Apollo
Reference page: Repertory of Cults and Myths
Origins of the Myth
Apollo is the son of Zeus need Latona and his worship is closely related to that of Artemide, of which he is considered a twin brother.
It is said that Latona, seduced by Zeus and pregnant with Artemis and Apollo, had to escape the wrath of the jealous It was , Wife of Zeus and for this reason she was forced to wander around the world, chased by Python, a monstrous snake born from the earth and under the command of Hera, in search of a safe place where she could give birth. She finally found a wandering island, where she gave birth to Artemis and Apollo. The island, which was given the name of Delos, then became stable thanks to Poseidon who, taking pity on poor Latona, anchored it to the bottom of the sea with mighty columns.
The characteristics common to Artemis and Apollo are more than one: both are equipped with bows and skilled hunters and their cult is linked to aspects of nature. Apollo is identified with the sun, therefore he acquires characteristics of luminosity and for this reason he is considered the god of light as well as of truth. Artemis, on the other hand, has a more nocturnal role and is, in fact, identified with the moon.
One of Apollo's first actions was to kill, with one of his infallible arrows, the python that was harassing his mother and for this action he earned the nickname of Pizio. The slaying by the solar Apollo of the earth-born serpent probably symbolizes the victory of sunlight over the darkness of night.
God of music and divination, Apollo has, among his duties, the exercise of prophecy. He communicated his prophecies to mortals thanks to oracles, the most famous of which was based in Delphi, a place in Phocis, located on the southern slope of Mount Parnassos, in Greece. In Delphi there was a famous sanctuary, seat of the oracle of Apollo, venerated for centuries not only by the Greeks but also by other peoples who took possession of the place, including the Macedonians and the Romans. The oracle was suppressed in 390 AD by the emperor Theodosius. In an underground part of the temple was the Pythia, priestess of Apollo, who in ecstasy, seated on a tripod, spoke in obscure words and disconnected sentences which the priests noted down and later arranged into complete sentences. The oracle, in addition to predicting the future, gave advice and help. The departure of the settlers towards new territories was often preceded by a trip to Delphi, where the oracle was consulted to give information on the expedition's ecista, ie the leader who was to lead the colony.
Apollo and Daphne (1681 Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels)
In the temple, a series of gold writings on the walls invited guests to reflect. They are worth remembering:
"know yourself"
“have measure in everything”
“beware of exaggeration”
and the authors of these sentences are also credited with the following:
"Only he is unfortunate who cannot bear misfortune"
“safety precedes decay”.
[Carl Grinberg: Universal History p. 289]
These phrases denote great wisdom and profound life experience. It is therefore not surprising if, beyond the religious sentiment, the sanctuary was frequented for centuries.
Apollo is also a pastoral god and he himself is sometimes seen as a shepherd. The oxen stolen by God belong to him Ermes Rewards Programme, eventually traded for the Lira.
Apollo is depicted as a handsome young man, his attributes are the bow and the lyre while his head is sometimes surrounded by a laurel wreath.
Among the animals sacred to him are the wolf and, as for Artemis, also the deer and the roe deer.
His close connection with nature is highlighted by the stories of his loves, both female and male, which are transformed into flowers and trees. He loved the nymph unrequited Daphne, daughter of the river god Peneus. In fleeing from Apollo, Daphne shortly before being reached asked her father for help who, to save her, transformed her into a laurel (in Greek daphne = laurel). Apollo was also in love with the young man Giacinto, but one day, playing discus, he killed him without meaning to; deeply saddened, the god transformed his beloved friend into a new flower: the "hyacinth".
In this last story it is possible to find the fact that the sun's rays can protect the flowers from the cold, but it is also true that the excessive heat emitted by them can kill them.
Another love of Apollo was the young man Cyparissus. He had a tame sacred deer as a playmate, but one summer day, while the deer was sleeping in the shade, Cyparissus, throwing a javelin, inadvertently killed it. The desperate young man expressed, to the gods, the desire to die and that his tears would descend forever. He was thus transformed into a cypress, the tree of sadness.
Like Zeus, Apollo had various names that distinguish the various nuances of his cult, the most famous of which was Phoebus (the pure), but there was also Pythian Apollo (having killed Python), Apollo High School (conqueror of the wolves), Apollo Smintheus (exterminator of the mice that destroy the crop), Apollo Parnopius (destroyer of locusts), Apollo Targellus (from the month of May, which in Greek is Thargelios, to indicate the solar heat which in May makes the crops ripen) and others.
There were many festivals in honor of Apollo, among the most famous were the Pythian games, in honor of Apollo Pizio. These took place every four years, and precisely the third year after each Olympics, and consisted of musical, poetic and, later, also gymnastic competitions. The prize for the winners was a laurel wreath, the plant sacred to Apollo.
Another considerable festival was that of the Delias, during which sacrifices were made in honor of Apollo, gymnastic competitions were held and banquets were held. During the Delias, the judicial truce was instituted for which all capital executions were suspended.
Other festivals of the same magnitude as the Delias were the Carnee, celebrated in honor of Apollo Carneo, which lasted no less than nine days, with gymnastic competitions, joyful outings and sacrifices of goats.
The Myth in Sicily
Syracuse: Temple of Apollo (Photo: Ignazio Caloggero)
In Sicily the cult of Apollo was quite widespread. TO Naxos, in which the first Chalcidean Ionians landed, the cult took on a political significance and the god was seen as the protector of colonists and new settlements.
In other cities the cult took on a typically pastoral typology, while in still others it was related to that of Asclepius, god of medicine. To Agrigento a statue of Apollo, the work of the famous Greek statuary Myron (V century BC) and located in the temple of Asclepius, was stolen by the inevitable Verres [Cicero, Verrine II.IV 93], always present where there was some work of art to steal.
Apollo was also considered protector of medicine to SIRACUSA and Selinunte. In the latter city a coin was found that underlines the relationship between the cult of Apollo and that of Artemis, in fact, the two appear together on a chariot. The coin, a fifth century tetradrachm. BC, it is now preserved in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples. Finally, news about his cult can be found in the cities of Adrano, Etna, Agirio, Amestrato, Assoro, Caleacte, Catania, Centuripe, Lentini, Marsala, Menai, Palermo, Tindari and Messina.
Of the temples of the Acropolis of Selinunte, the oldest and most impressive of the Doric temples of the city named with the letter C was dedicated to Apollo. It was begun in 560 BC, measures 63,7 x 24 m and a metope was found in it, now kept in the National Archaeological Museum of Palermo, depicting Apollo. Apollo's name also appears in the large "Selinuntine table" which, as the inscriptions themselves recall, was placed in his temple.
In Piazza Armerina, in the famous late antique villa del Casale, a statue of Apollo and part of a fresco representing two scenes of metamorphosis linked to his myth were found: that of Daphne in laurel and of Cyparissus in cypress.
Villa Romana del Casale – Statue of Apollo (Photo: Ignazio Caloggero)
A SIRACUSA, on the island of Ortigia, and precisely in Largo XXV Luglio, the remains of the temple of Apollo are still visible. In the past, this temple was attributed to the cult of Artemis, but an inscription engraved on one of the steps would instead confirm that it was dedicated to Apollo. The temple measures 58,10 x 24,50 m and the construction can be traced back to the beginning of the sixth century. B.C
Another Sanctuary, dedicated to Apollo Temenite, was discovered by excavations begun in 1953, near the theater of Syracuse; the altar was built several times and moved as the construction of the theater was enlarged and the oldest traces date back to the end of the XNUMXth century. B.C
The current civic coat of arms of the city of Marsala denotes how the cult of Apollo must certainly have been present in that city, the ancient Lillibeo, where in a cave there was the seat of the Sibyl of Lillibeo, prophetess of Apollo. Above the cave, in the same place where a temple dedicated to Apollo probably existed, the church of S. Giovanni Battista was erected in the 488th century, whose statue, located inside the cave, would rest on an ancient altar of Apollo [Giuseppe Pitrè: Patronal Festivals in Sicily p. XNUMX].
Extract from the Book ” Cults of Ancient Sicily” by Ignazio Caloggero ISBN: 9788832060102 © 2022 Centro Studi Helios srl
