05. APOLLO

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Origin very obscure; conflicting stories told

• Delos
  • born, with twin sister Artemis, on Mt. Cynthus on the island of Delos
  • father Zeus, mother Leto
• Hyperboreans (far north; Boreas is the north wind)
  • said to originate among these partly mythical people
  • Hyperboreans are ageless, without disease; live for 1000 years; needn't work for their livelihood
  • many tales of how they worshipped Apollo correspond to actual Greek rituals
• Lycia (Asia Minor)
  • Apollo an eastern import to Greece; n.b. he sides with the eastern Trojans in the Trojan War
  • epithet Lykeios (Lycian) for him also comes from the word lykos, 'wolf'
    • Some say Apollo was originally a god of shepherds, protecting them against wolves; hence his use of the bow and arrow

Character very pure

• fits wrong but traditional 19th-20th century notions of what ancient Greeks were like
• purifies those convicted of murder
• god of the sun, light, reason, music and drama
• famous oracular sayings: KNOW THYSELF; NOTHING IN EXCESS

Delphi

• Apollo's main sanctuary
  • temple, treasuries holding dedications from different cities to Apollo, theater, stadium (home of the Pythian games)
• seat of the Delphic Oracle--a feature of this and some other sanctuaries
  • Apollo speaks through a priestess, the Pythia, whose gibberish is interpreted by priests
  • consulted for advice by kings, cities, ordinary people
  • advice comes in poetic form, the same meter as Homeric epic (dactylic hexameter)
• Greeks said Delphi was the center (navel) of the world; a stone there is called the omphalos, 'navel'