for the Trojan king for conspiring against him. When the king refused the pay the Gods, the two Gods left angered, waiting until the can take their revenge on the city.
Apollo's romances often had bad ends. He was unfaithful to the nymph Clytia, who pined away and was reborn as a sunflower, who always has to face the sun, her beloved one. His unwanted advances pushed Daphne that much to despair, she had herself changed into a laurel (this is the reason why Apollo is also identified with the laurel). To gain the love of the Trojan princess Cassandra, Apollo gave her the gift of prophecy. When she turned him down, he could not recall this, but as her punishment he made sure no one would ever believe her correct predictions. When Cassandra predicted during the Trojan War that the city would fall, the Trojans declared her mad and took no notice of her warnings.
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valete optime
Romulus

[Gnaeus Dionysius Draco]

Salve Romule,

Long time no see!

I will post some comments on Apollo tomorrow evening, wrt an old topic at our former forums that dealt with Apollo.

Vale!
Draco

[Quintus Aurelius Orcus]

Salvete
Draco, i look forward to those comments on Apollo.
In the mean time i shall post another part of the Apollonian essay.
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Religion:

Apollo was a real mystery deity, who had is own mystery religion like Aphrodite, Artemis, Hekate, Demeter, etc… The killing of the dragon may suggest a kind of symbolic initiation rite. What we know of these kinds of initiation rites is that they tend to show up in particular secret societies where Apollo was the center of it. But none of this is really mentioned by either Kereny or Burkert so this is doubtful, but it doesn't mean it can't be any less true. Apollo was the kind of deity that was immensely popular and didn't have any mystery religion. He had cults, but no mystery religion like the Eleusinian Mysteries and the Bacchic Mysteries.
Apollo had much authority, partly from his role as god of prophecy. His temple and oracle at Delphi, the most famous sanctuary in the Mediterranean, was only one of his many oracles. His two motto's, "know yourself" and "everything with moderation", carved in a gate at Delphi, reflected the Greek philosophy of life. With his beauty, Apollo was the personification of the Greek ideal of male beauty.
Apollo was the only god of Mount Olympus who entered the Roman pantheon by his own name. He was not gradually identified with Italian deities, but entered suddenly after an epidemic, as a result of an oracle's saying. Though the Romans worshipped him for his role as a healer, he would never be estimated as high as with the Greeks, but it was this aspect of healing that was the center of his cult. His popularity spread beyond Greece, for he was adopted by both the Etruscans as Aplu and the Romans who alone adopted him in toto, whereas the characters and myths of other Greek gods and goddesses were assimilated with native Roman deities. Apollo is a musician with a golden lyre, hunter with a silver bow, archer, prophet, a healer who taught man medicine, and a protector of flocks and herds. He was a god of light, a patron of philosophy, and truth who cannot lie; approving codes of law and urges or enforces high moral and religious principles. He was depicted naked or robed, with bow or lyre, singularly or with Artemis, sometimes Leto, the Muses, or other deities. His totemic animals are the wolf and dolphin, his bird the crow, and the laurel is sacred to him. Apollo was commonly identified with the sun beginning in the fifth century BC with the epithet Phoebus ('the bright, pure one'). This association stuck with Apollo throughout Hellenistic and imperial times, though there is little to suggest he was originally a sun god. Indeed, the Greeks already had Helios, with whom Apollo was never associated in myth or character.
Apollo seems to have assumed the character of a sun god, and in this new role he daily harnesses his four-horse chariot and drives the sun across the sky. However, the epithet Phoebus In myth Apollo is the son of Zeus and the Titaness Leto, who gave birth to him and his twin sister Artemis on the island of Delos after being persecuted by Hera. The most beautiful of all the gods, Apollo represents the more rational side of both the universe and man.
In myth he conflicts with the nature gods of goat-cults, Dionysus and Pan, and with Hermes, who has cattle-herding associations; showing possible pastoral group rivalries. As a protector of cattle he keeps wolves away (hence his name of Lykeios); as a field protector he wards off mice (Smintheus). As god of the Muses, Apollo Musagetes is often represented with a lyre, and he is gifted with singing and music.
Apollo is a healer (with the snake as an attribute) and a god of expiation, whose arrows bring sickness and death. He was also the father of Asclepius, the chief Greek healer god introduced early to Italy via Tuscany (Aplu) or the Greek colonies; Apollo never had a commonly accepted identification. In Republican times he was known mostly for his healing powers. After the battle of Actium, Augustus promoted him to become a major god of the Empire.
Apollo's chief oracular shrine was at Delphi, which he seized by his killing the oracle's serpent protector, Python. Other oracular shrines were at Branchidae and Claros in Ionia, etc. Delphi, on Mount Parnassus, was revered throughout the mortal world as a vessel of Apollo's predictions for the future. Mortals sought the oracle from great distances to discover the will of the gods.
Apollo is first found in Greece in the early Iron Age. He is unknown in Linear B tablets, and the etymology of his name remains uncertain. Two theories of Apollo's origin both lead outside the Hellenic world.
One theory derives him from the Semitic world, where his name supposedly means 'the Lord'. This theory has him coming to Greece by the post-Mycenaean period, or later when the Greeks began exploring and colonizing the wider world beginning in the eighth century BC. Indeed, Apollo seems to appear suddenly, and is very popular in art from the seventh century BC.
The second probable theory points northward. Links in this direction include the legendary Apollonian people, the Hyperboreans, who sent yearly offerings to Delos; the ritual of the Stepteria points north also. In winter, meanwhile, Apollo was said to retreat to Hyperborea, where he would 'hibernate' or languish in the cold months as a sort of dying-and-resurrecting god.
His epithets have more to do with civilized functions. So the title: God of civilization is at its place here. In his right, Apollo can be called the God of Civilization. Is it no wonder that Apollo was so highly regarded by the Hellenes, even today this is the case.
Apollo was also the main god of the Trojans, a Thracian people as referenced by Homer and confirmed in a copy of a treaty found where he is invoked as Apulianas between the Hittite king and his vassal at Wilusa (Ilion/ Troy). His mother Leto is also found in Lycia as Lada, and Apollo also has several links there. His local character was referenced as the "Lycian Apollo" to distinguish it from that of the Greeks'. Lycia does not suggest a Near Eastern connection, however. Lycia was part of the Thracio-Anatolian cultural sphere, located on its southern edge.
Other links northward includes the Dacian town of Aplu, of which his ancient antecedent may have been the eponymous god. One of the most honored of the Greek gods was Apollo. He was a second-generation Olympian god symbolizing youthful strength and beauty; a many-talented god associated with higher culture such as the arts and medicine. He was the eponymous god of several cities throughout the Hellenic world, and was the patron god of many more cities that built temples in his honor.
Apollo, twin brother of Artemis, was the god of light, god of sun, but also god of music, poetry and fine arts, god of cure and god of prophecy. Despite his magnificent beauty, something that made him a beloved subject for painters and sculptors, he was not very lucky when it came to love. That Apollo is a god of healing remains a central trait in his worship- from the mythical foundation of Didyma when Branchos, ancestor of the priestly line of the Branchidai, banished a plague, to the building of the well- preserved temple in the lonely mountains of Bassae in Arcadia, which was erected following the plague in 430 and dedicated to Apollo the Helper, Epikourios. Later Asklepios followed his father by attending the ailments of the ordinary men. The god of the healing hymn might well be a magician god; Apollo is the every opposite, a god of purification and cryptic oracles. With disease and bane, nosos in the widest sense, being interpreted as pollution, the bane is not personified but objectified; knowledge and personal responsibility come into play here. The person must find out what action brought this pollution and eliminated through renewed action. This would require super- human knowledge if not Apollo is a god of oracles and purifications. However most of the oracles extended beyond the domain of cultic prescriptions and not all oracles belong to Apollo. There were Oracles of the Dead and an Oracle of Zeus. The Oracle on Delos, which did not belong to his cult, ceased to function during Archaic times. But the seer stood under protection of Apollo.
There can allot be said about Apollo, but one thing is certain. He is a God of civilization. It is why he was so important to the Greeks. Well that and his ability to heal, to sent prophecies, and all. In Hellas he was highly regarded, but among Roman Gods, he was not so highly regarded. He will never enjoy the same kind of status as he enjoyed with the Greek. He is an ancient deity, whose worship stretches back to the dark ages. By the time of the archaic era, his worship was already in place and spread throughout the entire world. He is even linked to Paiawon, an independent deity of Crete because the name lies so close to the Paiean: a healing hymn to appease Apollo's wrath, which is linked to the Hykanthia festival at Amyklai. The appeasing hymn seems to come from the Minoan tradition, which was brought to Hellas. His dualistic nature is emphasized here. At the one side he is the bringer of civilization, welfare, etc.., but on the other side, he brings disease, famine, death, etc.... Ares has a dualistic side, but only with the Thracians, Spartans and Romans, Ares' good side show up while in the rest of the Hellenic world only his bad sides are shown. Apollo is usually called upon for a purification rite or a prophetic dream, but also healing, inspiration, etc…

Symbols and cult center

Apollo's symbols are the lyre, bow, tripod and the sun. His animals that are sacred to him are the crow, wolf, the dolphin, and the mouse. These are the types of sacrifices he receives: bay, laurel, vine, rush, sunflower, amber, hyacinth, frankincense, olibanum, aloe
His primary cult centers were in Delos, the island and in Delphi.
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valete optime
Romulus

[Quintus Aurelius Orcus]

Salvete
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Festivals

His festivals were Boedromia: 7 Boedromion (September-October), Delphinia: 6 Mounikhion (April-May), Metageitnia: 7 Metageitnion (August-September), Hyakinthia: during Hekatombaion (July-August), Karneia: 7-15 Metageitnion (August-September), Nymphegetes: 8 Gamelion (January-February), Puanepsia: 7 Puanepsion (October-November), Pythian Games: Metageitnion, 3rd year of the Olympiad,Thargelia: 6-7 Thargelion (May-June), 7th day of the month

Honoring Apollo:

Apollo's blessings are beauty, healing, justice, strength, artistic and athletic skill, as well as prophecy. He helps people to find ways to become better than they are. He heals all ailments - spiritual as well as physical. He punishes unjust acts, yet helps those who have committed them to find redemption and purification. He inspires the best work by poets and sculptors, athletes and scientists.. He communicates to man the will of his father, Zeus, making known what was hidden. Above all he preaches the Hellenic ideal of moderation and nothing to excess.
Live excellently. Don't shirk your responsibilities, or do things you know are wrong. Put your core values into practice: don't just preach it, live it. Cultivate the arts. Write, draw, paint, dance, play an instrument, sculpt or support those who do. Read philosophers, and try to think outside the box. Learn and practice a form of divination. Live healthfully. Exercise. Take an interest in what you eat and how it affects your body. Visit the sick. Donate time or money to AIDS or cancer research and treatment or other health concerns. Besides the well known "Know yourself", there were other Delphic maxims: aid friends, control anger, shun unjust acts, acknowledge sacred things, hold on to learning, praise virtue, avoid enemies, cultivate kinsmen, pity supplicants, accomplish your limit, when you err, repent, consider the time, worship the divine and accept old age.

Epithets:

Agreus (Hunter)
Aguieus (Guardian of Streets)
Aigletes (Radiant)
Akesios (Healer)
Alasiotas (of Cyprus)
Alexikalos (Who Wards off Evil)
Apotropaios (Averter of Evil)
Aristaios (Best)
Arkhegetes (Leader of Colonies)
Daphnephoros (Bay-Bearer)
Delios (Delian)
Delphinios (of the Dolphins)
Delphic, Epikourios (Helper, Ally)
Genetor (Begetter, Ancestor)
Hekatos (Far-Darter)
Hersos (New Born, Divine Child)
Hyperborean (of the Far North)
Iatros (Doctor)
Ismenios (of Ismenos)
Karneios (of the Karneia)
Kitharodos (Singer to the Lyre)
Kourotrophos (Protector of Youth)
Leukatas (of the Light)
Loxias (the Oblique)
Lukeios (of the Wolf)
Maleatas (Healer)
Musagetes (Leader of the Muses)
Nomios (Herdsman, Shepherd)
Paian (alternate name)
Patroos (Ancestral)
Phoibos (Bright)
Puthios (Pythian, slayer of Pytho)
Smintheus (of the Mouse)
Delphinios (Dolphin)
Lykios
Lyaeos
Thargelios.
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valete optime

[Gnaeus Dionysius Draco]

Salve Romule,

As said, this topic came up earlier when we still had e-lists.

Our Greek teacher in 5th grade suggested at one point that Apollo's name might be derived from the Greek verb "apollunai" which means, if I recall correctly "to perish". He would originally have been, according to this theory (of which I don't know if it was my teacher's own creation or someone else's), a god of darkness. As another piece of evidence our teacher pointed to Apollo's ability to inflict disease, and his unforgiving, cold character traits.

He suggested that Apollo was then associated with the light as an apotropaeic manner of dealing with this darkness, just like Hades, who essentially rules a realm of death, was given the epithet "Ploutoon" and was associated with riches. The fact that Apollo only gradually absorbed Helios' function may also point to a different origin that wasn't associated with light and fire, but rather with health and disease.

Vale bene,
Draco

[Quintus Aurelius Orcus]

Salve Draco
Good point. How can a god have a destructive, bad side? Well if you know the myth where Prometheus creates mankind basicly after the image of the Gods. I'm not saying that this did actually happen, but this myth has a theological value. If mankind can do both good and bad things, and if we are created after the image of the Gods, than this also can reflect on their character. This mean that the Gods are both good and evil. They can bless one person and city and curse another.
Mythology shows us a part of their character of what they really are. That Apollo has a dark side is not so uncommon. All Gods have it. Hera was portrayed as an jealous bitch, but yet she was highly regard and revered among the Greeks. Aphrodite is said to be a goddess of love, but she can turn deadly aswell as any other god or goddess. An epithet of Aphrodite shows this as Androphonos "killer of men" or Areia (of Ares/ Warlike). Her epithet of Anosia and Skotia proves that to every god and goddess- even a goddess of love- there can be dark side, just as their is a dark side to all things and persons.
vale optime
Romulus

[Quintus Aurelius Orcus]

Salvete
I shall continue this weekend with my posts on the Hellenic Gods as i had help from Coruncanius with these posts. The deal was that he did 5 or 6 deities and i the rest. The only qustion remains, how far did he got?
Also i shall post something on the September festivals of the Hellenic calendar.
valete optime
Romulus

[Anonymous]

What is apotropaeic? (I searched it in a dictionary, but I did not find it)

[Gnaeus Dionysius Draco]

I don't know if the word really exists in English, it was just a wild stab in the dark on my part. But in Dutch (apotropaeisch) it means "with a function to protect from/avert misfortune".

Draco

[Quintus Aurelius Orcus]

Salvete
Well to me it sounds like apotropaic is derived from Apotropaios which means averter of evil, so the the explanation given by Draco should be accurate.
Nice to see that me gens is expanding. Welcome to the Gens Aurelia, Lucius Aurelius Flavus. Did i make any grammar error here, draco?
valete optime
Romulus

[Gnaeus Dionysius Draco]

Nice to see that me gens is expanding. Welcome to the Gens Aurelia, Lucius Aurelius Flavus. Did i make any grammar error here, draco?

Nope . Carry on, mi Romule!

Draco

[Quintus Aurelius Orcus]

Nope . Carry on, mi Romule!

thank you