The son of Zeus and Leto and the twin
brother of Artemis. Apollo was the god of music (principally the lyre, and he directed the choir of
the Muses)and also of
prophecy, colonization, medicine, archery (but not for war or hunting), poetry,
dance, intellectual inquiry and the carer of herds and flocks. He was also a
god of light, known as "Phoebus" (radiant or beaming, and he was
sometimes identified with Helios the
sun god). He was also the god of plague and was worshiped as Smintheus (from sminthos, rat) and as
Parnopius (from parnops,
grasshopper). Apollo being the god of religious healing would give those guilty
of murder and other immoral deeds a ritual purification. Sacred to Apollo are
the swan (one legend says that Apollo flew on the back of a swan to the land of
the Hyperboreans, he would spend the winter months among them), the wolf and
the dolphin. His attributes are the bow and arrows, on his head a laurel crown,
and the cithara (or lyre) and plectrum. But his most famous attribute is the
tripod, the symbol of his prophetic powers.
When the goddesss Hera, the wife of
Zeus (it was he who had coupled with Leto) found out about Leto's pregnancy,
she was outraged with jealousy. Seeking revenge Hera forced Leto to roam the
earth in search of a place to give birth. Sicne Hera had forbidden Leto to stay
anywhere on earth, either on terra-ferma or an island at sea, the only place to
seek shelter was Delos, being in the center of the Aegean, and also difficult
to reach, as there were strong under-currents, because it was said to be a
floating island. Because it was a floating island, it was not considered either
of Hera's prohibitions, and so Leto was able to give birth to the divine twins
Apollo and Artemis (before Leto gave birth to Apollo, the island was encircled
by a flock of swans, this is why the swan was sacred to him). As a gesture of
thanks Delos was secured to the sea-bed by four columns to give it stability,
and from then on it became one of the most important sanctuaries to Apollo. (A
variation of Apollo's birth was that the jealous Hera had incarcerated Ilithyia, the goddess of childbirth, but the other gods intervened forcing Hera to
release Ilithyia, which allowed Leto to give birth ).
Apollo, as with Zeus his father, had many love affairs
with goddesses and mortals. Apollo's infatuation for the nymph Dapnhe which had been
invoked by the young god of love Eros, because Apollo
had mocked him, saying his archery skills were pathetic, and Apollo's singing
had also irritated him. Daphne was the beautiful daughter of the river god Ladon,
and she was constantly pursued by Apollo. To escape from Apollo's insistent
behavior, she fled to the mountains, but the persistent Apollo followed her.
Annoyed by this, she asked the river god Peneus for help,
which he did. As soon as Apollo approached Daphne, he tried to embrace her, but
when he stretched out his arms she transformed into a laurel tree. Apollo,
distraught by what had happened, made the laurel his sacred tree. Apollo also
loved Cyrene, she was another
nymph, and she bore Apollo a are: Aristaeus,
a demi-god, who became a protector of cattle and fruit trees, and a deity of
hunting, husbandry and bee-keeping. He taught men dairy skills and the use of
nets and traps in hunting.
The most famous mortal loves of Apollo was Hecuba she was the wife
of Priamo the king of
Troy. She bore him Troilius. Foretold by an oracle, as long as Troilius reached
the age of twenty, Troy could not be defeated. But the hero Achilles ambushed
and killed him, when the young prince and his sister Polyxena secretly visited
a spring. Apollo also fell in love with Cassandra the sister of Troilius, and daughter of Hecuba and Priam.
Apollo also, as did his father Zeus, fall in love with
one of his own gender,Hyacinthus,
a Spartan prince. He was very handsome and athletic, which inflamed the
passions of Apollo. One day while Apollo and Hyacinthus were practicing
throwing the discus,Zephyrus,
the god of the west wind, who was also attracted to the young prince, and
jealous of Apollo's amorous affection towards the boy, made the discus veer off
course by blowing an ill wind. The discus, which Apollo had thrown, hit
Hyacinthus, smashing his skull. Apollo rushed to him, but he was dead. Apollo
also loved the young boy Cyparissus,
a descendant of Heracles. The impassioned Apollo gave Cyparissus a sacred deer, as a love token. The
young deer became tame, and was the constant companion of the boy, until a
tragic accident occurred. As the young deer lay sleeping in the shade of the
undergrowth, Cyparissus threw his javelin, which by chance hit, and killed the
deer. Grief-stricken by what had happened, Cyparissus wanted to die. He asked
Apollo to let his tears fall for all eternity. With apprehension Apollo
transformed the boy into a tree, the cypress, which became the symbol of
sorrow, as the sap on its trunk forms droplets, like tears.
Apollo was worshiped throughout the Greek world, at
Delphi every four years they held the Pythian Games in his honor. The place
where it developed most important worship god Apollo was in the temple of
Delphi, famous for its oracle. “γνῶθι σεαυτόν or gnóthi seautón”. This temple was also
considered the center of the world. Oracle predictions were made just one day a
month, on the seventh day, because it was the date of the birth of Apollo. The
short time available and the great assiduity of consultants, from poor people
to kings and heroes, justified extending consultations all day and the
existence of several groups of priests to perform the ceremonies.
In
art Apollo is at most times depicted as a handsome young man, clean shaven and
carrying either a lyre, or his bow and arrows. There are many sculptures of
Apollo and one of the most famous is the central figure from the west pediment
of the Temple of Zeus, at Olympia, showing Apollo declaring victory in favor of
the Lapiths in their struggle against the Centtaurs.
"Gnosce te ipsum"
The phrase "know yourself" may refer to the
ideal of understanding human behavior and moral thinking because understand
oneself is to understand others. Knowing that we all belong to the same nature.
So learn the true meaning of the phrase can inevitably see oneself as a human
being to the truth, which is what it is, and thus discover our miseries, how
they deceive us and lie to feed our inner suffering.
Apollo.
(Ana María Cifuentes Ríos)
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