Apollo
The following is an excerpt from: Cults, Myths and Legends of Ancient Sicily (Author: Ignazio Caloggero – ISBN: 9788894321913)
Origins of the Myth
Apollo is the son of Zeus and Latona and his cult is closely related to that of Artemis, whose twin brother he is considered.
It is said that Leto, seduced by Zeus and pregnant with Artemis and Apollo , had to escape the wrath of the jealous Hera , Zeus's wife. For this reason, she was forced to wander the world, pursued by Python, a monstrous earth-born serpent commanded by Hera, in search of a safe place to give birth. Finally, she found a wandering island, where she gave birth to Artemis and Apollo. The island, which was given the name Delos, was later made stable by Poseidon, who, taking pity on poor Leto, anchored it to the seabed with mighty columns.
The characteristics common to Artemis and Apollo are more than one: both are equipped with bow and skilled hunters and their cult is linked to the aspects of nature. Apollo is identified with the sun, therefore acquires characteristics of brightness and for this reason he is considered a 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.
Apollo and Daphne (1681 Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels)
One of Apollo's first acts was to kill, with one of his infallible arrows, the python that was tormenting his mother, and it was for this action that he earned the nickname Pythian . The solar Apollo's killing of the earth-born serpent probably symbolized the victory of sunlight over the darkness of night. God of music and divination, Apollo's duties included prophecy. He communicated his prophecies to mortals through oracles, the most famous of which was located at Delphi, a town in Phocis, on the southern slope of Mount Parnassus in Greece.
Apollo and Diana (Tiepolo Giambattista 1757)
Apollo and the Nymphs (Francis Girardon XNUMXth century)
In Delphi there was a famous sanctuary, seat of the oracle of Apollo, revered 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 stood the Pythia, priestess of Apollo, who in ecstasy, seated on a tripod, spoke with obscure words and unrelated phrases that the priests noted down and arranged later in complete sentences. The oracle, in addition to predicting the future, gave advice and help. The departure of the colonists for new territories was often preceded by a trip to Delphi, where the oracle was consulted to give indications on the ecista of the expedition, that is, on the leader who was to lead the colony.
In the temple, a series of gold writings on the walls invited guests to reflect. They are worth remembering:
"know yourself"
“ have moderation in everything ”
“ beware of exaggeration ”
and the authors of these sentences are also credited with the following:
“ Only he who cannot bear misfortune is unfortunate ”
“ safety precedes decay” [1].
Temple of Apollo in Delphi
Temple of Apollo in Delphi (reconstruction)
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 is sometimes seen as a shepherd himself. He owns the oxen stolen by the god Hermes , eventually exchanged for the lyre.
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 tales of his loves, both female and male, who transformed into flowers and trees. He loved the nymph Daphne , daughter of the river god Peneus , unrequited . Fleeing from Apollo, Daphne asked her father for help just before he could reach her, who, to save her, transformed her into a laurel (in Greek daphne = laurel). Apollo was also in love with the young Hyacinth , but one day, while playing discus, he accidentally killed him; 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 of Apollo's loves was the young Cyparissus . He had a tame sacred deer as a playmate, but one summer day, while the deer was sleeping in the shade, Cyparissus inadvertently killed it by throwing a javelin. The despairing youth expressed to the gods his wish to die and for his tears to flow 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 Apollo Pythius (having killed Python), Apollo Lycaeus (conqueror of the wolves), Apollo Smintheus (exterminator of the mice that destroy the crops), Apollo Parnopius (destroyer of the locusts), Apollo Targellus (from the month of May, which in Greek is Thargelios, indicating the solar heat that makes the crops ripen in May) and others.
There were many feasts 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, gymnastic competitions. The prize for the winners was a laurel wreath, the plant sacred to Apollo.
Another important festival was the Deliae , during which sacrifices were made in honor of Apollo, gymnastic contests were held, and banquets were served. During the Deliae, a judicial truce was established, which suspended all capital executions.
Other festivals of the same magnitude as the Deliae were the Carneae , celebrated in honour of Apollo Carneus, which lasted nine days, with gymnastic competitions, joyful picnics and sacrifices of goats.
The Myth in Sicily
In Sicily the cult of Apollo was quite widespread. In Naxos, where 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 others still it was related to that of Asclepius, the god of medicine. In Agrigento a statue of Apollo, the work of the famous Greek statuary Myron (5th century BC) and located in the temple of Asclepius, was stolen by the ever-present Verres [2], always present wherever there was some work of art to be stolen.
Apollo was also considered the protector of medicine in Syracuse and Selinunte . In the latter city a coin was found which underlines the relationship between the cult of Apollo and that of Artemis, in fact, the two appear together on a chariot. The coin, a tetradrachm from the 5th century BC, is now preserved in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples. Finally, there is news about his cult in the cities of Adrano, Etna, Agirio, Amestrato [3], Assoro [4], Caleacte, Catania, Centuripe, Lentini, Marsala, Menai, Palermo, Tindari and Messina.
Of the temples of the Acropolis of Selinunte, the most ancient and imposing of the Doric temples of the city named with the letter C was dedicated to Apollo. It was begun in 560 BC, measuring 63,7 x 24 m [5] and in it a metope was found, now preserved in the National Archaeological Museum of Palermo, depicting Apollo. The name of Apollo also appears in the large "Selinuntina table" which, as the inscriptions themselves recall, was placed in his temple.
Temple C - Selinunte
In Piazza Armerina , in the famous late antique villa of Casale, a statue of Apollo was found, as well as part of a fresco representing two scenes of metamorphosis linked to his myth: that of Daphne in laurel and that of Cyparissus in cypress [6].
Villa Romana del Casale - Statue of Apollo
In Syracuse , on the island of Ortygia, specifically in Largo XXV Luglio, the remains of the Temple of Apollo are still visible. This temple was once attributed to the cult of Artemis, but an inscription carved on one of the steps confirms that it was dedicated to Apollo.
Syracuse: Temple of Apollo
The temple measures 58,10 x 24,50 m[7] and its construction can be traced back to the beginning of the 6th century BC. Another sanctuary, dedicated to Apollo Temenite , was discovered during excavations started in 1953, near the theatre of Syracuse; the altar was built several times and moved as the theatre was expanded and the oldest traces date back to the end of the 7th century BC.
Syracuse: Temple of Apollo
The current civic coat of arms of the city of Marsala , denotes how the cult of Apollo must have certainly been present in that city, the ancient Lillibeum , where in a cave there was the seat of the Sibyl of Lillibeum , prophetess of Apollo. Above the cave, in the same place where probably existed a temple dedicated to Apollo [8], the church of St. John the Baptist was erected in the 16th century, whose statue, located inside the cave, rests on an ancient altar of Apollo.
Church of San Giovanni Battista - Antro della Sibilla - Marsala
Civic coat of arms of Marsala
[1] Carl Grinberg: Universal History p. 289.
[2] Cicero, Verrine II.IV.93
[3] The city of Amestrato is probably to be identified with the current Mistretta, at 20
- about south of S. Stefano di Camastra, on the northern coast of Sicily.
[4] The city of Assoro is probably to be identified with the current village of Assoro, not far from Leonforte in the Province of Enna.
[5] Filippo Coarelli and Mario Torelli: Sicily “Archaeological Guides Laterza” p.93
[6] F. Coarelli and M. Torelli: Sicily “Archaeological Guides Laterza” p.185.
[7] F. Coarelli and M. Torelli: Sicily “Archaeological Guides Laterza” p.230.
[8] Giuseppe Pitre: Patronal Festivities in Sicily p. 488
Card insertion: Ignazio Caloggero
Photo: web, Ignazio Caloggero
Informational contributions : Ignazio Caloggero, Sicily Region