Apollo (Phoebus), son of Zeus, god of light and sun, guardian of life and order
Apollo (Phoebus), Greek - son of Zeus and the Titanide Leto, god of light and sun, guardian of life and order, formidable shooter and infallible soothsayer.
Apollo was born on the island of Delos, where his mother fled to escape from Python, a terrible serpent with the head of a dragon, who was pursuing her on the orders of Hera, the jealous wife of Zeus. Then Delos was a floating island, rushing along the stormy waves, but Leto had no other choice, since by the will of Hera she could not find refuge on solid land. But as soon as Leto entered Delos, a miracle happened: two rocks suddenly rose from the depths of the sea, blocking the further path of both the island and Piron. On Mount Kinthos, Leto gave birth to twins: a daughter, Artemis, and a son, Apollo.
When Apollo grew up, he took to the skies with his usual weapons - a golden kithara and a silver bow - and headed to the country where Python lived to take revenge for the persecution of his mother. He found him in a deep gorge under Mount Parnassus, showered him with arrows and killed him after a short fight. Apollo buried Python's body in the ground and, so that not even a memory would remain after him, he changed the former name of the country - Pytho - to Delphi. At the site of his victory, Apollo founded a sanctuary with an oracle to proclaim the will of Zeus in it.
Although Python was a hideous monster, his origin was after all divine, so Apollo had to be cleansed by killing him, otherwise he could not begin his divine functions. Therefore, by decision of Zeus, he went to Thessaly and served there for eight years as a simple shepherd. After being cleansed of the spilled blood, he returned to Delphi, but did not stay there forever. As winter approached, he rushed away in his chariot harnessed by snow-white swans to the land of the Hyperboreans, where eternal spring reigns. Since then, Apollo invariably spent spring and summer in Delphi, and autumn and winter in the land of the blessed Hyperboreans, or visited the gods on high Olympus.
The appearance of Apollo on Olympus always brought joy and good mood. He was accompanied by the muses - goddesses of art, who recognized him as their leader (Musaget). None of the gods could surpass him in playing the cithara (lyre); at the sound of his singing, even the god of war, Ares, fell silent. He was the favorite of Zeus (just like his sister Artemis), and this often aroused the jealousy of the other gods. People revered him for many reasons. After all, he was the god of light and sun, without which life is impossible, as well as the creator of harmony and beauty, without which life is worth little. He kept people in wars and dangers, healed them from illnesses, took care of the world order established by Zeus, loved and rewarded good and punished evil. The golden arrows of his bow never missed, as did the punishing arrows that brought with them pestilence. His prophecies were infallible. True, they never came from him himself; he only communicated the will of Zeus to people through soothsayers: the Delphic Pythia, Sibyls and other oracles. (If the prophecies did not come true, and this also happened, then, of course, the people who misinterpreted them were to blame.)
In the world of gods and heroes, Apollo played an important role and himself became the hero of numerous myths. For example, there is a story about his musical competition with the satyr Marsyas, who literally paid for the defeat with his own skin (see also the articles “Pan”, “Midas”, “Hyacinthos”, “Niobe”, etc.). In the Trojan War, Apollo fought on the side of the defenders of Troy.
Like all gods, Apollo had many lovers. And yet, despite his origins and beauty, he was not always successful with women. His first love, the nymph Daphne, chose to turn into a laurel tree right before his eyes in order to escape from him; and even two mortal women, Cassandra and Marpessa, rejected his advances. Of his descendants, the most famous were Orpheus, Asclepius and Aristaeus; according to some myths, his sons were also Lin and Hymen.
Apollo was one of the oldest greek gods; most likely, his cult came to Greece from Asia Minor; some myths directly name the Ortygia grove near Ephesus as his birthplace. According to the Czech orientalist B. the Terrible, his predecessor in Asia Minor was the Hittite god of doors (gates) Apulun. Initially, Apollo was the guardian god of the herds, then the cities of the Greek colonists, and eventually became the god of light and the sun (and his sister Artemis - the goddess of the hunt, nature and the moon) and also had a number of other functions. Some of them were quite far from its original purpose. For example, since Apollo allegedly sailed from Crete to Delphi on a dolphin, he became the patron saint of sea travel. In poetry, he is called the Bow-Bearer, the Silver-Bowed, the Clairvoyant, the Far-Sighted, the Light-Born, or most often the Shining One (Phoebus). The Romans accepted his cult without changes, and, it seems, even earlier it was adopted from the Greeks by the Etruscans. In honor of Apollo, festivities were held in Delphi in the spring and autumn, and every four years the Pythian Games were held (from 582 BC, not only athletes, but also poets and musicians competed; in their significance, the Pythian Games were second only to the Olympic Games). Similar celebrations, although differing in program, also took place in Delos, Miletus and other places. In Rome, games dedicated to Apollo were celebrated from 212 BC. e. In memory of his victory at Actium in 31 BC. e. Augustus founded the Actium Games dedicated to Apollo.
The most famous monuments of ancient architecture and sculpture are associated with the name of Apollo. The oldest temple of Apollo in Greece, partially preserved to this day, is located in Corinth (mid-6th century BC). And today you can see 7 monolithic Dorian columns of this temple from the original 38. The architect of the Temple of Apollo at Bassae in Arcadia, which is best preserved, was the co-author of the Athenian Parthenon Ictinus. Of the other temples dedicated to Apollo and which, as a rule, had oracles, the Delphic one should be mentioned first of all. The first building (7th century BC) burned down, the second (late 6th century BC) was destroyed by an earthquake; Few and yet majestic remains of the third structure (circa 330 BC) have survived to this day. It is surpassed in scale by the temple at Didyma near Miletus, built in the 6th century. BC e. and destroyed in 494 BC. e. by the Persians and then restored. The temple of Apollo on Delos played an important role, in which in 478-454. the common treasury of the Greek states, united in the so-called Delian League (amphiktyony), was kept. Magnificent temples were dedicated to Apollo in Syracuse and Selinunte in Sicily (6th and 5th centuries BC), in Asia Minor Alabanda and Hierapolis, in Claros near Colophon, in Roda, in Cumae near Naples and other places; in Argos, Apollo had a common temple with Athena. He was in Rome already at the end of the 5th century. BC e. a temple was built outside the Carmenta Gate, another one was built on the Palatine by Augustus after 31 BC. e.
Of the ancient sculptural images of Apollo, the most famous are “Apollo Belvedere” (“a model of male beauty”) - a Roman copy of the Greek bronze sculpture of Leochares (2nd half of the 4th century BC), “Apollo Musagetes” - a Roman copy of the original by Scopas (mid 4th century BC), “Apollo Saurocton” (killing a lizard) - a copy of the work of Praxiteles (2nd half of the 4th century BC) and “Apollo Cyfared” (“Apollo with a cithara ") - a Roman copy of the Greek original (3rd century BC). All these statues are in the Vatican Museums, antique copies of these and other statues are available in the National Museums in Rome and Naples, as well as in the Louvre in Paris. Among the best images of Apollo, preserved in the Greek original, are “Apollo” from the western pediment of the Temple of Zeus in Olympia (460-450 BC, Olympia, museum) and the marble “Apollo” - a copy of the statue of Kalamis (c. 450 BC), found in the Theater of Dionysus under the Acropolis (Athens, National Archaeological Museum). The Etruscan statues of Apollo are also of approximately the same age, for example, “Apollo” from the pediment of the temple in Veii (late 6th century BC, Villa Giulia Museum). Until recently, the name of Apollo was given to archaic statues of young men in a frozen pose (kouros) - mostly erroneously. As for the images of Apollo on reliefs, vases, etc., even the most detailed catalog cannot cover them.
Sculptors and artists of modern times depicted Apollo no less often than ancient ones. Among the sculptures we will name the bronze “Apollo” by Giambologna (1573-1575, Florence, Palazzo Vecchio), “Apollo and Daphne” by L. Bernini (1624, Rome, Galleria Borghese), “Apollo and the Nymphs” by F. Girardon (1666, Versailles, Palace park), “Apollo with Python” by O. Rodin (1900, Paris, Rodin Museum). In painting - “Apollo and Diana” by L. Cranach the Elder (early 16th century, Munich, Pinakothek), “Apollo and the Muses” by Tintoretto (c. 1580, Venice Academy), “Apollo and Daphne” by P. Veronese (2- half 16th century, New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art) and the painting of the same name by N. Poussin (1664, Paris, Louvre).
Images of Apollo are often found in Prague museums, palaces and other architectural monuments, especially in frescoes. The oldest of them is the relief of Apollo M. del Piombo and Campione (1555-1560) in the Prague Belvedere (summer palace) “Star”.
Of the poetic works, the first place, at least in time, is occupied by the “Hymn to Apollo,” attributed to Homer (possibly 7th century BC). He wrote the hymn of the same name in the 3rd century. BC e. Callimachus. In Pushkin’s poem “The Poet” (1827): “Until Apollo demands a poet / To the sacred sacrifice...” - poetry is implied.
It is impossible not to mention musical works dedicated to Cyfared and Musaget: two “Hymns to Apollo” of the 1st or 2nd century. n. e., the melody of which was recorded with the first symbols known to us, which can roughly be called notes. And if we talk about modernity, then in our century I. Stravinsky wrote the ballet “Apollo Musagete” (1928).
The ancient Greeks named several of their cities by the name “Apollo”, one of them is located in present-day Albania and today is called Poyani, the other is located in Bulgaria and is called Sozopol.
Nowadays, the name “Apollo” has been revived in a different, not at all mythical, context. This was the name of the American space program, during which, on July 21, 1969, man first set foot on the surface of the Moon.
Apollo in ancient Greek mythology god of light, patron of the arts, leader and patron of the muses, predictor of the future, god-healer, patron of settlers and the founding of ancient Greek colonies. Purified people who committed murder. One of the most revered gods. Apollo is an Olympian god who included in his classical image the archaic and chthonic features of pre-Greek and Asia Minor development (hence the variety of his functions - both destructive and beneficent, the combination of dark and light sides in him).
Family and environment
Homer reports that after the discovery of the conspiracy of Hera, Poseidon and Apollo against Zeus (according to the Iliad, Athena took part in it instead of Apollo), Apollo and Poseidon in the form of mortals served with the Trojan king Laomedon and built the walls of Troy, which they then destroyed, angry at Laomedon, not who gave them the agreed payment.
Apollo struck with his arrows the giant Titius, who was trying to insult Leto.
Classical Apollo is the god of the heroic time, which among the Greeks was always contrasted with the previous chthonic period, when man was too weak to fight the powerful forces of nature and could not yet be a hero. The two greatest heroes, Hercules and Theseus, were associated with the mythology of classical Apollo. If, according to some myths, Apollo and Hercules fight each other for the Delphic tripod, then in other myths they found a city and even together received purification after murder, being in slave service.
Under the patronage of Apollo, Theseus kills the Minotaur and streamlines the laws in Athens, and Orpheus pacifies the elemental forces of nature.
When the son of Apollo, the healer Asclepius, was struck by the arrows of Zeus for trying to resurrect people, Apollo killed the Cyclopes who were forging arrows for Zeus, and as punishment he was sent to serve as a shepherd for King Admetus in Thessaly, where he increased his flocks and, together with Hercules, saved the king’s wife Alcesta from death. . He made the arrow with which he killed the Cyclops into a constellation. According to Hesiod and Akusilaus, Zeus wanted to cast him into Tartarus, but Leto begged him to be given into the service of man.
The destructive arrows of Apollo and Artemis bring sudden death to old people, sometimes striking without any reason. IN Trojan War Apollo the arrow-shooter helps the Trojans, and his arrows carry the plague to the Achaean camp for nine days. He invisibly participates in the murder of Patroclus by Hector and Achilles by Paris.
Agamemnon captured the daughter of the priest Apollo Chryses, Chryseis, in the Trojan War. The girl's father begged Agamemnon to return his daughter to him, but he refused. After the death of part of the Greek army from the arrows of the avenging Apollo, Agamemnon was forced to return Chryseis to his father.
The daughter of Tantalus and the wife of the Theban king Amphion, Niobe (or Niobe), was proud of her numerous offspring (according to various estimates, from 12 to 20 children). By doing this she offended the goddess Leto. For this, Apollo and Artemis killed all of Niobe’s children with a bow, and she herself was petrified with grief.
In a musical competition, Apollo defeats the satyr Marsyas, and Apollo, enraged by his insolence, tears off the satyr's skin. In the musical competition between Apollo and Pan, King Midas of Phrygia awarded the victory to Pan. This is where the expression “Midas judgment” arose, i.e. court of the ignorant. As punishment for this, Apollo gave Midas donkey ears. The king hid his ears under a Phrygian cap, and only the barber knew about the king’s secret. Tormented by the impossibility of telling about the secret, the barber dug a hole and whispered there: “King Midas has donkey ears.” He filled the hole with earth, but a reed grew in this place, whispering about the secret to everyone.
Along with destructive actions, Apollo also has healing actions. He is a doctor, a helper, a protector from evil and disease, who stopped the plague during the Peloponnesian War. He was the first to heal eyes. In later times, Apollo was identified with the sun in all the fullness of its healing and destructive functions.
At the Olympic Games, Apollo defeated Hermes in the race, and defeated Ares in a fist fight. Apollo sang on the lyre at the wedding of Peleus and Thetis.
On the basis of the mythology of Apollo, the myth of the Hyperboreans and their country arose, where morality and the arts flourished under the sign of the wisdom of Apollo. It is believed that in the spring and summer Apollo lived in Delphi, and in the fall he flew on his chariot drawn by snow-white swans to Hyperborea, where the goddess Summer was born. Hyperborean priests founded temples and sanctuaries of Apollo. One of the priests of Apollo, the soothsayer Abaris, according to legend, went without food and flew on a magic arrow given to him by Apollo.
Name, epithets and character
His name does not appear in Crete-Mycenaean texts. Data from the Greek language do not allow us to reveal the etymology of the name Apollo, which may indicate a non-Indo-European origin of the image. According to a common hypothesis, his name as Appaliunas appears in the treaty of King Wilusa Alexandrus with Muwatallis. According to another etymology (Yu.V. Otkupshchikov), the name comes from ancient Greek. “disgusting” (wolves, mice, locusts - depending on the epithet); according to Plutarch and Burkert - from “assembly”, the first month of the Delphic calendar was called “appellai”.
In later times, Apollo was identified with the Sun in all the fullness of its healing and destructive functions. Apollo's epithet Phoebus (phoibos) indicates purity, brilliance, oracle.
Apollo is a prophet and oracle, even thought of as the “driver of fate” - his epithet is Moiraget.
Apollo is a shepherd (his epithet is Nomius) and guardian of the flocks. He is the founder and builder of cities, the ancestor and patron of tribes, the “father.” Sometimes these functions of Apollo are associated with his service to people, to which he is sent by Zeus, angered by the independent disposition of Apollo.
Apollo is a musician; he received the cithara from Hermes in exchange for cows. He is the patron saint of singers and musicians, his epithet Musaget is “driver of the muses” and severely punishes those who try to compete with him in music.
The image of Apollo reflected the originality of Greek mythology in its historical development. Archaic Apollo is characterized by the presence of plant functions, his proximity to agriculture and shepherding. He is Daphnius, i.e. “laurel tree”, “laurel diviner”, “laurel tree lover” Daphne. His epithet is Drimas, i.e. "oak". Apollo is associated with cypress, palm, olive, ivy and other plants.
His zoomorphism is manifested in his connection and even complete identification with the raven, swan, mouse, wolf and ram. In the form of a raven, Apollo indicated where the city should be founded. His epithet is Cycnus ("swan"), who put Hercules to flight. He is Sminfey (“mouse”), the savior of mice. Apollo of Carnea is associated with Karn (Karney) - the demon of fertility. The epithet Lycean ("wolf") refers to Apollo as a guardian from wolves and as a wolf. In the form of a dog he came to the daughter of Antenor, in the form of a turtle and a snake to Dryope.
The matriarchal features of Apollo are reflected in his name from his mother - Letoid; he constantly bears the name of the goddess Leto who gave birth to him.
The interpenetration of life and death, characteristic of primitive thinking, did not escape Apollo; at this late stage of the archaic, he is a demon of death, murder, even human sacrifices sanctified by the ritual, but he is a healer, an averter of troubles: his nicknames are Alexikakos (“abominator of evil”), Apotropaeus ("abominator"), Prostatus ("protector"), Akesius ("healer"), Paean or Paeon ("resolver of diseases"), Epicurius ("caregiver").
At the stage of Olympian or heroic mythology, in this gloomy deity, with his power over life and death, a certain stable principle stands out, from which grows a strong harmonious personality of the great god of the patriarchal era. He helps people, teaches them wisdom and arts, builds cities for them, protects them from enemies, and together with Athena acts as a defender of paternal right. Its zoomorphic and plant features become only rudimentary attributes. He is no longer a laurel, but he loves Daphne, who has become a laurel tree. He is not cypress and hyacinth, but his favorites are the young men Cypress and Hyacinth. He is not a mouse or a wolf, but the lord of mice and the slayer of the wolf.
The cult of Apollo was widespread in Greece everywhere, temples with the oracles of Apollo existed on Delos, Didyma, Claros, Abacha, the Peloponnese and other places, but the main center of veneration of Apollo was the Delphic temple with the oracle of Apollo, where the priestess of Apollo, the Pythia, sat on a tripod gave predictions. The ambiguous nature of the predictions, which allowed the widest interpretation, allowed the Delphic college of priests to influence the entire Greek politics.
In Delphi, festivities were held in honor of Apollo (theophany, theoxenia, Pythian Games, which were introduced in honor of the victory of Apollo over Python; in their brilliance and popularity they were second only to the Olympic Games). All months of the year, except three winter ones, were dedicated to Apollo at Delphi. The Temple of Apollo on Delos was the religious and political center of the Delian Union of Greek Polis; the treasury of the union was kept in it and meetings of its members took place. Apollo acquired the importance of an organizer not only in the socio-political life of Greece, but also in the field of morality, art and religion. During the classical period, Apollo was understood primarily as the god of art and artistic inspiration.
From the Greek colonies in Italy, the cult of Apollo penetrated to Rome, where this god took one of the first places in religion and mythology. Emperor Augustus declared Apollo his patron and established centuries-old games in his honor; the temple of Apollo near the Palatine was one of the richest in Rome.
Apollo's attributes are a silver bow and golden arrows, an aegis, a laurel wreath. Symbols - olive, iron, laurel, palm tree, dolphin, swan, wolf. Another distinctive feature of Apollo was the golden cithara (hence his nickname - Cyfared - “playing the cithara”) or lyre; this musical instrument personified national music, as opposed to the flute, which personified Phrygian music. Ancient Greek word kithara lives in European languages in its descendant - the word guitar. And the guitar itself is nothing more than a cithara that has changed over time.
The main places of veneration are Delphi and the island of Asteria (Delos), the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis, where delias (festivals in honor of Apollo, during which wars and executions were prohibited) were held every four years in late summer. The sanctuary at Delphi was famous throughout ancient world. It was there, at the site of Apollo's victory over the dragon Python who was pursuing his mother, that Apollo founded a sanctuary.
The third Vatican mythographer lists the 12 stones in Apollo's crown.
Apollo is also revered by the Gauls (according to Caesar). According to the Celtic song, after the death of Asclepius, he retired to the Hyperboreans, and his tears became amber. When the gods fled to Egypt, Apollo turned into a raven or a kite. The Egyptians dedicated hawks to Apollo (more precisely, the falcons of Horus). Apollo was revered in Tire. He was called "four-armed" and "four-eared."
The Etruscan deity Apl (Aplu, Apulu, Aplun) corresponds in many ways to Apollo. In Celtic mythology, the god Maponos (lat. Maponos) is mentioned by Roman authors, who identified him with Apollo. In West Semitic mythology, the fiery deity Rashap, who sends wars and pestilence, was also identified with Apollo in the Hellenistic era.
Influence on culture and art
Among the images of Apollo are ancient Greek statues (known in Roman copies): “Apollo Killing a Lizard” (c. 370 BC, sculptor Praxiteles) and “Apollo Belvedere” (mid-4th century BC, sculptor Leochares ).
Pythagoras wrote an elegy on Apollo's tomb at Delphi, stating that he was the son of Silenus, killed by Python and mourned by the three daughters of Tripodes, hence the name Tripodus for the place where he is buried. According to Mnasei, he was struck and killed by Zeus. The I, II and XXI hymns of Homer, the II and IV hymns of Callimachus, and the XXXIV Orphic hymn are dedicated to him. The protagonist of Aeschylus' tragedy "Eumenides", Sophocles's satyr drama "The Pathfinders", Euripides' tragedies "Alcestis", "Orestes". There was a comedy by Philiscus of Kerkyra "The Birth of Apollo and Artemis".
In Nietzsche's philosophy, the Apollonian principle is one of the components of Greek culture, symbolizing order, clarity and light. The opposite principle is expressed in the image of Dionysus.
Apollo in modern times
NASA's manned space flight program, adopted in 1961, was named after Apollo.
A genus of large high-mountain daytime butterflies of the swallowtail family, Apollos, is named in honor of Apollo.
Apollo is a gigantic ancient impact crater, informally called the Apollo Basin, in southern hemisphere the far side of the Moon. The name is given in honor of the American Apollo space program, which in turn is named after the ancient Greek god Apollo.
Nikolay Kun
Birth of Apollo
The god of light, golden-haired Apollo, was born on the island of Delos. His mother Latona, driven by the wrath of the goddess Hera, could not find shelter for herself anywhere. Pursued by the dragon Python sent by Hera, she wandered all over the world and finally took refuge in Delos, which at that time was rushing along the waves of a stormy sea. As soon as Latona entered Delos, huge pillars rose from the depths of the sea and stopped this deserted island. He became unshakable in the place where he still stands. All around Delos the sea roared. The cliffs of Delos rose sadly, bare without the slightest vegetation. Only sea gulls found shelter on these rocks and filled them with their sad cry. But then the god of light was born Apollo, and streams of bright light spread everywhere. They covered the rocks of Delos like gold. Everything around blossomed and sparkled: the coastal cliffs, Mount Kint, the valley, and the sea. The goddesses gathered on Delos loudly praised the born god, offering him ambrosia and nectar. All nature around rejoiced along with the goddesses.
The struggle between Apollo and Python and the founding of the Delphic Oracle
The young, radiant Apollo rushed across the azure sky with a cithara in his hands, with a silver bow over his shoulders; golden arrows rang loudly in his quiver. Proud, jubilant, Apollo rushed high above the earth, threatening everything evil, everything born of darkness. He strove to where the formidable lived Python, who pursued his mother Latona; he wanted to take revenge on him for all the evil that he caused her.
Apollo quickly reached the gloomy gorge, the home of Python. Rocks rose all around, reaching high into the sky. Darkness reigned in the gorge. A mountain stream, gray with foam, rushed rapidly along its bottom, and mists swirled above the stream. The terrible Python crawled out of his lair. His huge body, covered with scales, twisted between the rocks in countless rings. Rocks and mountains trembled from the weight of his body and moved from place. The furious Python brought devastation to everything, he spread death all around. The nymphs and all living things fled in horror. Python rose, powerful, furious, opened his terrible mouth and was ready to devour the golden-haired Apollo. Then the ringing of the string of a silver bow was heard, as a spark flashed in the air of a golden arrow that could not miss, followed by another, a third; arrows rained down on Python, and he fell lifeless to the ground. The triumphant victory song (paean) of the golden-haired Apollo, the conqueror of Python, sounded loudly, and the golden strings of the god’s cithara echoed it. Apollo buried Python's body in the ground where the sacred Delphi, and founded a sanctuary and an oracle in Delphi in order to prophesy in it to people the will of his father Zeus.
From a high shore far out to sea, Apollo saw a ship of Cretan sailors. In the guise of a dolphin, he rushed into the blue sea, overtook the ship and flew up from the sea waves to its stern like a radiant star. Apollo brought the ship to the pier of the city of Chris and led the Cretan sailors through a fertile valley, playing the golden cithara, to Delphi. He made them the first priests of his sanctuary.
Daphne
Based on Ovid's poem "Metamorphoses"
The bright, joyful god Apollo knows sadness, and grief befell him. He experienced grief shortly after defeating Python. When Apollo, proud of his victory, stood over the monster killed by his arrows, he saw next to him the young god of love Eros, pulling his golden bow. Laughing, Apollo said to him:
What do you need, child, such a formidable weapon? Better leave it to me to send the smashing golden arrows with which I just killed Python. Can you be equal in glory to me, Arrowhead? Do you really want to achieve greater glory than me?
The offended Eros proudly answered Apollo:
Your arrows, Phoebus-Apollo, do not miss, they strike everyone, but my arrow will strike you.
Eros flapped his golden wings and in the blink of an eye flew up to high Parnassus. There he took two arrows from the quiver: one - wounding the heart and evoking love, he pierced the heart of Apollo with it, the other - killing love, he shot it into the heart of the nymph Daphne, daughter of the river god Peneus.
Once he met the beautiful Daphne Apollo and fell in love with her. But as soon as Daphne saw the golden-haired Apollo, she began to run with the speed of the wind, because the arrow of Eros, killing love, pierced her heart. The silver-bowed god hurried after her.
Stop, beautiful nymph, - cried Apollo, - why are you running from me, like a lamb pursued by a wolf, like a dove fleeing from an eagle, you rush! After all, I’m not your enemy! Look, you hurt your feet on the sharp thorns of the thorns. Oh wait, stop! After all, I am Apollo, the son of the thunderer Zeus, and not a mere mortal shepherd,
But the beautiful Daphne ran faster and faster. As if on wings, Apollo rushes after her. He's getting closer. It's about to catch up! Daphne feels his breath. Her strength is leaving her. Daphne prayed to her father Peneus:
Father Penei, help me! Open up quickly, earth, and swallow me up! Oh, take this image away from me, it causes me nothing but suffering!
As soon as she said this, her limbs immediately went numb. The bark covered her tender body, her hair turned into leaves, and her arms raised to the sky turned into branches. Apollo stood sadly in front of the laurel for a long time and finally said:
Let a wreath of only your greenery adorn my head, let you from now on decorate both my cithara and my quiver with your leaves. May your greenery never wither, O laurel, remain forever green!
And the laurel quietly rustled in response to Apollo with its thick branches and, as if in agreement, bowed its green top.
Apollo at Admetus
Apollo had to be cleansed from the sin of the shed blood of Python. After all, he himself cleanses the people who committed murder. By decision of Zeus, he retired to Thessaly to the beautiful and noble king Admetus. There he tended the king's flocks and with this service he atoned for his sin. When Apollo played a reed flute or a golden harp in the pasture, wild animals came out of the forest, enchanted by his playing. Panthers and fierce lions walked peacefully among the herds. Deer and chamois came running to the sound of the flute. Peace and joy reigned all around. Prosperity entered the house of Admet; no one had such fruits; his horses and herds were the best in all of Thessaly. The golden-haired god gave him all this. Apollo helped Admetus get the hand of the daughter of King Iolcus Pelias, Alcesta. Her father promised to give her as a wife only to someone who would be able to harness a lion and a bear to his chariot. Then Apollo endowed his favorite Admet with invincible power, and he fulfilled this task of Pelias. Apollo served with Admetus for eight years and, having completed his sin-atonement service, returned to Delphi.
Apollo lives in Delphi during the spring and summer. When autumn comes, the flowers wither and the leaves on the trees turn yellow, when the cold winter is already close, covering the top of Parnassus with snow, then Apollo, in his chariot harnessed by snow-white swans, is carried away to the winter-free country of the Hyperboreans, to the land of eternal spring. He lives there all winter. When everything in Delphi turns green again, when flowers bloom under the life-giving breath of spring and cover the valley of Chris with a colorful carpet, golden-haired Apollo returns to Delphi on his swans to prophesy to people the will of the thunderer Zeus. Then in Delphi they celebrate the return of the soothsayer god Apollo from the country of the Hyperboreans. All spring and summer he lives in Delphi, he also visits his homeland Delos, where he also has a magnificent sanctuary.
Apollo at the Muse
In spring and summer, on the slopes of the wooded Helikon, where the sacred waters of the Hippocrene spring mysteriously murmur, and on high Parnassus, near the clear waters of the Castalian spring, Apollo leads a round dance with nine muses. Young, beautiful muses, daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, are Apollo's constant companions. He leads the choir of muses and accompanies their singing by playing his golden lyre. Apollo walks majestically ahead of the choir of muses, crowned with a laurel wreath, followed by all nine muses: Calliope - the muse of epic poetry, Euterpe - the muse of lyric poetry, Erato - the muse of love songs, Melpomene - the muse of tragedy, Thalia - the muse of comedy,
Terpsichore is the muse of dance, Clio is the muse of history, Urania is the muse of astronomy and Polyhymnia is the muse of sacred hymns. Their choir thunders solemnly, and all nature, as if enchanted, listens to their divine singing.
When Apollo, accompanied by the muses, appears in the host of gods on bright Olympus and the sounds of his cithara and the singing of the muses are heard, then everything on Olympus falls silent. Ares forgets about the noise of bloody battles, lightning does not sparkle in the hands of the cloud suppressor Zeus, the gods forget strife, peace and silence reign on Olympus. Even the eagle of Zeus lowers its mighty wings and closes its watchful eyes, its menacing screech is not heard, it quietly dozes on the rod of Zeus. In complete silence, the strings of Apollo's cithara sound solemnly. When Apollo cheerfully strikes the golden strings of the cithara, then a bright, shining round dance moves in the banquet hall of the gods. Muses, Charites, the eternally young Aphrodite, Ares and Hermes - everyone takes part in a merry round dance, and in front of everyone is the majestic maiden, Apollo’s sister, the beautiful Artemis. Flooded with streams of golden light, the young gods dance to the sounds of Apollo's cithara.
Sons of Aloe
The far-reaching Apollo is menacing in his anger, and then his golden arrows know no mercy. They amazed many. Those who were proud of their strength, who did not want to obey anyone, died from them. sons of Aloe, Ot and Ephialtes. Already in early childhood they were famous for their enormous growth, their strength and courage that knew no barriers. While still young men, they began to threaten the Olympian gods Ot and Ephialtes:
Oh, just let us mature, just let us reach the full measure of our supernatural power. We will then pile Mount Olympus, Pelion and Ossa one on top of the other and ascend them to heaven. We will then kidnap Hera and Artemis from you, Olympians.
Thus, like the Titans, the rebellious sons of Aloe threatened the Olympians. They would carry out their threat. After all, they chained the formidable war god Ares, and he languished in a copper prison for thirty months. Ares, insatiable with battle, would have languished in captivity for a long time if the swift Hermes had not kidnapped him, deprived of his strength. Ot and Ephialtes were powerful. Apollo did not bear with their threats. The far-striking god pulled his silver bow; like sparks of flame, his golden arrows flashed in the air, and Ot and Ephialtes, pierced by the arrows, fell.
Marsyas
Apollo cruelly punished the Phrygian satyr Marsyas because Marsyas dared to compete with him in music. Cyfared Apollo could not bear such insolence. One day, wandering through the fields of Phrygia, Marsyas found a reed flute. The goddess Athena abandoned her, noticing that playing the flute she herself had invented was disfiguring her divinely beautiful face. Athena cursed her invention and said:
Let the one who picks up this flute be severely punished.
Not knowing anything about what Athena said, Marsyas picked up the flute and soon learned to play it so well that everyone listened to this simple music. Marsyas became proud and challenged the patron of music, Apollo, to a competition.
Apollo came to the call in a long, lush robe, a laurel wreath and a golden cithara in his hands.
How insignificant the forest and field dweller Marsyas with his pathetic reed flute seemed before the majestic, beautiful Apollo! How could he extract from the flute such wondrous sounds as those that flew from the golden strings of the cithara of the leader of the muses, Apollo! Apollo won. Angered by the challenge, he ordered the unfortunate Marsyas to be hanged by the hands and flayed alive. This is how Marsyas paid for his courage. And the skin of Marsyas was hung in a grotto near Kelen in Phrygia and they later said that it always began to move, as if dancing, when the sounds of the Phrygian reed flute reached the grotto, and remained motionless when the majestic sounds of the cithara were heard.
Asclepius (Aesculapius)
But Apollo is not only an avenger, he does not only send death with his golden arrows; he heals diseases. Son of Apollo Asclepius - god of doctors and medical art. The wise centaur Chiron raised Asclepius on the slopes of Pelion. Under his leadership, Asclepius became such a skilled physician that he surpassed even his teacher Chiron. Asclepius not only healed all diseases, but even brought the dead back to life. By this he angered the ruler of the kingdom of the dead Hades and the thunderer Zeus, since he violated the law and order established by Zeus on earth. An angry Zeus threw his lightning and struck Asclepius. But people deified the son of Apollo as a healing god. They erected many sanctuaries for him, and among them the famous sanctuary of Asclepius at Epidaurus.
Apollo was revered throughout Greece. The Greeks revered him as the god of light, a god who cleanses man from the filth of shed blood, as a god who prophesies the will of his father Zeus, punishes, sends diseases and heals them. The Greek youths revered him as their patron. Apollo is the patron saint of navigation; he helps found new colonies and cities. Artists, poets, singers and musicians stand under the special patronage of the leader of the choir of muses, Apollo the Cyfared. Apollo is equal to Zeus the Thunderer himself in the worship that the Greeks paid him.
Notes:
Apollo is one of the most ancient gods of Greece. Traces of totemism were clearly preserved in his cult. For example, in Arcadia they worshiped Apollo, depicted as a ram. Apollo was originally a god who guarded flocks. Gradually he became more and more the god of light. He was later considered the patron of settlers, the patron of the founding Greek colonies, and then the patron of art, poetry and music. That is why in Moscow, on the building of the Bolshoi Academic Theater, there is a statue of Apollo with a lyre in his hands, riding a chariot drawn by four horses. In addition, Apollo became the god who predicted the future. Throughout the ancient world, his sanctuary in Delphi was famous, where the Pythia priestess gave predictions. These predictions, of course, were made by priests who knew well everything that was happening in Greece, and they were made in such a way that they could be interpreted in either direction. In ancient times, it was known that the prediction was given in Delphi to King Croesus of Lydia during his war with Persia. They told him: “If you cross the Halys River, you will destroy the great kingdom,” but which kingdom, your own or the Persian, this was not said.
An ancient Greek stringed musical instrument similar to a lyre.
A city on the shores of the Gulf of Corinth, which served as a harbor for Delphi.
Goddess of memory.
The greatest mountains in Greece are on the Aegean coast, in Thessaly.
That is, one who plays the cithara.
Nikolai Kun. Legends and myths of Ancient Greece
Apollo
Golden-haired Apollo is the brother of Artemis. Like some of the Olympians, he was once a visiting Asia Minor god, similar to the Egyptian Horus, but quickly assimilated to new soil and became one of the most revered gods of the Greek pantheon, although he changed his orientation and specialization. In Greece, Apollo is a multifunctional god. Like Athena, he oversees a wide variety of activities. His interests include the protection of herds, the patronage of science, music, poetry, medicine, natural history, the maintenance of roads and travelers, cleansing from defilement by murder, the patronage of the muses and divination of the future.
His appearance is ideal - Apollo is perfectly built, handsome, endowed with lovely golden curls and clear eyes. It’s not for nothing that men only rejoice when they are compared with Apollo, especially for some reason with the Belvedere. Apart from his appearance, Apollo has everything in order with his talents and strength. He is quite capable of defeating the strongest of the gods in a competition, plays the cithara beautifully, sings and shoots from his silver bow equipped with golden arrows.
Young and early
In the Olympian pantheon, Apollo was born from Zeus and Leto on the island of Delos. He initially had some kind of sublime relationship with the number seven, so he came into the world on the seventh day of the seventh month of his mother's pregnancy. Here we can also mention the seven strings of his cithara, dedicated to the seven vowels of the Greek alphabet. There will probably be some other numerological clues if you look. One way or another, nature greeted his birth with the radiance of the skies and a parade of swans, making seven laps of honor around Delos. He immediately began to eat the food of the gods, bypassing his mother’s breast, and on such a diet he grew to a completely adult state in four days. Armed with the bow and arrows he received from Hephaestus, Apollo immediately set off to fight the serpent Python, who was tormenting his mother during her pregnancy. He managed to severely wound his enemy, and he hid in Delphi, hoping to heal his wounds in the sanctuary of his mother Gaia. But Apollo, filled with anger, burst into the holy place and killed the serpent. The mother of the monster, famous for her love of children, and offended by the disrespect of the young and early god, turned to Zeus. Zeus ordered his son to undergo a rite of purification, establish the Pythian Games in honor of the murdered man, and serve as a shepherd for the king of Thessaly for eight years. Having served his sentence, Apollo turned to the goat-footed god Pan to teach him divination, and then went and occupied the sanctuary, in which he had previously committed outrages, establishing his own Oracle there, using the services of the Pythian priestess who was there.
When this happened, Artemis and their mother, Leto, came there. When Leto retired to the sacred grove on her own business, one of the giants, Tityus, brazenly approached her with unambiguous intentions. Complaisant and faithful children, Artemis and Apollo instantly finished off the rapist, and even Zeus himself, who was the father of Tityus, did not object to this, and also sentenced the blasphemer to Hades, in his own recognizable manner - Tityus was nailed to the rocks, and the two kites tirelessly they tore his liver.
Divine self-love
After this, Apollo staged several more gloomy stories alone or in company with Artemis. It was especially dangerous to hurt their mother Leto. When Niobe, generously gifted with children, boasted of them to Leto, the enraged twins shot all the children of their mother’s arrogant friend.
Very unlucky was Marsyas, a young man who found a flute discarded by Athena, equipped with her personal curse. When he picked up the find, it began to play lovely melodies, and Marsyas became popular among the nymphs, as the flute did its best. The stupid boy began to boast that Apollo could not compare with his skill, for which he ran into a severe competition with the recognized master of the cithara. At first, the muses, called to judge Apollo and Marcia, recognized it as a draw, but then the quick-witted Apollo suggested singing and playing at the same time, and immediately won - you can’t handle the flute that way. Having won, Apollo, despite his refined appearance, treated Marsyas barbarously, flaying him alive.
Later, Apollo started a similar competition with Pan, but here King Midas, who was the judge in the dispute, had to take the rap. He inadvertently approved of Pan's performing talent, for which he was awarded donkey ears by the irritated Apollo. But if we compare this misfortune with the fate of the same Marsyas, then King Midas was simply lucky.
And Apollo is just a sweetheart. In the warm season he lives in Delphi, in the winter he goes to the Hyperboreans, who, according to rumors, also worship him, in addition, his mother’s patrimony is in those places.
Apollo alliances
As for Apollo's love stories, they are very diverse. Apollo refused to marry and preferred the style of an open relationship. It must be said that he quite often received refusal of reciprocity from his lovers. So poor Cassandra, who during her courtship received the gift of prophecy from him when she refused her golden-haired suitor, was doomed by him to the fact that no one would ever listen to her predictions. Daphne, with whom Apollo had been hopelessly in love for a long time, preferred to turn into a laurel rather than become his lover.
Apollo made himself a wreath from its branches and from then on often wore it in memory of his loss. More successful were his adventures with Dryope, when he used the proven tactics of zoomorphism in seduction, often used by his father. When Dryope was tending her father's flocks, Apollo turned into a small turtle, the girl was touched, picked him up and put him in her bosom. As soon as God got close to the girl’s body, he turned into a snake and in this form took possession of her. From this union a son, Amphis, was born. Apollo chose a similar method to seduce a Trojan girl, taking the form of a dog, although history is silent on the details. In general, Apollo often had difficulties with women. Coronis, with whom he managed to start an affair, cheated on him, and Asclepius, whom Apollo adopted, most likely was not his own son.
Apollo assets
Apparently tired of female contradictions, Apollo switched to courting beautiful young people. He gave favor to many young men of Greece, but Hyacinth and Cypress won his greatest love. Both of them in different ways came to a similar sad ending. Hyacinth became a flower, however, after death, and Cypress was turned into a tree while still alive.
Thamyrid, who was rumored to be the founder of same-sex love in Greece in those years, was first inflamed with passion for the Spartan royal son, Hyacinth. At the same time, Apollo became the first of the gods to be seized by such a love illness. Apollo easily eliminated his rival after learning that he had carelessly boasted of his singing talents, threatening to surpass the muses themselves. The golden-haired lover quickly informed the muses of what he had heard, and they deprived Thamirides of the ability to sing, play and see. The unfortunate braggart dropped out of the game, and Apollo calmly, without rivals, began to seduce the object of his love's desire. Their love story, as often happens in relationships between mortals and Olympian gods, was intense, but short. Hyacinth was accidentally killed by Apollo himself.
Personality evolution
In addition to Asclepius, Apollo had many children; rumor ascribes to him, among others, Homer, Pythagoras, Euripides, Plato and Octavian Augustus. However, it is possible that part of these paternities is recognition of the merits of the named children of the golden-haired god, and the emperor was included in this list for his own deification.
Apollo loved Asclepius, who was not even his own son. When Zeus punished the talented Aesculapius, who had encroached on death itself and resurrected a man, Apollo went into a frenzy and killed the Cyclopes, who forged Zeus a weapon that deprived him of his beloved son. Zeus was about to send Apollo to his favorite place of exile - Tartarus, but his mother, Leto, stood up for him, and the Thunderer chose a different punishment for him.
After this story, Apollo became a supporter of moderation and prudence, began to cultivate everything that had not been cultivated before him, declaring the slogan “Nothing in excess!” and invite everyone to know themselves. Having finally abandoned his old habits, he became the personification of order and the highest organization of a rational being. That did not prevent him from eventually sinking into oblivion, like the rest of the ancient gods.
Continuing the theme of ancient Greek mythology, our today's character is the golden-haired god Apollo. The huge number of myths that existed about Apollo and the short format of the blog are unlikely to allow us to delve deeply into his varied personality, so we will try to give as general an overview as possible.
Responsibilities:
In Ancient Greek mythology, Apollo's responsibilities are very wide. He is the god of light, guardian of herds, patron of sciences and arts, god-healer, leader and patron of the muses. His responsibilities also included predicting the future, purifying people who committed murder, and protecting roads, travelers and sailors.
Appearance:
Young man with curly golden hair
Symbols and Attributes:
The sun itself, a lyre, a bow with golden arrows and a chariot on which he travels across the sky
Strength: Inventive and attractive, skilled in many arts
Weaknesses: Like his father Zeus, Apollo is susceptible to feminine beauty, both mortal women and goddesses. However, unlike his more successful father, he also experienced numerous defeats in the love field.
Parents:
Supreme god Zeus and goddess Latona. Grandson of the titans Kay and Phoebe. Apollo also had a twin sister, Artemis.
Place of birth:
The most common version is that the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis was the island of Delos, but there are sources that name another place - an island currently called Paximadya - not far from the coast of Crete.
Wife:
Despite a fairly long trail of relationships and children, Apollo was never married. Of his most famous lovers, it is worth noting Cassandra, whom he gifted with the gift of divination, Daphne - ultimately turned into a Laurel tree, and Calliope, who bore him a son, Orpheus.
Children:
Apollo had a very numerous offspring, but the most famous of his children are the singer and musician Orpheus, as well as the god of medicine and healing Asclepius
Main temples:
The most famous sanctuary of Apollo, and also the main oracle ancient Greece, was located in . In addition to this significant place of worship, dedicated to God, was considered a sanctuary on Delos. For a long time, the treasury of the Delian League, directed against the Persians, was kept in the Temple of Apollo on the island. Currently, the sanctuary in Delphi, the Temples in Bassae (in the Peloponnese) and Corinth are quite well preserved
Main myths:
Zeus's wife Hera, angry at Lethe for her relationship with Zeus, forbade her to set foot on solid ground. However, Leta found refuge on the island of Delos, where Apollo and Artemis, the goddess of the hunt and wildlife. Themis helped raise young Apollo, feeding the god with nectar and ambrosia. Apollo received his arrows as a gift from Hephaestus. God also took an active part in the battle of the Gods with the Titans. In the Trojan War he helped the opponents of the Achaeans. According to legend, the impregnable walls of Troy were built by him and Poseidon.