Apollo exercised this
was sacred to the god ; on the seventh of every power in his numerous oracles, and especially in
month sacrifices were offered to him (ébdouayétns, that of Delphi.
was sacred to the god ; on the seventh of every power in his numerous oracles, and especially in
month sacrifices were offered to him (ébdouayétns, that of Delphi.
William Smith - 1844 - Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities - a
of Saul, formed a kind of heroic poem, divided into
i. 14. & 6. )
Aphrodite appears to have been twenty-four books, which were named after the
originally identical with Astarte, called by the letters of the Greek alphabet, in imitation of Ho
Hebrews Ashtoreth, and her connexion with The New Testament was put into the form
Adonis clearly points to Syria. But with the ex- of dialogues, after the manner of Plato. Only
ception of Corinth, where the worship of Aphro- two works remain which appear to have formed a
dite had eminently an Asiatic character, the whole part of these sacred classics, namely, a tragedy en-
worship of this goddess and all the ideas concern- titled “Christ Suffering,” which is found among
ing her nature and character are so entirely Greek, the works of Gregory Nazianzen, and a poetic
that its introduction into Greece must be assigned version of the Psalms, entitled “Metaphrasis Psal-
to the very earliest periods. The elements were morum,” which was published at Paris, 1552,
derived from the East, but the peculiar develop-1580, and 1613; by Sylburg at Heidelberg, 1596 ;
ment of it belongs to Greece. Respecting the Ro- and in the various collections of the Fathers.
man goddess Venus and her identification with the There is some difficulty in determining what shares
Greek Aphrodite, see VENUS.
the father and son had in these works. The Old
Aphrodite, the ideal of female grace and beauty, Testament poems are generally ascribed to the fa-
frequently engaged the talents and genius of the ther, who is spoken highly of as a poet, and the
ancient artists. The most celebrated representations New Testament dialogues to the son, who was
of her were those of Cos and Cnidus. Those which more distinguished as a philosopher and rhetorician.
are still extant are divided by archaeologists into se In accordance with this view, Vossius (de Hist.
veral classes, accordingly as the goddess is represent- Gracc. ii. 18, and de Poet. Graec. 9) and Cave
ed in a standing position and naked, as the Medicean (sub ann. 362), attribute both the extant works to
Venus, or bathing, or half naked, or dressed in a the son.
tunic, or as the victorious goddess in arms, as she Apollinaris the younger, who was bishop of
was represented in the temples of Cyrbera, Sparta, Laodicea in 362 A. D. , wrote several controversial
and Corinth. (Paus. iii. 23. § 1, "ii. 5. § i, iii. works, the most celebrated of which was one in
15. § 10; comp. Hirt. Mythol. Bilderbuch, iv. 133, thirty books against Porphyry. He became noted
&c. ; Manso, Versuche, pp. 1-308. ) (L. S. ) also as the founder of a sect. He was a warm op-
mer.
9
## p. 230 (#250) ############################################
230
APOLLO.
APOLLO.
ponent of the Arians, and a personal friend of 250, &c. ), and his festivals usually fell on the se
Athanasius; and in arguing against the former, he venth of a month. Immediately after his birth,
maintained, that the Divine Word (the Logos) | Apollo was fed with ambrosia and nectar by The-
supplied the place of a rational soul in the person mnis, and no sooner had he tasted the divine food,
of Christ. He died between 382 and 392 A. D. than he sprang up and demanded a lyre and a bow,
His doctrine was condemned by a synod at Rome, and declared, that henceforth he would declare to
about 375 A. D. , but it continued to be held by a men the will of Zeus. Delos exulted with joy,
considerable sect, who were called A pollinarists, and covered herself with golden flowers. (Comp.
down to the middle of the fifth century. (Hieron. Theognis, 5, &c. ; Eurip. Hecub. 457, &c. )
de l'ir. Ilust. 104 ; Socrates, H. E. ii. 46, n. 16; Apollo, though one of the great gods of Olympus,
Sozomen, H. E. v. 18, vi. 25; Suidas, $. V. ; Cave, is yet represented in soine sort of dependence on
llist. Litt. ; Wernsdorf, Diss. de Apollin. )
Zeus, who is regarded as the source of the powers
3. The author of two epigrams in the Greek exercised by his son. The powers ascribed to
Anthology, is very probably the same person as Apollo are apparently of different kinds, but all are
the elder Apollinaris of Laodicea. (Jacobs, Anthol. connected with one another, and inay be said to be
Graec. xi. p. 853. )
¡P. S. ) only ramifications of one and the same, as will be
APOLLINA'RIS, CLAUDIUS, the com- seen from the following classification.
mander of Vitellius' fleet at Misenum, when it Apollo is-1. the god who punishes and destroys
revolted to Vespasian in A. p. 70. Apollinaris es- (oțilos) the wicked and overbearing, and as such he
caped with six galleys. (Tac. Hist. ii. 57, 76, 77. ) is described as the god with bow and arrows, the
APOLLO ("Anów), one of the great divini- gift of Hephaestus (Hom. I. i. 42, xxiv. 605,
ties of the Greeks, was, according to Homer (N. i. Od. xi. 318, xv. 410, &c. ; comp. Pind. Pyth. iii
.
21, 36), the son of Zeus and Leto. Hesiod ( Theog. 15, &c. ) Various epitheis given to him in the
918) states the same, and adds, that Apollo's sister Homeric poems, such as ekatos, érdepyos, é mn66Aos,
was Artemis. Neither of the two poets suggests ékatn6óxos, KAUTÓTotos, and dpyupótotos, refer to
anything in regard to the birth-place of the god, him as the god who with his darts hits his object
unless we take Aukryern's (N. iv. 101) in the sense at a distance and never misses it. All sudden
of “ born in Lycia,” which, however, according to deaths of men, whether they were regarded as a
others, would only mean “ born of or in light. " punishment or a reward, were believed to be the
Several towns and places claimed the honour of his effect of the arrows of Apollo; and with the same
birth, as we see from various local traditions men- arrows he sent the plague into the camp of the
tioned by late writers. Thus the Ephesians said Greeks. Hyginus relates, that four days after his
that Apollo and Artemis were born in the grove of birth, Apollo went to mount Parnassus, and there
Ortygia near Ephesus (Tacit. Annal. iii. 61); the killed the dragon Python, who had pursued his
inhabitants of Tegyra in Boeotia and of Zoster in mother during her wanderings, before she reached
Attica claimed the same honour for themselves. Delos. He is also said to have assisted Zeus in
(Steph. Byz. s. v. Téyopa. ) In some of these local his contest with the giants. (Apollod. i. 6. & 2. )
traditions Apollo is mentioned alone, and in others | The circumstance of Apollo being the destroyer of
together with his sister Arternis. The account of the wicked was believed by some of the ancients
A pollo's parentage, too, was not the same in all to have given rise to his name Apollo, which they
traditions (Cic. de Nat. Deor. iii. 23), and the connected with anorluwu, “ to destroy. " (Aeschyl.
Egyptians made out that he was a son of Dionysus Agam. 1081. ) Some modern writers, on the other
and Isis. (Herod. ii. 156. ) But the opinion most hand, who consider the power of averting evil to
universally received was that Apollo, the son of have been the original and principal feature in his
Zeus and Leto, was born in the island of Delos, character, say that 'ATÓMwv, i. e. 'Anew, (from
together with his sister Artemis ; and the circum- the root pello), signifies the god who drives away
stances of his birth there are detailed in the Ho evil, and is synonymous with a retinakas, Acesius,
mneric hymn on Apollo, and in that of Callimachus ACESTOR, Oump, and other names and epithets
on Delos. (Comp. Apollod. i. 4. § 1; Hygin. Fub. applied to Apollo.
140. ) Hera in her jealousy pursued Leto from 2. The god who affords help and wards off eril.
land to land and from isle to isle, and endeavoured As he had the power of visiting men with plagues
to prevent her finding a resting place where to give and epidemics, so he was also able to deliver men
birth. At last, however, she arrived in Delos, from them, if duly propitiated, or at least by his
where she was kindly received, and after nine oracles to suggest the means by which such calami-
days' labour she gave birth to Apollo under a palm ties could be averted. Various names and epithets
or an olive tree at the foot of mount Cynthus. She which are given to Apollo, especially by later wri-
was assisted by all the goddesses, except Hera and | ters, such as ακέσιος, ακέστωρ, αλεξίκακος, σωτηρ,
Eileithyia, but the latter too hastened to lend her αποτρόπαιος, επικούριος, ιατρομάντις, and others,
aid, as soon as she heard what was taking place. are descriptive of this power. (Paus i. 3. $ 3,
The island of Delos, which previous to this event vi. 24. & 5, viii. 41. & 5; Plut. de El ap. Delpl. 21,
had been unsteady and floating on or buried under de Defect. Orac. 7; Aeschyl. Eum. 62; comp.
the waves of the sea, now became stationary, and Müller, Dor. ii. 6. & 3. ) It seems to be the idea
was fastened to the roots of the earth. (Comp. of bis being the god who afforded help, that made
Virg. Aen. iii. 75. ) The day of Apollo's birth was him the father of Asclepius, the god of the healing
believed to have been the seventh of the month, art, and that, at least in later times, identiñed him
whence he is called ébdouayevňs. (Plut. Sympos. 8. ) with Paeeon, the god of the healing art in Homer.
According to some traditions, he was a seven [Parrox. ]
months' child (éttaunvaios). The number seven 3. The god of prophecy.
Apollo exercised this
was sacred to the god ; on the seventh of every power in his numerous oracles, and especially in
month sacrifices were offered to him (ébdouayétns, that of Delphi. (Dict. of Ant. s. r. Oraculum. ) The
Aeschyl. Sept. 802; comp. Callim. Hymn. in Del. source of all his prophetic powers was Zeus him-
## p. 231 (#251) ############################################
APOLLO.
231
APOLLO.
.
self (Apollodorus states, that Apollo received the graphers, and philosophers, and according to which
Martin front Pan), and Apollo is accordingly Apollo was identical with Helios, or the Sun. In
called the prophet of his father Zeus. ” (Aeschyl. Homer and for some centuries after his time Apollo
Eum. 19); but he had nevertheless the power of and Helios are perfectly distinct. The question
communicating the gift of prophecy both to gods which here presents itself, is, whether the idea of
and men, and all the ancient seers and prophets the identity of the two divinities was the original
are placed in some relationship to him. (Hon. Il. and primitive one, and was only revived in later
i. 72, Hymn. in Merc. 3, 471. ) The manner in times, or whether it was the result of later specu-
which Apollo came into the possession of the oracle lations and of foreign, chiefly Egyptian, influence.
of Delphi (Pytho) is related differently. According Each of these two opinions has had its able advo-
to Apollodorus, the oracle had previously been in cates. The former, which has been maintained by
the possession of Themis, and the dragon Python Buttmann and Hermann, is supported by strong
guarded the mysterious chasm, and Apollo, after arguments. In the time of Callimachus, some per-
having slain the monster, took possession of the sons distinguished between Apollo and Helios, for
oracle. According to Hyginus, Python himself which they were censured by the poet. (Fragm. 48,
possessed the oracle; while Pausanias (x. 3. $5) ed. Bentley. ) Pausanias (vii. 23. $ 6) states, that
states, that it belonged to Gaca and Poseidon in he met a Sidonian who declared the two gods to
common. (Comp. Eurip. Iphig. Taur. 1246, &c. ; be identical, and Pausanias adds, that this was
Athen. xv. p. 701; Ov. Mel. i. 439; Apollon. quite in accordance with the belief of the Greeks.
Rhod. ï. 706. )
(Comp. Strab. xiv. p. 635; Plut. de El ap. Delph. 4,
4. The god of song and music. We find him in de Def. Orac. 7. ) It has further been said, that if
the Iliad (i. 603) delighting the immortal gods | Apollo be regarded as the Sun, the powers and
with his play on the phorminx during their re- attributes which we have enumerated above are
past ; and the Homeric bards derived their art of easily explained and accounted for; that the sur-
song either from Apollo or the Muses. (Od. viii. name of poibos (the shining or brilliant), which is
488, with Eustath. ) Later traditions ascribed to frequently applied to Apollo in the Homeric poems,
Apollo even the invention of the flute and lyre points to the sun; and lastly, that the traditions
(Callim. Hymn, in Del. 253; Plut. de Mus. ), while concerning the Hyperboreans and their worship of
the more common tradition was, that he received Apollo bear the strongest marks of their regarding
the lyre from Hermes. Ovid (Heroid. xvi. 180) | the god in the same light. (Alcaeus, ap. Himer,
makes Apollo build the walls of Troy by playing xiv. 10; Diod. ii. 47. ) Still greater stress is laid
on the lyre, as Amphion did the walls of Thebes. on the fact that the Egyptian Horus was regarded
Respecting his musical contests, see Marsyas, as identical with Apollo (Herod. ii. 144, 156;
Midas.
Diod. i. 25; Plut. de Is. et Os. 12, 61; Aelian,
5. The god who protects the flocks and cattle Hist. An. x. 14), as Horus is usually considered
(voulos Seds, from vouds or vous), a meadow or as the god of the burning sun. Those who adopt
pasture land). Homer (n. ü. 766) says, that this view derive Apollo from the East or from
Apollo reared the swift steeds of Eumelus Phere Egypt, and regard the Athenian 'Arów matpūos
tiades in Pieria, and according to the Homeric as the god who was brought to Attica by the
hymn to Hermes (22, 70, &c. ) the herds of the Egyptian colony under Cecrops. Another set of
gods fed in Pierin under the care of Apollo. At accounts derives the worship of Apollo from the
the command of Zeus, Apollo guarded the cattle of very opposite quarter of the world——from the coun-
Laomedon in the valleys of mount Ida (1l. xxi. try of the Hyperboreans, that is, a nation living
488. ) There are in Homer only a few allusions to beyond the point where the north wind rises, and
this feature in the character of Apollo, but in later whose country is in consequence most happy and
writers it assumes a very prominent form (Pind fruitful. According to a fragment of an ancient
Pyth. ix. 114; Callim. Hymn. in Apoll. 50, &c. ): Doric hymn in Pausanias (x. 5. $ 4), the oracle of
and in the story of Apollo tending the flocks of Delphi was founded by Hyperboreans and Olenus ;
Admetus at Pherae in Thessaly, on the banks of Leto, too, is said to have come from the Hyperbo
the river Amphrysus, the idea reaches its height. reans to Delos, and Eileithyia likewise. (Herod.
(Apollod. i. 9. & 15; Eurip. Aloest. 8; Tibull. ii. 3. iv. 33, &c. ; Paus. i. 18. $ 4; Diod. ii. 47. ) The
11; Virg. Georg. iii. 2. )
Hyperboreans, says Diodorus, worship Apollo more
6. The god who delights in the foundation of towns zealously than any other people ; they are all
and the establishment of civil constitutions. His priests of Apollo; one town in their country is
assistance in the building of Troy was mentioned sacred to Apollo, and its inhabitants are for the
above ; respecting his aid in raising the walls of most part players on the lyre. (Comp. Pind. Pyth.
Megara, see Alcathous. Pindar (Pyth. v. 80) | x. 55, &c. )
calls Apollo the åpxoyétns, or the leader of the These opposite accounts respecting the original
Dorians in their migration to Peloponnesus; and seat of the worship of Apollo might lead us to
this idea, as well as the one that he delighted suppose, that they refer to two distinct divinities,
in the foundation of cities, seems to be intimately which were in the course of time united into one,
connected with the circumstance, that a town or a as indeed Cicero (de Nat. Deor. iii. 23) distin-
colony was never founded by the Greeks without guishes four different Apollos.
Müller has re-
consulting an oracle of Apollo, so that in every jected most decidedly and justly the hypothesis,
case he became, as it were, their spiritual leader. that Apollo was derived from Egypt; but he re
The epithets KTIOTT)s and oikiotais (see Böckb, ad jects at the same time, without very satisfactory
Pind. l. c. ) refer to this part in the character of reasons, the opinion that Apollo was connected
Apollo.
with the worship of nature or any part of it; for,
These characteristics of Apollo necessarily ap according to him, Apollo is a purely spiritual divi-
pear in a peculiar light, if we adopt the view which nity, and far above all the other gods of Olympus.
was almost universal among the later poets, mytho- | As regards the identity of Apollo and Helios, ho
:
## p. 232 (#252) ############################################
232
APOLLO.
APOLLODORUS.
3
justly remarks, that it would be a strange pheno- | Romans till the time of Augustus, who, after the
menon if this identity should have fallen into battle of Actium, not only dedicated to him a por-
oblivion for several centuries, and then have been tion of the spojis, but built or embellished his tcro-
revived. This objection is indeed strong, but not ple at Actium, and founded a new one at Rome
insurmountable if we recollect the tendency of the on the Palatine, and instituted quinquennial games
Greeks to change a peculiar attribute of a god into at Actium. (Suet. Aug. 31, 52; Dict. of Ant. s. r.
a separate divinity; and this process, in regard to 'Artía; Hartung, die Roliyion der Römer, ii. p.
Helios and A pollo, seems to have taken place pre-205. )
vious to the time of Homer. Müller's view of Apollo, the national divinity of the Greeks, was
A pollo, which is at least very ingenious, is briefly of course represented in all the ways which the
this. The original and essential feature in the plastic arts were capable of. As the ideas of the
character of Apollo is that of “the averter of evil” god became gradunily and more and more fully de-
('ATémwv); he is originally a divinity peculiar to veloped, so his representations in works of art rose
the Doric race; and the most ancient seats of his from a rude wooden image to the perfect ideal of
worship are the Thessalian Tempe and Delphi. youthful manliness, so that he appeared to the an-
From thence it was transplanted to Crete, the inha- cients in the light of a twin brother of Aphrodite.
bitants of which spread it over the coasts of Asia (Plin. H. N. xxxvi. 4. $ 10. ) The most beautiful
Minor and parts of the continent of Greece, such and celebrated among the extant representations of
as Boeotia and Attica. In the latter country it Apollo are the Apollo of Belvedere at Rome, which
was introduced during the immigration of the was discovered in 1503 at Rettuno (Mus. Pro-Ciem.
Ionians, whence the god became the 'ArómWv i. 14, 15), and the Apollino at Florence. (Hirt.
Tatp@os of the Athenians. The conquest of Pelo | Mythol. Bilderbuch, i. p. 29, &c. ) In the Apollo
ponnesus by the Dorians raised Apollo to the rank of Belvedere, the god is represented with com-
of the principal divinity in the peninsula.
i. 14. & 6. )
Aphrodite appears to have been twenty-four books, which were named after the
originally identical with Astarte, called by the letters of the Greek alphabet, in imitation of Ho
Hebrews Ashtoreth, and her connexion with The New Testament was put into the form
Adonis clearly points to Syria. But with the ex- of dialogues, after the manner of Plato. Only
ception of Corinth, where the worship of Aphro- two works remain which appear to have formed a
dite had eminently an Asiatic character, the whole part of these sacred classics, namely, a tragedy en-
worship of this goddess and all the ideas concern- titled “Christ Suffering,” which is found among
ing her nature and character are so entirely Greek, the works of Gregory Nazianzen, and a poetic
that its introduction into Greece must be assigned version of the Psalms, entitled “Metaphrasis Psal-
to the very earliest periods. The elements were morum,” which was published at Paris, 1552,
derived from the East, but the peculiar develop-1580, and 1613; by Sylburg at Heidelberg, 1596 ;
ment of it belongs to Greece. Respecting the Ro- and in the various collections of the Fathers.
man goddess Venus and her identification with the There is some difficulty in determining what shares
Greek Aphrodite, see VENUS.
the father and son had in these works. The Old
Aphrodite, the ideal of female grace and beauty, Testament poems are generally ascribed to the fa-
frequently engaged the talents and genius of the ther, who is spoken highly of as a poet, and the
ancient artists. The most celebrated representations New Testament dialogues to the son, who was
of her were those of Cos and Cnidus. Those which more distinguished as a philosopher and rhetorician.
are still extant are divided by archaeologists into se In accordance with this view, Vossius (de Hist.
veral classes, accordingly as the goddess is represent- Gracc. ii. 18, and de Poet. Graec. 9) and Cave
ed in a standing position and naked, as the Medicean (sub ann. 362), attribute both the extant works to
Venus, or bathing, or half naked, or dressed in a the son.
tunic, or as the victorious goddess in arms, as she Apollinaris the younger, who was bishop of
was represented in the temples of Cyrbera, Sparta, Laodicea in 362 A. D. , wrote several controversial
and Corinth. (Paus. iii. 23. § 1, "ii. 5. § i, iii. works, the most celebrated of which was one in
15. § 10; comp. Hirt. Mythol. Bilderbuch, iv. 133, thirty books against Porphyry. He became noted
&c. ; Manso, Versuche, pp. 1-308. ) (L. S. ) also as the founder of a sect. He was a warm op-
mer.
9
## p. 230 (#250) ############################################
230
APOLLO.
APOLLO.
ponent of the Arians, and a personal friend of 250, &c. ), and his festivals usually fell on the se
Athanasius; and in arguing against the former, he venth of a month. Immediately after his birth,
maintained, that the Divine Word (the Logos) | Apollo was fed with ambrosia and nectar by The-
supplied the place of a rational soul in the person mnis, and no sooner had he tasted the divine food,
of Christ. He died between 382 and 392 A. D. than he sprang up and demanded a lyre and a bow,
His doctrine was condemned by a synod at Rome, and declared, that henceforth he would declare to
about 375 A. D. , but it continued to be held by a men the will of Zeus. Delos exulted with joy,
considerable sect, who were called A pollinarists, and covered herself with golden flowers. (Comp.
down to the middle of the fifth century. (Hieron. Theognis, 5, &c. ; Eurip. Hecub. 457, &c. )
de l'ir. Ilust. 104 ; Socrates, H. E. ii. 46, n. 16; Apollo, though one of the great gods of Olympus,
Sozomen, H. E. v. 18, vi. 25; Suidas, $. V. ; Cave, is yet represented in soine sort of dependence on
llist. Litt. ; Wernsdorf, Diss. de Apollin. )
Zeus, who is regarded as the source of the powers
3. The author of two epigrams in the Greek exercised by his son. The powers ascribed to
Anthology, is very probably the same person as Apollo are apparently of different kinds, but all are
the elder Apollinaris of Laodicea. (Jacobs, Anthol. connected with one another, and inay be said to be
Graec. xi. p. 853. )
¡P. S. ) only ramifications of one and the same, as will be
APOLLINA'RIS, CLAUDIUS, the com- seen from the following classification.
mander of Vitellius' fleet at Misenum, when it Apollo is-1. the god who punishes and destroys
revolted to Vespasian in A. p. 70. Apollinaris es- (oțilos) the wicked and overbearing, and as such he
caped with six galleys. (Tac. Hist. ii. 57, 76, 77. ) is described as the god with bow and arrows, the
APOLLO ("Anów), one of the great divini- gift of Hephaestus (Hom. I. i. 42, xxiv. 605,
ties of the Greeks, was, according to Homer (N. i. Od. xi. 318, xv. 410, &c. ; comp. Pind. Pyth. iii
.
21, 36), the son of Zeus and Leto. Hesiod ( Theog. 15, &c. ) Various epitheis given to him in the
918) states the same, and adds, that Apollo's sister Homeric poems, such as ekatos, érdepyos, é mn66Aos,
was Artemis. Neither of the two poets suggests ékatn6óxos, KAUTÓTotos, and dpyupótotos, refer to
anything in regard to the birth-place of the god, him as the god who with his darts hits his object
unless we take Aukryern's (N. iv. 101) in the sense at a distance and never misses it. All sudden
of “ born in Lycia,” which, however, according to deaths of men, whether they were regarded as a
others, would only mean “ born of or in light. " punishment or a reward, were believed to be the
Several towns and places claimed the honour of his effect of the arrows of Apollo; and with the same
birth, as we see from various local traditions men- arrows he sent the plague into the camp of the
tioned by late writers. Thus the Ephesians said Greeks. Hyginus relates, that four days after his
that Apollo and Artemis were born in the grove of birth, Apollo went to mount Parnassus, and there
Ortygia near Ephesus (Tacit. Annal. iii. 61); the killed the dragon Python, who had pursued his
inhabitants of Tegyra in Boeotia and of Zoster in mother during her wanderings, before she reached
Attica claimed the same honour for themselves. Delos. He is also said to have assisted Zeus in
(Steph. Byz. s. v. Téyopa. ) In some of these local his contest with the giants. (Apollod. i. 6. & 2. )
traditions Apollo is mentioned alone, and in others | The circumstance of Apollo being the destroyer of
together with his sister Arternis. The account of the wicked was believed by some of the ancients
A pollo's parentage, too, was not the same in all to have given rise to his name Apollo, which they
traditions (Cic. de Nat. Deor. iii. 23), and the connected with anorluwu, “ to destroy. " (Aeschyl.
Egyptians made out that he was a son of Dionysus Agam. 1081. ) Some modern writers, on the other
and Isis. (Herod. ii. 156. ) But the opinion most hand, who consider the power of averting evil to
universally received was that Apollo, the son of have been the original and principal feature in his
Zeus and Leto, was born in the island of Delos, character, say that 'ATÓMwv, i. e. 'Anew, (from
together with his sister Artemis ; and the circum- the root pello), signifies the god who drives away
stances of his birth there are detailed in the Ho evil, and is synonymous with a retinakas, Acesius,
mneric hymn on Apollo, and in that of Callimachus ACESTOR, Oump, and other names and epithets
on Delos. (Comp. Apollod. i. 4. § 1; Hygin. Fub. applied to Apollo.
140. ) Hera in her jealousy pursued Leto from 2. The god who affords help and wards off eril.
land to land and from isle to isle, and endeavoured As he had the power of visiting men with plagues
to prevent her finding a resting place where to give and epidemics, so he was also able to deliver men
birth. At last, however, she arrived in Delos, from them, if duly propitiated, or at least by his
where she was kindly received, and after nine oracles to suggest the means by which such calami-
days' labour she gave birth to Apollo under a palm ties could be averted. Various names and epithets
or an olive tree at the foot of mount Cynthus. She which are given to Apollo, especially by later wri-
was assisted by all the goddesses, except Hera and | ters, such as ακέσιος, ακέστωρ, αλεξίκακος, σωτηρ,
Eileithyia, but the latter too hastened to lend her αποτρόπαιος, επικούριος, ιατρομάντις, and others,
aid, as soon as she heard what was taking place. are descriptive of this power. (Paus i. 3. $ 3,
The island of Delos, which previous to this event vi. 24. & 5, viii. 41. & 5; Plut. de El ap. Delpl. 21,
had been unsteady and floating on or buried under de Defect. Orac. 7; Aeschyl. Eum. 62; comp.
the waves of the sea, now became stationary, and Müller, Dor. ii. 6. & 3. ) It seems to be the idea
was fastened to the roots of the earth. (Comp. of bis being the god who afforded help, that made
Virg. Aen. iii. 75. ) The day of Apollo's birth was him the father of Asclepius, the god of the healing
believed to have been the seventh of the month, art, and that, at least in later times, identiñed him
whence he is called ébdouayevňs. (Plut. Sympos. 8. ) with Paeeon, the god of the healing art in Homer.
According to some traditions, he was a seven [Parrox. ]
months' child (éttaunvaios). The number seven 3. The god of prophecy.
Apollo exercised this
was sacred to the god ; on the seventh of every power in his numerous oracles, and especially in
month sacrifices were offered to him (ébdouayétns, that of Delphi. (Dict. of Ant. s. r. Oraculum. ) The
Aeschyl. Sept. 802; comp. Callim. Hymn. in Del. source of all his prophetic powers was Zeus him-
## p. 231 (#251) ############################################
APOLLO.
231
APOLLO.
.
self (Apollodorus states, that Apollo received the graphers, and philosophers, and according to which
Martin front Pan), and Apollo is accordingly Apollo was identical with Helios, or the Sun. In
called the prophet of his father Zeus. ” (Aeschyl. Homer and for some centuries after his time Apollo
Eum. 19); but he had nevertheless the power of and Helios are perfectly distinct. The question
communicating the gift of prophecy both to gods which here presents itself, is, whether the idea of
and men, and all the ancient seers and prophets the identity of the two divinities was the original
are placed in some relationship to him. (Hon. Il. and primitive one, and was only revived in later
i. 72, Hymn. in Merc. 3, 471. ) The manner in times, or whether it was the result of later specu-
which Apollo came into the possession of the oracle lations and of foreign, chiefly Egyptian, influence.
of Delphi (Pytho) is related differently. According Each of these two opinions has had its able advo-
to Apollodorus, the oracle had previously been in cates. The former, which has been maintained by
the possession of Themis, and the dragon Python Buttmann and Hermann, is supported by strong
guarded the mysterious chasm, and Apollo, after arguments. In the time of Callimachus, some per-
having slain the monster, took possession of the sons distinguished between Apollo and Helios, for
oracle. According to Hyginus, Python himself which they were censured by the poet. (Fragm. 48,
possessed the oracle; while Pausanias (x. 3. $5) ed. Bentley. ) Pausanias (vii. 23. $ 6) states, that
states, that it belonged to Gaca and Poseidon in he met a Sidonian who declared the two gods to
common. (Comp. Eurip. Iphig. Taur. 1246, &c. ; be identical, and Pausanias adds, that this was
Athen. xv. p. 701; Ov. Mel. i. 439; Apollon. quite in accordance with the belief of the Greeks.
Rhod. ï. 706. )
(Comp. Strab. xiv. p. 635; Plut. de El ap. Delph. 4,
4. The god of song and music. We find him in de Def. Orac. 7. ) It has further been said, that if
the Iliad (i. 603) delighting the immortal gods | Apollo be regarded as the Sun, the powers and
with his play on the phorminx during their re- attributes which we have enumerated above are
past ; and the Homeric bards derived their art of easily explained and accounted for; that the sur-
song either from Apollo or the Muses. (Od. viii. name of poibos (the shining or brilliant), which is
488, with Eustath. ) Later traditions ascribed to frequently applied to Apollo in the Homeric poems,
Apollo even the invention of the flute and lyre points to the sun; and lastly, that the traditions
(Callim. Hymn, in Del. 253; Plut. de Mus. ), while concerning the Hyperboreans and their worship of
the more common tradition was, that he received Apollo bear the strongest marks of their regarding
the lyre from Hermes. Ovid (Heroid. xvi. 180) | the god in the same light. (Alcaeus, ap. Himer,
makes Apollo build the walls of Troy by playing xiv. 10; Diod. ii. 47. ) Still greater stress is laid
on the lyre, as Amphion did the walls of Thebes. on the fact that the Egyptian Horus was regarded
Respecting his musical contests, see Marsyas, as identical with Apollo (Herod. ii. 144, 156;
Midas.
Diod. i. 25; Plut. de Is. et Os. 12, 61; Aelian,
5. The god who protects the flocks and cattle Hist. An. x. 14), as Horus is usually considered
(voulos Seds, from vouds or vous), a meadow or as the god of the burning sun. Those who adopt
pasture land). Homer (n. ü. 766) says, that this view derive Apollo from the East or from
Apollo reared the swift steeds of Eumelus Phere Egypt, and regard the Athenian 'Arów matpūos
tiades in Pieria, and according to the Homeric as the god who was brought to Attica by the
hymn to Hermes (22, 70, &c. ) the herds of the Egyptian colony under Cecrops. Another set of
gods fed in Pierin under the care of Apollo. At accounts derives the worship of Apollo from the
the command of Zeus, Apollo guarded the cattle of very opposite quarter of the world——from the coun-
Laomedon in the valleys of mount Ida (1l. xxi. try of the Hyperboreans, that is, a nation living
488. ) There are in Homer only a few allusions to beyond the point where the north wind rises, and
this feature in the character of Apollo, but in later whose country is in consequence most happy and
writers it assumes a very prominent form (Pind fruitful. According to a fragment of an ancient
Pyth. ix. 114; Callim. Hymn. in Apoll. 50, &c. ): Doric hymn in Pausanias (x. 5. $ 4), the oracle of
and in the story of Apollo tending the flocks of Delphi was founded by Hyperboreans and Olenus ;
Admetus at Pherae in Thessaly, on the banks of Leto, too, is said to have come from the Hyperbo
the river Amphrysus, the idea reaches its height. reans to Delos, and Eileithyia likewise. (Herod.
(Apollod. i. 9. & 15; Eurip. Aloest. 8; Tibull. ii. 3. iv. 33, &c. ; Paus. i. 18. $ 4; Diod. ii. 47. ) The
11; Virg. Georg. iii. 2. )
Hyperboreans, says Diodorus, worship Apollo more
6. The god who delights in the foundation of towns zealously than any other people ; they are all
and the establishment of civil constitutions. His priests of Apollo; one town in their country is
assistance in the building of Troy was mentioned sacred to Apollo, and its inhabitants are for the
above ; respecting his aid in raising the walls of most part players on the lyre. (Comp. Pind. Pyth.
Megara, see Alcathous. Pindar (Pyth. v. 80) | x. 55, &c. )
calls Apollo the åpxoyétns, or the leader of the These opposite accounts respecting the original
Dorians in their migration to Peloponnesus; and seat of the worship of Apollo might lead us to
this idea, as well as the one that he delighted suppose, that they refer to two distinct divinities,
in the foundation of cities, seems to be intimately which were in the course of time united into one,
connected with the circumstance, that a town or a as indeed Cicero (de Nat. Deor. iii. 23) distin-
colony was never founded by the Greeks without guishes four different Apollos.
Müller has re-
consulting an oracle of Apollo, so that in every jected most decidedly and justly the hypothesis,
case he became, as it were, their spiritual leader. that Apollo was derived from Egypt; but he re
The epithets KTIOTT)s and oikiotais (see Böckb, ad jects at the same time, without very satisfactory
Pind. l. c. ) refer to this part in the character of reasons, the opinion that Apollo was connected
Apollo.
with the worship of nature or any part of it; for,
These characteristics of Apollo necessarily ap according to him, Apollo is a purely spiritual divi-
pear in a peculiar light, if we adopt the view which nity, and far above all the other gods of Olympus.
was almost universal among the later poets, mytho- | As regards the identity of Apollo and Helios, ho
:
## p. 232 (#252) ############################################
232
APOLLO.
APOLLODORUS.
3
justly remarks, that it would be a strange pheno- | Romans till the time of Augustus, who, after the
menon if this identity should have fallen into battle of Actium, not only dedicated to him a por-
oblivion for several centuries, and then have been tion of the spojis, but built or embellished his tcro-
revived. This objection is indeed strong, but not ple at Actium, and founded a new one at Rome
insurmountable if we recollect the tendency of the on the Palatine, and instituted quinquennial games
Greeks to change a peculiar attribute of a god into at Actium. (Suet. Aug. 31, 52; Dict. of Ant. s. r.
a separate divinity; and this process, in regard to 'Artía; Hartung, die Roliyion der Römer, ii. p.
Helios and A pollo, seems to have taken place pre-205. )
vious to the time of Homer. Müller's view of Apollo, the national divinity of the Greeks, was
A pollo, which is at least very ingenious, is briefly of course represented in all the ways which the
this. The original and essential feature in the plastic arts were capable of. As the ideas of the
character of Apollo is that of “the averter of evil” god became gradunily and more and more fully de-
('ATémwv); he is originally a divinity peculiar to veloped, so his representations in works of art rose
the Doric race; and the most ancient seats of his from a rude wooden image to the perfect ideal of
worship are the Thessalian Tempe and Delphi. youthful manliness, so that he appeared to the an-
From thence it was transplanted to Crete, the inha- cients in the light of a twin brother of Aphrodite.
bitants of which spread it over the coasts of Asia (Plin. H. N. xxxvi. 4. $ 10. ) The most beautiful
Minor and parts of the continent of Greece, such and celebrated among the extant representations of
as Boeotia and Attica. In the latter country it Apollo are the Apollo of Belvedere at Rome, which
was introduced during the immigration of the was discovered in 1503 at Rettuno (Mus. Pro-Ciem.
Ionians, whence the god became the 'ArómWv i. 14, 15), and the Apollino at Florence. (Hirt.
Tatp@os of the Athenians. The conquest of Pelo | Mythol. Bilderbuch, i. p. 29, &c. ) In the Apollo
ponnesus by the Dorians raised Apollo to the rank of Belvedere, the god is represented with com-
of the principal divinity in the peninsula.
