Apollo, the Greek god of the sun - the son of Zeus and the Titanides Leto, was in ancient Greece the god of the arts, healing and predictions.
He was born on the island of Delos, and everything around this island was immediately flooded with sunlight. God was born on the seventh day of the seven-month month, which is why the number seven in ancient Greece was considered sacred. Apollo has a twin sister, the beautiful Artemis, the goddess of the hunt. It was she who taught her brother how to shoot. Both Apollo and Artemis perfectly mastered the bow and arrows, they always hit their target, hitting the first time. Also, the brother and sister had another common ability: they could disappear without a trace, as if dissolving into thin air.
Apollo, already in childhood, did things that glorified him. As a child, he killed the snake Python, which Hera sent to Summer, wanting revenge. For this, he was exiled by Zeus to serve people. For some time he was an ordinary shepherd with King Admet in Thessaly.
Apollo Greek god known not only as an excellent shooter, but also as an excellent musician. Playing on his cithara, he truly produced magnificent pure sounds. Often, the Muses joined Apollo, the girls sang and danced, and the young man played along with them. And in such blessed moments, even Zeus himself stopped throwing angry lightning.
Apollo is depicted as an incredibly handsome golden-haired young man with a bow and a lyre in his hands. And, despite his divine origin and beautiful appearance, he was unlucky in matters of the heart. This is partly his fault as well. First love overtook him thanks to the god Eros. Apollo allowed himself to laugh at the accuracy of his arrows, and, wanting to take revenge, the god of love hit the young man’s heart with an arrow, simultaneously shooting another arrow, the one that could repel love, cause disgust, in the heart of young Daphne.
Apollo, unable to cope with his feelings, ran after his beloved, and she was horrified, and turned to her father for help. He responded to the call of his daughter, and turned her into a beautiful laurel, and when Apollo caught up with her, instead of a nymph, he found only a tree. Since then, a laurel wreath has adorned his head. The second love experience with Cassandra, the daughter of the king of Troy, also ended sadly. The young man gave her the gift of divination, and in return he needed only her love. She deceived Apollo, and then he made it so that none of the people anymore believed her predictions.
The place where most of all they sang the greatness of Apollo is the Delphi temple with an oracle. Although in general the sun god was loved throughout ancient Greece and tirelessly admired him.
Apollo
Golden-haired Apollo is the brother of Artemis. Like some of the Olympians, he was once a visiting Asia Minor god, similar to Egyptian Horus, but quickly assimilated on new soil and became one of the most revered gods of the Greek pantheon, however, having changed 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 the sciences, music, poetry, medicine, natural science, the observance of roads and travelers, the purification from defilement by murder, the patronage of the muses and divination of the future.
His appearance is ideal - Apollo is beautifully complex, handsome, endowed with lovely golden curls and clear eyes. It is not for nothing that men only rejoice when they are honored with a comparison with Apollo, especially for some reason with the Belvedere. In addition to appearance, Apollo is all right with talents and strength. He is quite capable of defeating the strongest of the gods in a contest, plays the cithara perfectly, sings and shoots from his silver bow equipped with golden arrows.
Young, yes early
In the Olympian pantheon, Apollo was born to Zeus and Leto on the island of Delos. He originally had some exalted 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. Surely there will be some other numerological clues, if you look. One way or another, nature welcomed his birth with the radiance of heaven and the parade of swans that made seven circles of honor around Delos. He immediately began to eat the food of the gods, bypassing the mother's breast, and on such a diet he grew up in four days to an absolutely adult state. Armed with the bow and arrows received from Hephaestus, Apollo immediately went to fight the serpent Python, who tormented his mother during her pregnancy. He managed to severely injure the enemy, and he was hiding in Delphi, hoping to heal the wounds in the sanctuary of his mother Gaia. But Apollo, full of anger, burst into Holy place and killed the snake. The mother of the monster, famous for her love of children, turned to Zeus, and offended by the irreverence of the young, but early god. 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. After serving his sentence, Apollo turned to the goat-footed god Pan, so that he would teach him divination, and then went and occupied the sanctuary, in which he had previously committed atrocities, 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 Summer went into seclusion sacred grove on their business, one of the giants Titius brazenly stuck to her with unambiguous intentions. Compliant and faithful children, Artemis and Apollo instantly finished off the rapist, and even Zeus himself, father Titius did not object to this, but also appointed the sacrilegious punishment in Hades, in his recognizable manner - Titius was nailed to the rocks, and two kites tirelessly tore his liver.
Divine self-love
After that, Apollo made some more gloomy stories alone or in the company of Artemis. It was especially dangerous to offend their mother Leto. When Niobe, generously endowed with children, boasted of them to Leto, the enraged twins shot all the children of the mother's arrogant friend.
Very unlucky for Marsyas, a young man who found a flute thrown away 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, because the flute tried its best. The silly boy began to brag that Apollo could not be compared with his skill, for which he ran into a severe competition with a recognized master of cithara. At first, the Muses, called to judge Apollo and Marsyas, recognized a draw, but then the quick-witted Apollo offered to sing and play at the same time, and immediately won - you can’t handle the flute in this way. Having won, Apollo, contrary to his refined appearance, treated Marsyas barbarically, tearing off his skin alive.
Later, Apollo started a similar contest with Pan, but then 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 rewarded by an irritated Apollo with donkey ears. But if we compare this misfortune with the fate of the same Marsyas, then King Midas was simply lucky.
And so Apollo is just a darling. In the warm season he lives in Delphi, for the winter he leaves for the Hyperboreans, who, according to rumors, also worship him, besides, in those places, his mother's patrimony.
Unions of Apollo
As for the love stories of Apollo, they are very diverse. Apollo refused to marry and preferred the style of an open relationship. I must say that he quite often received a refusal of reciprocity from his beloved. So poor Cassandra, who during the period of courtship received from him the gift of prophecy, when she refused the golden-haired admirer, was doomed by him to the fact that no one ever listened to her predictions. Daphne, with whom Apollo was long and hopelessly in love, preferred to turn into a laurel than to become his lover.
Apollo made himself a wreath from its branches, and since then he often wore it in remembrance of the loss. More successful were his adventures with Dryopa, when he applied the proven zoomorphic seduction tactics often used by his father. When Dryopa was tending her father's flocks, Apollo turned into a little turtle, the girl was touched, picked him up and put him in her bosom. As soon as the god was 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 about the details. In general, Apollo often had difficulties with women. Coronis, with whom he managed to start an affair, was cheating on him, and Asclepius, whom Apollo adopted, most likely was not his own son.
Apollo Assets
Apparently tired of female contradictions, Apollo switched to wooing 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 during his lifetime.
To the Spartan royal son, Hyacinth, Famirids, who was rumored to be the ancestor of same-sex love in Greece of those years, was first inflamed with passion. At the same time, Apollo became the first of the gods who was seized by such a love affliction. Apollo easily eliminated his rival, having learned that he inadvertently boasted of his singing talents, threatening to surpass the muses themselves. The golden-haired lover quickly informed the Muses about what he had heard, and they deprived Famirid of the ability to sing, play and see. The unfortunate braggart dropped out of the game, and Apollo calmly, without rivals, set about seducing the object of love lust. The story of their love, as often happens in the relationship between mortals and the Olympian gods, was intense, but short. Hyacinthus was accidentally killed by Apollo himself.
Personal evolution
In addition to Asclepius, Apollo had many children; rumor, among others, attributes him to the children of Homer, Pythagoras, Euripides, Plato and Octavian Augustus. However, it is possible that some of these fatherhoods are 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.
Asclepius, who was not even his own son, Apollo dearly loved. When Zeus punished the talented Aesculapius, who encroached on death itself and resurrected a person, Apollo went into a frenzy and killed the Cyclopes, who forged a weapon for Zeus that deprived him of his beloved son. Zeus had already completely sent 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, to declare the slogan "Nothing beyond measure!" and invite everyone to know themselves. Having completely discarded old habits, he became the personification of order and the highest organization of a rational being. That did not prevent him from sinking into oblivion over time, like the rest of the ancient gods.
The myth of Apollo
The mysteries of ancient Greece are at least 20,000 years old. Greek mythology is apparently a reflection of some events of a very distant past. This mythological Greek story of the gods is possibly taken from Atlantis. The myth of Apollo is instructive in many ways. In Apollo there is something from another distant world - a certain quality, apparently due to his connection with the mysterious country of the Hyperboreans. Surprisingly, his name coincides with the name of the Angel of the Abyss Apollyon in the Revelation of John the Theologian (Apocalypse).
Titanide Leto met with the already married god Zeus. They made love in the form of a quail and a quail, as a result of which Leto became pregnant. But she could not give birth, because the lawful wife of Zeus, Hera, deliberately kept the goddess of childbirth, Ilithyia, near her. So Leto wandered pregnant until she reached the island of Delos, where she was relieved of the burden, first by her daughter Artemis, then, with the help of Ilithyia, by her son, Apollo. The goddess Themis nursed little Apollo with nectar and ambrosia, and Hephaestus gave him a bow and arrows.
The goddess Leto is the image of a mother, "glorious for her children." This is her main achievement. She was called "forever sweet" and "forever meek". Only thanks to the children she took a place of honor on Olympus. Her son was traditionally called not by his patronymic, but by his mother's name - Letoid, which is considered a confirmation of his matriarchal preferences. The son of Leto, together with his sister, killed the titan Titius, who molested his mother. (No other mother of Greek mythology was so protected.)
While still very young, Apollo killed the serpent Python (Delphinia), the brainchild of Hera, who devastated his native island and pursued his mother. Then he cleansed himself of the filth of the murder in Thessaly and, returning, established the Pythian games in his native Delphi. God Pan taught Apollo divination and he established his own temple in Delphi with Pythian priestesses, who predicted the future in a trance. Apollo was generally revered as an oracle and a prophet, he was called the "driver of fate" (Moiraget).
Later, Apollo, Artemis and Leto acted as a united family front in all Olympic and earthly strife (the only exception was the rivalry between Artemis and Apollo). …
Apollo became the God of the Sun at a rather late time. Particularly interesting is the late antique work - the speech of the Roman emperor and mystic Julian the Sun worshiper "To King Helios".
In the Christian Middle Ages, artists liked to depict Mount Parnassus with Apollo and the Muses; him as the sun god driving a chariot; in company with her sister Artemis; Apollo in love and Daphne rejecting him; as well as the contest between Apollo and Marsyas. This is understandable - people of art preferred to portray him for the most part as a patron of the arts and a jealous rival in creativity, as well as a lover rejected by a girl. These, apparently, were emotionally close to them stories.
Bednenko G.B., 2004
Among the numerous solar deities, one attracts attention with its extreme ambiguity, which has absorbed all the characteristics of the Luminary himself - Apollo . Not a single people, except the Greeks, and not the early, bright, but the later ones, who came into contact with Egypt and Chaldea and burned with their wisdom, did not capture so accurately the Spirit of the Daylight, illuminating, ruthlessly revealing secrets, burning and self-sufficient in its perfection. …
Apollo is one of ancient gods Greece. It is believed that his name comes from the Greek. àπελάω " disgusting", or from απέλλα " meeting". His name does not occur in the Cretan-Mycenaean texts. It is believed that Apollo was originally a pre-Greek deity, probably Asia Minor. Its deep archaism is manifested in its close connection and even identification with the plant and animal world. In the myths of an earlier period, Apollo is prone to reckless actions, quick to reprisals, in the myths of a later period - he is the very prudence, harmony, creation, from which, however, it blows the cold of perfection. Apollo is the second most important god in the Greek pantheon, second only to Zeus. He is the god of the sun, the arts (especially music), prophecy, and archery. He is the legislator and punisher; the patron of medicine, who can also send diseases; protector of shepherds. …
epithets Apollo are numerous and varied: Pean and Peon (“Resolver of Diseases”), Musaget (driver of the Muses), Moiraget (“driver of fate”), Phoebus (“Radiant” - indicates purity, brilliance and divination), Sminthey (Mouse), Alexikakos ("Repudiator of Evil"), Apotropaeus ("Repudiator"), Prostatus ("Intercessor"), Akesius ("Healer"), Nomius ("Shepherd"), Daphnius ("Laurel"), Drymas ("Oak"), Lycian ("Wolf"), Letoid (on behalf of the mother), Epicurius ("Trustee") ...
well known and deeds Apollo. The best known is the serpent-fighting hypostasis of this god. Apollo matured early and, while still very young, killed the serpent Python (Delphinia), which pursued Leto and devastated the environs of Delphi. In Delphi, on the site where the oracle of Gaia and Themis once stood, Apollo founded his oracle. Apollo also struck with his arrows the giant Titius, who was trying to insult Leto, the Cyclopes, who forged lightning bolts to Zeus, and also participated in the battles of the Olympians with the titans and giants. Already in these myths, the punishing nature of Apollo is obvious. …
Functions Apollo are very controversial. On the one hand, he is the leader of the muses, Musagete, patron of the arts, poetry and music. But at the same time, with his arrows, he brings death, destruction and plague (for example, at the beginning of the Iliad). There are references to the fact that Apollo was not averse to hunting with his sister, and this hunt was terrible and ruthless. His image is outwardly noble, his clothes exude magical light and aroma, he plays an elegant instrument that emits a gentle, measured sound. Beautiful as a white swan, Apollo could be cruel and destructive, like a wolf. Therefore, he was also called "Wolf" and sacrificed to him those animals that these four-legged destroyers of the herds prefer. …
In Apollo there is something from another distant world - a certain quality, apparently due to his connection with the mysterious country of the Hyperboreans. When, after the birth of his son, Zeus gave him a chariot drawn by swans, Apollo went on it not to Delphi, but to the Hyperboreans, where he stayed for a whole year. Subsequently, he retired annually for some time to this "blessed country of the world."
The golden-haired god of the sun, light (sunlight was symbolized by his golden arrows), art, the god-healer, the leader and patron of the muses (Musaget), the patron of sciences and arts, the predictor of the future, the guardian of herds, roads, travelers and sailors, and also cleansed people, who committed murder. He personified the Sun (and his sister Artemis - the Moon).
The son of the goddess Latona (Summer) and Zeus, the twin brother of Artemis, the grandson of the titans Kay and Phoebe. He was born on the island of Delos (Asteria), where his mother Leto ended up by accident, driven by the jealous goddess Hera. When Apollo was born, the entire island of Delos was flooded with streams of sunlight.
Father of Aristaeus (from the nymph Cyrene), Lapith, Femonoi, Orpheus and Lina (from the muse Calliope), Asclepius (from Koronida, whom he killed for treason with a mortal), Pit. He brought natural death to men. At the same time, he was a god - an arrowhead, sending death and disease.
Among his victims are the sons of Niobe, Python, the satyr Marsyas, the sons of Aloe Otos and Ephialtes.
For mocking the young god of love, Eros was punished by unrequited love for the nymph Daphne.
Victoria Zyryanova AKA Caroline
The cult of Apollo spread in Rome in the 5th century. BC. The source is, of course, Greece, and the Etruscans also worshiped Apollo, who called him Apulu. The heyday of the cult dates back to the reign of Augustus, who considered Apollo his patron. At first, Apollo was considered only a healer god, but later he fully assumes his "Greek" functions. Construction of the Temple of Apollo in Rome - 432 BC This temple, near the Palatine, was one of the richest in Rome.
As a bright god of the sky, who hates everything impure and impious, Apollo soon after his birth goes to extermination evil forces darkness. He kills with his arrows the great Titius and the dragon Python, a monster that lived in the narrow Plaist valley near Delphi and killed people and cattle. All myths about Apollo are nothing more than a glorification of the victorious power of the spring sun over the gloomy forces of winter.
Apollo, on the one hand, is a fighter against all evil and everything unclean, but, on the other hand, ancient legends represented him as a terrible god of death, striking people and animals with his far-striking arrows. Such legends are easily explained by the elemental significance of this god. After all, although a ray of sunshine drives away an icy winter, at the same time, with an increase in summer heat, it scorches and destroys ...
But Apollo received the main importance in Greece as an oracle god, whose predictions had a strong influence until later times on the politics of states, the fate of people and families. Not being able to see the future himself, he announces as a prophet the decisions of Zeus. For the most part, women and girls - sibyls - predicted on behalf of God. All soothsayers were eclipsed in the course of time by the oracle at Delphi, whose decisions, during a long period of Greek history, had, especially among the Dorian tribes, an almost omnipotent force.
Delphi was the main place of the cult of Apollo. The splendid temple located there was rebuilt after a fire in the time of the Peisistratids, and, thanks to all kinds of offerings, its wealth steadily increased. No less famous place of the cult of Apollo was the island of Delos, his homeland. Sacred places were located at the foot of Mount Kinf, however, the entire island was dedicated to God, and it was forbidden to bury the dead here. In honor of the god, solemn games were celebrated every four years, which, according to legend, were established by Theseus.
The Roman Apollo moved to Rome from Greece, for here, too, there was a strong need for a diviner god. The Roman gods, although they made hints about the future, limited their answers to one “yes” or “no”. At the same time, the idea of a god-healer penetrated into Rome. The cult of Apollo was especially brilliantly developed thanks to the emperor Augustus, who attributed his victory at Actium mainly to the help of this god and therefore erected a magnificent temple to him on the Palatine, decorating it with the famous statue of Scopas, depicting Apollo Kifared.
The most famous of all the statues of Apollo is without a doubt the Apollo Belvedere in the Vatican, found in 1503 near Nettuno, ancient Actium. The most important divine attributes of Apollo: bow, spear, quiver, laurel wreath, forming.
The lord of the sun, the patron of musicians, a talented soothsayer, a healer, a brave hero, a father of many children - the Greek Apollo includes many images. The eternally young and ambitious god honestly won his own place on Olympus. A favorite of women and brave men, he ranks second in the pantheon of divine rulers.
History of creation
According to modern researchers, the image of Apollo did not originate in Greece at all. Myths and legends about the radiant god came to the country from Asia Minor. Confirms the theory unusual name deities.
The meaning of the name of God has become a mystery not only for modern scientists, but also for philosophers. Ancient Greece. put forward the version that "Apollo" is translated as "assembly". The theory has no basis, since the name is not mentioned anywhere in such a context.
The second proof of the theory about the borrowing of Apollo from Asia is the combination of contradictory functions in one person. Apollo appears before people as both a positive character and a punishing god. Such an image is not typical for the mythology of Ancient Greece. In any case, the golden-haired god took a place of honor on Olympus, yielding in greatness only to his own father -.
The cult of Apollo began its procession from the island of Delos and gradually captured the whole country, including the Italian colonies of Greece. From there, the power of the sun god extended to Rome. But, despite the vast territory of influence, it was Delos and the city of Delphi that became the center of service to the deity. On the territory of the latter, the Greeks erected the Delphic Temple, where the oracle sat, the interpretation of dreams which revealed the secrets of the future.
Biography and image
The Greek god was born on the coast of the island of Delos. At the same time as the boy, a twin sister was born. Children are the fruit of the love of Zeus the Thunderer and the Titanides Leto (in another version of Latona). The woman had to wander through the sky and water, since Hera, the official wife of Zeus, forbade the Titanide to step on solid ground.
Like all children of Zeus, Apollo quickly grew up and matured. The gods of Olympus, proud and pleased with the replenishment, presented gifts to the young deity and his sister. The most memorable gift was a silver bow and golden arrows. With the help of this weapon, Apollo will accomplish many feats.
The description of the appearance of the eternally young deity is peculiar. Unlike most heroes of Greece, Apollo did not wear a beard, preferring to open his face to the outside world. The metaphor "golden-haired", often used in relation to God, allows us to conclude that Apollo is blond.
A young man of average height and average build quickly and silently moves around the world, easily catching up with his athletic sister. Nowhere is the god's daunting beauty mentioned, but the number of love victories suggests that Apollo exudes magnetism and charm.
However, in the life of God there was also unhappy love. Daphne, whose myth perfectly characterizes the youth of Apollo, became the victim of an unpleasant story. The young god, confident in his own abilities, ridiculed Eros (the god of love), for which he received a love arrow in his heart. And the arrow of disgust flew straight into the heart of the nymph Daphne.
Apollo in love rushed after the girl, who decided to hide from a persistent admirer. The sun god did not retreat, so the nymph's father, who saw the torment of his daughter, turned Daphne into a laurel tree. The young man decorated his own clothes and a quiver for arrows with laurel foliage.
Free from exploits and worries, the young man spends time listening to music. The cithara became the favorite instrument for Apollo. The young god is proud of his own success in music and often patronizes talented musicians. And what Apollo does not tolerate is boasting.
The merry satyr Marsyas, who picked up the flute, once challenged the young god to a contest. The man underestimated the talent of the son of Zeus. Marsyas lost the contest, and the proud and wayward Apollo, in punishment for his insolence, tore off the skin of the satyr.
The young god gets bored on Olympus, so Apollo often comes down to earth to chat with friends. Once a friendly meeting ended in death. The son of Zeus and Hyacinth, the son of the local king, launched a metal disk into the sky. Apollo did not calculate the force, and the projectile hit Hyacinthus in the head. God's favorite died, Apollo could not save his friend. A flower bloomed at the site of the tragedy. Now every spring the hyacinth plant blooms, reminiscent of the friendship between God and man.
A distinctive characteristic of Apollo is an all-consuming love for his mother and sister. For the sake of the well-being of close women, the hero goes against the formidable father. Shortly after the birth, Apollo kills Python, a powerful snake that pursues Leto. For an uncoordinated act of revenge, Zeus overthrows the sun god, and Apollo must serve as a shepherd for eight years to make amends.
The second time Apollo stands up for his mother is when Leto is offended by Queen Niobe. Friends argued which of them is more prolific. To defend the honor of their mother, Apollo and Artemis shot all the children of Niobe.
Despite frequent skirmishes, the title of father's favorite was assigned to Apollo. This arrangement depresses Hera, the wife of the lord of Olympus. The goddess makes every effort to harm Apollo. However, the solar god only chuckles at the tricks of his stepmother.
The deity has a serious duty - Apollo with a chariot, which is harnessed by four horses, passes through the sky, illuminating the Earth. Often on the journey, the golden-haired god is accompanied by nymphs and muses.
Matured Apollo often starts novels. Unlike his father, a man appears before his beloved in his true form. The exceptions were Antenora (took the form of a dog) and Dryop (came twice in the form of a snake and a turtle). Despite the impressive love experience, Apollo never married. Moreover, often the beloved of God did not remain faithful to a man. claimed that Apollo is the personification of order and light, and represents the opposite qualities in mythology. The god of winemaking encourages supporters to break the rules that the son of Zeus imposes.
Was he rejected? The guardian of light, sciences and arts, the god-healer, the patron of muses, travelers and sailors, the predictor of the future served as an ordinary shepherd ... and defeated the titans.
Apollo, Phoebus (“radiant”) - in Greek mythology, the golden-haired, silver-armed god is the guardian of herds, light (sunlight was symbolized by his golden arrows), sciences and arts, the god-healer, leader and patron of the muses (for which he was called Musaget), roads, travelers and sailors, a predictor of the future, also Apollo cleansed people who committed murder. He personified the Sun (and his twin sister Artemis - the Moon).
Apollo was an excellent musician; he received a kithara from Hermes in exchange for his own cows. God was the patron of singers, was the leader of the muses and severely punished those who tried to compete with him. Once Apollo won the satyr Marsyas in a musical competition. But after the contest, Apollo, enraged by the slander and impudence of Marsyas, tore the skin off the unfortunate man alive. He struck with his arrows the giant Titius, who was trying to insult Leto, and the Cyclopes, who forged lightning for Zeus; he also participated in the battles of the Olympians with giants and titans.
The cult of Apollo was widespread in Greece, and the Delphic temple with an oracle was considered the main center of his veneration. In ancient times, magnificent festivities and competitions were held at Delphi, not much inferior to the glorious Olympic Games. In spring and summer he lived in Delphi, in the fall he flew away on his chariot drawn by snow-white swans to Hyperborea, where the goddess Leto was born. At the Olympic Games, Apollo defeated Hermes in running, and defeated Ares in a fistfight. Apollo sang the lyre at the wedding of Peleus and Thetis. Transformed into a hawk and a lion. Along with destructive actions, healing is also inherent in Apollo; he is a doctor and healer, a protector from evil and disease, who stopped the plague during the Peloponnesian War. He was the first to treat the eyes.
In later times, Apollo was identified with the sun in all its healing and destructive functions. The epithet Apollo - Phoebus - indicates purity, brilliance, divination. The combination in the image of Apollo of rational clarity and dark elemental forces is confirmed by the closest ties between Apollo and Dionysius, although these are antagonist deities: one is predominantly the god of a bright beginning, the other is a dark and blind ecstasy; but after the 7th c. BC. the images of these gods began to converge - in Delphi, they both had orgies on Parnassus, Apollo himself was often revered as Dionysius and wore the hallmark of Dionysius - ivy. Participants in the festival in honor of Apollo decorated themselves with ivy (as at the Dionysian festivals).
In honor of Apollo himself, the first temple in Greece was built according to the project of Apollo himself: miraculous bees brought a model made of wax and it hovered in the air for a long time until people understood the idea: the main beauty was to be created by slender columns with beautiful capitals in the Corinthian style. Thousands of people from all over Ancient Greece flocked to Delphi, at the foot of Mount Parnassus, the home of Apollo and the Muses, to ask God about their future and the future of the city-states located in Hellas. The priestess, the Pythia, as she was called by the name of the snake Python, the remains of which smoldered in the gorge, entered the inner part of the temple of Apollo, she sat on a tripod and fell into oblivion from the gas vapor that escaped from the crevice of the rock located under the temple.
Artemis was in love with Orion. Once he was swimming in the sea, and the jealous Apollo pointed to a “point” far in the waves and said that his sister would not hit her with an arrow. Artemis fired, and when she realized what she had done, it was too late. She mourned her beloved and lifted him up to heaven, making him a constellation.
The priest approached the shutter, behind which was the Pythia, and passed on the question of another pilgrim. The words barely reached her mind. She answered in curt, incoherent phrases. The priest listened to them, wrote them down, giving them coherence, and announced them to the questioner. In addition to the oracle, the Greeks were attracted by bright and joyful services to God. A huge number of hymns were composed and performed by kifareds (playing the cithara) and choirs of boys and youths. A beautiful laurel grove grew around the temple, which pilgrims liked. Apollo and those Greeks who won in the performance of hymns and in the Olympic Games were decorated with a laurel wreath, because the beautiful Daphne, whom Apollo fell in love with, turned into a laurel.
He was also glorified by his own famous children: Asclepius - with the art of healing and Orpheus - with wonderful singing. On the island of Delos, the birthplace of Apollo, festivities were held once every four years, in which representatives of all the cities of Hellas participated. During these festivities, wars and executions were not allowed. Apollo was honored not only by the Greeks, but also by the Romans. In Rome, a temple was built in his name and gymnastic and artistic competitions were established, age-old games that were held in Rome once every 100 years, which lasted 3 days and 3 nights.
