アポローン

アポローン（ΑΠΟΛΛΩΝ, Ἀπόλλων, Apollōn）は、ギリシア神話に登場する男神。オリュンポス十二神の一柱であり、ゼウスの息子である。詩歌や音楽などの芸能・芸術の神として名高いが、羊飼いの守護神にして光明の神でもあり、イーリアスにおいてはギリシア兵を次々と倒した「遠矢の神」であり、疫病の矢を放ち男を頓死させる神であるとともに病を払う治療神でもあり、神託を授ける予言の神としての側面も持つなど、付与された性格は多岐に亘る。もとは小アジアに起源をもつ神格で、本来は繁茂する植物の精霊神から転じて牧畜を司る神となったという説や、北方の遊牧民に起源を求める説など、アポローンの出自については諸説あり、複数の神格の習合を経て成立したものとも考えられている。古典期のギリシアにおいては理想の青年像と考えられ、また、ヘーリオス（太陽神）と同一視されるようにもなった。

推定される原音に近づけてその名をカナ転写すればアポルローンあるいはアポッローンとなるが、日本語のカタカナ表記ではアポローン、または長母音を省略してアポロンとするのが通例である。

アポロとも表記されるがこれについては不明。

アポローンは、古典ギリシャ・ローマの宗教およびギリシア・ローマ神話に登場するオリンポスの神々の一人である。ギリシャの国家神であるアポローンは、弓矢、音楽と舞踊、真実と予言、癒しと病気、太陽と光、詩歌などの神として認識されてきた。ゼウスとレートーの息子で、狩りの女神アルテミスの双子の兄である。最も美しい神、クーロス（エフェベ、髭のない運動能力の高い青年）の理想とされるアポローンは、すべての神の中で最もギリシア的であると考えられている^{（要出典、April 2022）}。アポローンは、ギリシャの影響を受けたエトルリア神話ではアプルとして知られている。

デルフォイの守護神（アポローン・ピュティオス）であるアポローンは、デルフォイの神託の予言神であり、神託の神である。アポローンは、助けを与え、災いを避ける神であり、さまざまな諡号で「災いを避ける者」と呼ばれている。

医学と癒しは、神自身によるものであれ、息子のアスクレピオースを媒介とするものであれ、アポローンに関連している。アポローンは疫病から人々を救ったが、同時に矢で不健康と致命的な疫病をもたらすことができる神でもある。アーチェリーの発明は、アポローンとその妹アルテミスが行ったとされている。アポローンは通常、銀または金の弓と銀または金の矢筒を携えている姿で描かれている。アポローンの若者を成長させる能力は、彼の汎神殿的なカルト的人格の最もよく立証された一面である。若者の保護者（kourotrophos）であるアポローンは、子供たちの健康と教育に関心を寄せている。アポローンは彼らが大人になるのを見守った。少年の特権であった長い髪は、成人式で切られ（エフェベイア）、アポローンに捧げられた。

アポローンは牧畜の神として重要な神であり、牧夫や羊飼いの守護神であった。病気や害虫、外敵から牛や羊、農作物を守るのがアポローンの主な役割だった。一方、アポローンは新しい町の建設や市民憲法の制定も奨励した。アポローンは、植民地に対する支配と関連している。彼は法律を与える者であり、都市で法律を制定する前に彼の神託が参照された。

アポロは「ムシケ」の神として、すべての音楽、歌、踊り、詩を司る。アポローンは弦楽器の発明者であり、ミューズの仲間でもあり、祝祭の際にはミューズの合唱団長として活躍する。竪琴はアポローンと共通の属性である。ヘレニズム時代、特に紀元前5世紀には、アポローンはアポローン・ヘリオスとして、ギリシャ人の間で太陽の擬人化であるヘリオスと同一視されるようになった。しかし、ラテン語のテキストでは、紀元1世紀まで古典ラテン語の詩人たちの間でアポローンとソルを混同することはなかった。アポローンとヘリオスは、5世紀まで文学や神話の世界では別の存在であった。

語源

アポローン（アッティカ、イオニア、ホメロスギリシャ語：Ἀπόλων, Apollōn (GEN Ἀπόλωνος); ドリス語：Ἀπέλων, Apellōn; アルカドプシコ語：Ἀπείλων, Apeilōn; Aeolic:Ἄπλουν, Aploun, ラテン語: Apollō)

アポローンという名前は、関連する古い名前ペーン（Paean）と異なり、一般にリニアB（ミケーネ時代のギリシャ語）のテキストには見あたらない。しかし、KN E 842年版の[pe-rjo-]という拉致形があり、実際には「ハイペリオン」（[u]-pe-rjo-[ne]）とも読めることが示唆されている。

名前の語源は不明である。古典期のアッティカでは、Ἀπόλλων（a.pól.lɔːn|pron）という綴りが他のすべての綴りにほぼ勝っていたが、ドーリア式の Apellon (Ἀπέλων) はより古風で、それ以前の *Ἀπέλjων に由来している。おそらく、ドーリア式の月Apellaios (Ἀπελλαῖος)や、家族の祭りapellai (ἀπελαῖα) で若者の入門時に捧げるapellaia (ἀπέλα) と同義であろうと考えられる。この言葉はドーリア語の apella (ἀπέλα) に由来し、もともとは「壁」「動物のための柵」、後に「広場の範囲内の集まり」を意味したとする学者もいる。アペラ（Ἀπέλα）は、スパルタにおける民衆集会の名称で、エクレシア（ἐκλησία）に相当する。R. S. P. ビークスはこの名称と名詞apellaiとの関連性を否定し、先ギリシャ語の原形*Apal^yunを示唆した。

古代の作家から、一般的な語源が証明されている例もいくつかある。このように、ギリシャ人はアポローンの名前を、ギリシャ語の動詞ἀπόλλυμι (apollymi) 「破壊する」と関連付けることが最も多かった。プラトンは『クラテュロス』において、この名をἀπόλυσις（アポリシス）「救済」、ἀπόλυσις（アポルーシス）「浄化」、ἁπλοῦν ([h]aploun)に結びつけている。特にテッサリア語の名称Ἄπλουνを「単純な」、最後にἈειβάλλων (aeiballon)「常に撃つ」と関連させている。ヘシキウスはアポローンの名を、「集会」を意味するドーリア語のἀπέλα (apella) と結びつけ、アポローンは政治生活の神であるとしている。また、σηκός (sekos) は「折り目」という説明を与え、この場合アポローンは群れと牛の神であるとしている。 古代マケドニア語のπέλλα（ペラ）は「石」を意味し、この語から派生したものとしてΠέλλα（古代マケドニアの首都ペラ）、Πελλήνη（Pellēnē/ペレーネ）などが考えられる。

ヒッタイト語のアパリウナス（^dx-ap-pa-li-u-na-aš）は、マナパ・タルフンタ文字で証明されている。ヒッタイト語の記述は、初期の形態*Apeljōnを反映しており、これはキプロス語のἈπείλωνとドーリア語のἈπέλλωνの比較からも推測される。リディア語の神Qλdãns /kʷʎðãns/ は口蓋音化、同調、リディア語以前の音変化*y>d以前の/kʷalyán-/を反映していると考えられる。ドーリア紀以前のἈπέλjων やヒッタイトのApaliunasに見られる唇音の/p/の代わりに口唇音（labiovelar）であることに注意。

アパリウナスの語源はルウィ語であり、アポローンは「罠にかける者」、おそらく「狩人」の意味である。

グレコローマン(Greco-Roman)叙事詩

アポローンの主な諡号はPhoebus（/ˈfiˀs/ FEE-bəs; Φοῖβος, Phoibos ギリシャ語発音：[pʰó͜i.bos] ）、文字通り「明るい」である。ギリシャでもローマでも、アポローンが光の神であることから、非常によく使われていた。他のギリシア神話の神々と同様に、アポローンには様々な役割、任務、性質があり、それらを反映して、多くの別称が付けられた。しかし、ギリシア神話に登場するアポローンは非常に多くの呼称を持つが、ラテン語の文献に登場するのは数種類に過ぎない。

太陽

• アエグレーテス (Aegletes、əˈɡliːtiːz、əGLEEteez）; Αἰγλήτης, Aiglētēs), αἴγλη（"太陽の光"）に由来する 。
• ヘーリウス (Helius、ˈhiːliəs、HEEleeəs）; Ἥλιος, Helios), 文字通り「太陽」
• ルケイオス (Lyceus、laɪˈsiːəs、lySEEəs）; Λύκειος, Lykeios, from Proto-Greek *λύκη), "光"。「ルケイオス」という諡号の意味は、後にアポローンの母親でリュキアの守護女神であるレートー（Λυκία）と結びつき、狼（λύκος）と同定されるようになった。
• ファナエウス (Phanaeus、fəˈniːəs、fəNEEəs; Φαναῖος, Phanaios),文字通り「明かりをもたらす」。
• フェオブス (Phoebus、ˈfiːbəs、FEE|bəs; Φοῖβος, Phoibos), 文字通り「明るい」。ギリシャとローマの両方で最も使われた諡号。
• ソール (Roman) (Sol、sɒl), ラテン語で「太陽」。

狼

• リセゲネス (Lycegenes、laɪˈsɛdʒəniːz、lySEJəneez; Λυκηγενής, Lukēgenēs), 文字通り「狼の子」あるいは「リュキアの子」。
• リコクトヌス (Lycoctonus、laɪˈkɒktənəs、lyKOKtə|nəs; Λυκοκτόνος, Lykoktonos), λύκος 「狼」とκτείνειν「殺す」から。

起源と誕生

アポローンの生誕地はデロス島のシントス山である。

• シンチウス (Cynthius、ˈsɪnθiəs、SINtheeəs; Κύνθιος, Kunthios), 文字通り「シントスの」。
• シントゲネス (Cynthogenes、sɪnˈθɒdʒᵻniːz、sinTHOJineez; Κυνθογενής, Kynthogenēs), 文字通り「シントス生まれ」。
• デリウス (Delius、ˈdiːliəs、DEEleeəs; Δήλιος, Delios), 文字通り「デロス人」。
• ディディマエウス (Didymaeus、ˌdɪdᵻˈmiːəs、DIDimEEəs; Διδυμαῖος, Didymaios) δίδυμος, 「双子」から。アルテミスの双子として。

礼拝所

デルフィとアクティウムは彼の主要な礼拝所であった。

• アクラエフィウス (Acraephius、əˈkriːfiəs、əKREEfeeəs; Ἀκραίφιος, Akraiphios, literally "Acraephian") or Acraephiaeus (əˌkriːfiˈiːəs、əKREEfeeEEəs; Ἀκραιφιαίος, Akraiphiaios), 「アクラエフィア人（Acraephian）」、ボイオティア地方の町アクラエフィア（Ἀκραιφία）に由来し、アポローンの息子アクラエペウスが設立したと伝えられる。
• アクチアクス (Actiacus、ækˈtaɪəkəs、akTYəkəs; Ἄκτιακός, Aktiakos), 文字通り「アクチア人（Actian）」, アクティウムの後 (Ἄκτιον)
• デルフィニウス (Delphinius、dɛlˈfɪniəs、delFINeeəs; Δελφίνιος, Delphinios),デルフィ（Δελφοί）にちなんで、文字通り「デルフィ人（Delphic）」。ホメロス讃歌の中のエティオロジーでは、これをイルカと関連付けている。
• エパクタエウス（Epactaeus） サモス島で「海岸で崇拝される神」を意味する。
• ピティウス (Pythius、ˈpɪθiəs、PITHeeəs; Πύθιος, Puthios, from Πυθώ, Pythō),デルフィ周辺地域から。
• スミンティウス (Smintheus、ˈsmɪnθjuːs、SMINthewss; Σμινθεύς, Smintheus),「スミントス人（Sminthian）」、つまりトロードの町ハマキシトゥスに近い「スミントスまたはスミンテの町」の人。
• ナパイアン・アポローン (Napaian Apollo、Ἀπόλλων Ναπαῖος),レスボス島のナペ市より。

治癒と疾病

• アケシウス (Acesius、əˈsiːʒəs、əSEEzhəs; Ἀκέσιος, Akesios),ἄκεσις, 「癒し」に由来する。アケシウスはエリスで崇拝されていたアポロンの諡号で、アゴラに神殿があった。
• アセスター (Acestor、əˈsɛstər、əSESStər; Ἀκέστωρ, Akestōr),文字通り「治療者」。
• クリカリウス (Roman) (Culicarius、ˌkjuːlᵻˈkæriəs、KEWlihKARReeəs), ラテン語の「culicārius」から、「蝿の」。
• アイアトラス (Iatrus、aɪˈætrəs、eyeATrəs; Ἰατρός, Iātros),文字通り「医師」。
• メディカス (Roman) (Medicus、ˈmɛdᵻkəs、MEDikəs),ラテン語で「医師」。ローマにはアポロ・メディカスの神殿があり、おそらくベローナ神殿の隣に奉納された。
• パエアン (Paean、ˈpiːən、PEEən; Παιάν, Paiān), physician, healer
• パルノピウス (Parnopius、pɑːrˈnoʊpiəs、parNOHpeeəs; Παρνόπιος, Parnopios),パラノイア（πάρνοψ）より「イナゴ」。

創始者であり、守護者

• アギイエウス (Agyieus、əˈdʒaɪᵻjuːs、əJUY|ih|yooss; Ἀγυιεύς, Aguīeus), from テンプレート:Lang,ἄγυια「通り」から、道や家を守る役割を担ったことから。
• アレクシカクス (Alexicacus、əˌlɛksᵻˈkeɪkəs、əLEKsihKAYkəs; Ἀλεξίκακος, Alexikakos),文字通り「厄除け」。
• アポトロパエウス (Apotropaeus、əˌpɒtrəˈpiːəs、əPOTrəPEEəs; Ἀποτρόπαιος, Apotropaios),αποτρέπειν,「回避する」から。
• アルケゲテス (Archegetes、ɑːrˈkɛdʒətiːz、arKEJəteez; Ἀρχηγέτης, Arkhēgetēs),文字通り「創始者」。
• アベルンカス (Roman) (Averruncus、ˌævəˈrʌŋkəs、AVəRUNGkəs; ラテン語のāverruncareから),「回避する」。
• クラリウス (Clarius、ˈklæriəs、KLARReeəs; Κλάριος, Klārios),ドーリア式κλάρος「割り当てられた土地」から。
• エピクリウス (Epicurius、ˌɛpᵻˈkjʊəriəs、EPihKUREeeəs; Ἐπικούριος, Epikourios),επικουρέειν、「助ける」から。
• ゲネトー (Genetor、ˈdʒɛnᵻtər、JENihtər; Γενέτωρ, Genetōr),文字通り「道祖神」。
• ノミウス (Nomius、ˈnoʊmiəs、NOHmeeəs; Νόμιος, Nomios),文字どおり「牧歌的な」。
• ニンフェゲテス (Nymphegetes、nɪmˈfɛdʒᵻtiːz、nimFEJihteez; Νυμφηγέτης, Numphēgetēs),羊飼いと牧歌的な生活の保護者としての役割から、Νύμφη（ニンフ）とἡγέτης（リーダー）に由来する。
• パトルース（Patroos）アテネのアポロン・パトロス神殿に祀られているイオンの父でイオニア人の始祖であることから、πατρῷος「父と関係がある」とされた。
• サウロクツヌス,「トカゲ殺し」、パイソンを殺したことにちなんでいるのかもしれない。

予言と真実

• コエリスペクス (Roman) (Coelispex、ˈsɛᵻspɛks、SELispeks),ラテン語のcoelum「空」及びspecere「見る」 。
• イアトロマンティス (Iatromantis、aɪˌætrəˈmæntᵻs、eyeATrəMANtis; Ἰατρομάντις, Iātromantis,) ἰατρός 「医者」とμάντις 「預言者」から、癒しと予言の神としての役割に言及したもの。
• レスケノリウス (Leschenorius、ˌlɛskᵻˈnɔriəs、LESSkinOReeəs; Λεσχηνόριος, Leskhēnorios),λεσχήνωρ, 対話者より。
• ロキシアス (Loxias、ˈlɒksiəs、LOKseeəs; Λοξίας, Loxias),λέγειν「言う」から、歴史的にはλοξός「曖昧な」と関連する。
• マンティクス (Manticus、ˈmæntᵻkəs、MANtikəs; Μαντικός, Mantikos),文字通り「予言」。
• プロオプシオス (Proopsios、Προόψιος), 「先見の明」という意味

音楽と芸術

• ムサゲテス (Musagetes、mjuːˈsædʒᵻtiːz、mewSAJihteez; Doric：Μουσαγέτας, Mousāgetās),Μούσα、ミューズ「Muse」及びἡγέτης、リーダー「leader」から 。
• ムセゲテス (Musegetes、mjuːˈsɛdʒᵻtiːz、mewSEJihteez; Μουσηγέτης, Mousēgetēs), 前記のとおり。

アーチェリー

• アフェトー (Aphetor、əˈfiːtər、əFEEtər; Ἀφήτωρ, Aphētōr),ἀφίημι,「放つ」より。
• アフェトラス (Aphetorus、əˈfɛtərəs、əFETərəs; Ἀφητόρος, Aphētoros),前記のとおり。
• アルシテネンス (Roman) (Arcitenens、ɑːrˈtɪsᵻnənz、arTISSinənz),文字通り「弓張り」。
• アルギロトクス (Argyrotoxus、ˌɑːrdʒərəˈtɒksəs、ARjərəTOKsəs; Ἀργυρότοξος, Argyrotoxos),文字通り「銀の弓」。
• クリトトクス (Clytotoxus、ˌklaɪtɒˈtɒksəs、KLYtohTOKsəs; Κλυτότοξος, Klytótoxos),"弓で有名な人" 有名な弓術家。
• ヘカエルガス (Hecaërgus、ˌhɛkiˈɜːrɡəs、HEKeeURgəs; Ἑκάεργος, Hekaergos),文字通り「遠射」。
• ヘセボロス (Hecebolus、hᵻˈsɛbəls、hissEBələs; Ἑκηβόλος, Hekēbolos),「遠射」。
• イズメニウス (Ismenius、ɪzˈmiːniəs、izMEEneeəs; Ἰσμηνιός, Ismēnios),「イスメヌスの」とは、アンフィオンとニオベの息子イスメヌスを矢で射たことにちなんでいる。

外観

• アケルセコメス (Acersecomes、Ακερσεκόμης, Akersekómēs),「髪を刈っていない者」、永遠のエフェベ。
• クリソコメス (Chrysocomes、kraɪˈsɒkoʊməs、crySOHkohmiss; Χρυσοκόμης, Khrusokómēs),文字通り「金色の髪を持つ者」。

アマゾン

• アマゾニウス (Amazonius、Ἀμαζόνιος),パウサニアスは『ギリシア誌』で、ピュリホスの近くにアマゾニウス（古代ギリシア語：Ἀμαζόνιος）というアポロンの聖域があり、アマゾンが捧げたとされる神像があったと記している。

その他

• パトルース(Patroos、Πατρώος, ancestral),アテネの古代アゴラにアポロン・パトロス神殿があった。

ケルトの諡号と教団の称号

アポロはローマ帝国全土で崇拝されていた。ケルトの伝統的な土地では、癒しと太陽の神として見られることが最も多かった。ケルトの神々と同じような性格を持つ神と同一視されることが多かった。

• アポローン・アテポマルス (Apollo Atepomarus、「偉大な騎手」または「偉大な馬を所有する」)。アポローンはモヴィエール（インドル県）で崇拝されていた。ケルトの世界では馬は太陽と密接な関係があった。
• アポローン・ベレヌス (Apollo Belenus、「明るい」または「輝かしい」)。この諡号はガリア、北イタリア、ノリクム（現在のオーストリアの一部）の一部でアポローンに与えられたものである。アポローン・ベレヌスは、癒しと太陽の神であった。
• アポローン・クノマグルス (Apollo Cunomaglus、「猟犬の王」)。ウィルトシャー州ネットルトン・シュラブの神社で、アポローンに与えられた称号。癒しの神であった可能性がある。クノマグルス自身はもともと独立した癒しの神であった可能性がある。
• アポローン・グラヌス（Apollo Grannus）。グラヌスは癒しの泉の神で、後にアポロと同一視されるようになった。
• アポローン・マポナス（Apollo Maponus）。イギリスの碑文から知られる神。アポローンのマプナスの地方的な習合である可能性がある。
• アポローン・モリタスガス (Apollo Moritasgus、「海水の塊」）。アレシアのアポロの諡号で、治癒の神として、また医者の神として崇拝されていた。
• アポローン・ヴィンドヌス (Apollo Vindonnus、"澄んだ光"）である。アポローン・ヴィンドヌスは、現在のブルゴーニュ地方のシャティヨン・シュル・セーヌ近郊のエサロワに神殿を構えていた。彼は治癒、特に目の治癒の神であった。
• アポローン・ヴィロトゥティス (Apollo Virotutis、「人類の恩人」）。アポローン・ヴィロトゥティスは、特にファン・ダネシー（オート＝サヴォワ）、ジュブラン（メイン＝エ＝ロワール）で崇拝された。

起源

ファイル:Omphalos museum.jpg

The Omphalos in the Museum of Delphi

ギリシャにおけるアポローンの教団の中心地であるデルフォイとデロス島は、紀元前8世紀頃のものである。デロス島の聖域は、主にアポロンの双子の妹であるアルテミスに捧げられていた。デルフォイでは、アポローンは怪物的な大蛇ピュートーンを退治するものとして崇拝されていた。ギリシャ人にとって、アポローンは最もギリシャ的な神であり、何世紀にもわたってさまざまな機能を獲得してきたのだった。アルカイック・ギリシャではアポローンは預言者であり、古い時代には「癒し」と結びついた託宣の神であった。古典ギリシアではアポローンは光と音楽の神であったが、民間の信仰では魔除けの働きが強かった。ウォルター・バーカートは、アポロ崇拝の前史において、「ドーリア-北西ギリシャの構成要素、クレタ-ミノアの構成要素、シロ-ヒッタイトの構成要素」という3つの要素を見出した。

治癒者であり、災厄から身を守る神

古典時代、民衆の宗教における主な役割は魔除けであり、そのため彼は「アポトロパイオス」（ἀποτρόπαιος、「魔除け」）、「アレクシカコス」（ἀλεξίκακος「病気を防ぐ」、v. ἀλέξω + n. κακόνから）と呼ばれていた。アポローンはまた、癒し手としての機能に関連する多くの諡号を持っていた。よく使われる例としては、「パイオン」（παιών、文字通り「癒し手」「助け手」）、「エピクーリョス」（Đπικούριος、「助ける」）、「オウリオ」（οὔλιος、「癒し手、悪意」）、「ロイミオ」（λοίμιος、「ペストの」）等がある。後世の作家は、"paion"（通常 "Paean "と綴る）という言葉は、癒しの神としてのアポロンの単なる諡号になったと考えている。

「癒し手」としての側面を持つアポロンは、独自の信仰を持たなかった原始神パイアン（Παιών-Παιήων）に通じるものがある。パイアンは『イーリアス』の中で神々の癒し手として活躍しており、ギリシャ以前の宗教に起源を持つと思われる。ミケーネ時代の神pa-ja-wo-neとの関連が指摘されている 。パイアンとは、病気を治すとされる「先見医者」（ἰατρομάντεις）が歌う聖歌の擬人化である。

ホメロスは、神であるパイオンと、アポトロパイの感謝や勝利の歌を描いている。このような歌は、もともとはアポローンに向けられたものであったが、後にディオニューソス、アポローン・ヘリオス、アポローンの息子である癒し手アスクレピオースなど、他の神々に向けられるようになった。紀元前4世紀ごろには、パイアンは単なる賛美歌になった。賛美歌の目的は病気や災難から守ってくれることを願うか、守ってくれたことに感謝するかだった。こうして、アポローンは音楽の神として認識されるようになったのである。ピュートン（Python）を倒すという役割から、アポロは戦闘や勝利と結びついた。そのため、ローマの習慣として、行進中の軍隊や戦闘に入る前、艦隊が港を出るとき、そして勝利した後にもパイアンが歌われるようになったのである。

『イーリアス』では、アポローンは神々の下で治療者でありながら、矢で病と死をもたらす存在であり、ヴェーダの疫神ルドラの似た働きをしている。彼はアカイア人に疫病（λοιμός）を送り込む。アポローンが疫病の再発を防いでくれることを知っていた彼らは、儀式で身を清め、ヘカトンブと呼ばれる牛の大きな生贄をアポロンに捧げた。

ドーリア人での起源

ホメロスの『アポローン讃歌』では、アポローンは北からの侵入者として描かれている。北方に住むドーリア人とその創始者であるアペライとの関係は、北西ギリシャの暦にあるアペライオスの月によって強調されている。家族祭はアポローン（Doric: Ἀπέλων）に捧げられた。アペライオス（Apellaios）はこれらの儀式の月であり、アペロン（Apellon）は「メギストス・クーロス（偉大なクーロス、megistos kouros）」であった。しかし、この名前は、古代マケドニア語の「ペラ」（Pella）、つまり石と結びついたドーリア型であることだけは説明できる。石は神の崇拝に重要な役割を果たし、特にデルフォイの神託所（Omphalos）では重要な役割を果たした。

ミノアでの起源

ジョージ・ハクスリーは、アポローンとクレタ島で信仰されていたミノアの神パイアウォンとの同一視は、デルフォイに端を発していると考えている。ホメロスの讃歌では、アポローンがイルカになってクレタの神官をデルフォイに運び、そこで宗教的な慣習を移したことが明らかにされている。アポローン・デルフィニオスまたはデルフィディオスは、クレタ島と島々で特に崇拝されていた海の神である。アポローンの妹でギリシャ神話の狩猟の女神であるアルテミスは、ミノアの「動物の女王」であるブリトマルティス（ディクティンナ）と同一視されている。初期の描写では、彼女は「動物の主」と呼ばれる弓を使う狩猟の神と一緒に描かれていたが、その名前は失われており、この姿の一部はより人気のあるアポローンに吸収されたと思われる。

アナトリアでの起源

アポローンの起源はギリシャ以外であると、長い間、学問の世界で考えられてきた。アポローンの母レートーの名はリディアに由来し、小アジアの海岸で崇拝されていた。霊感神霊信仰は、シビュラの起源であり、最古の神霊祠の起源でもあるアナトリアからギリシャに伝わったと思われる。アッシロ・バビロニアの古い文書には、お告げ、象徴、浄化、悪魔祓いなどが登場する。これらの儀式はヒッタイト帝国に広がり、そこからギリシアにも伝わった。

ホメロスは、トロイア戦争でアカイア人と戦うトロイア人の側にいるアポローンを描いている。アポローンは他の神々に比べ、ギリシア人の信頼が薄い恐ろしい神として描かれている。小アジアのウィルサ（トロイ）の守護神であったアパリウナスと関係がありそうだが、語句が完全ではない。ホメロスのトロイの門の前にあった石は、アポローンのシンボルであった。西アナトリア起源は、現存するリディア語のテキストにあるArtimus（Artemis）とQλdãns（その名前はヒッタイト語やドーリア語と同義かもしれない）の並列崇拝への言及によっても補強されるかもしれない。しかし、最近の学者たちは、Qλdãnsとアポローンの同一視に疑問を投げかけている。

ギリシアでは、魔除けとして公共の場や家屋を守る神としてἀγυιεύς agyieusと呼ばれ、そのシンボルは先細りの石や円柱であった。しかし、通常ギリシャの祭りは満月に祝われるが、アポロンの祭りはすべて月の7日に祝われ、その日（シブツ）が強調されていることから、バビロニア起源であることがわかる。

青銅器時代後期（紀元前1700年から1200年）のヒッタイトとヒュリアのアプルはペストの神で、ペストの年に呼び出された。ここでは、もともと疫病をもたらした神が、それを終わらせるために呼び出された、というアポトロピックな状況になっているのだ。アプルとは、バビロニアの太陽神シャマシュと結びついたネルガルという神の称号で、「その息子」という意味である。ホメロスはアポローンを、矢で死と病をもたらす恐ろしい神（δεινὸς θεός）と解釈しているが、他のギリシアの神とは異なる魔術を持ち、治療することもできる、としている。 『イリアス』では、司祭がアポローン・スミンテウスに祈るが、ネズミの神は野ネズミからの保護者という古い農業的機能をも保持している。ミケーネ起源と思われる医薬神パイアンの機能も含め、これらの機能はすべてアポローン信仰に融合された。

インド・ヨーロッパ祖語

ヴェーダのルドラは、アポローンと似たような働きをする。 恐ろしい神は「射手」と呼ばれ、弓もまたシヴァ神の属性である。ルドラは矢で病気をもたらすこともあったが、人々を病気から解放することもでき、彼に代替するシヴァは医薬神である。しかし、インド・ヨーロッパ語族の要素だけでは、アポロが前兆や悪魔払い、神託文化と強く結びついていることを説明できない。

オラキュラー・カルト

オラキュラー三脚

オリンポスの神々の中では珍しく、アポローンは2つの信仰拠点を持ち、広く影響を及ぼしていた。デロス島とデルフォイである。デルフォイのアポローンとピュティアのアポローンとは、同じ地域に祠があるくらい、崇拝の対象として区別されていた。リュキアは神の聖地であり、このアポロンはリュキアとも呼ばれたからである。アポロン信仰は、文字史料が始まった紀元前650年頃にはすでに完全に確立されていた。アポローンは、古代のギリシャ世界において、神託の神として極めて重要な存在となり、アポロドロスやアポロニオスといった神託を受けた名前やアポロニアという都市名が頻繁に見られることが、その人気を証明している。アポローンを祀る神託の聖域（オラキュラー・サンクチュアリ）は、他の遺跡にも設置された。紀元2〜3世紀、ディディマやクラロスの人々は、いわゆる「神託」を発したが、その中でアポローンは、すべての神々はすべてを包括する最高神の側面あるいは奉仕者であることを確認したのだった。「3世紀、アポローンは沈黙した。背教者ユリアヌス（359-361）はデルフォイの神託を復活させようとしたが、失敗した。」

神託神殿

アポローンはデルフォイに有名な神託所を持ち、他にもクラロスやディディマに有名な神託所があった。フォキス地方のアバエにある彼の神託所には、アベウス（Ἀπόλλων Ἀβαῖος, Apollon Abaios）というエピソードがあり、クロイソスが相談するほど重要な存在であったという。

アポローンの神託所は以下の通りである。

• フォキスのアバエ。
• ペロポネソス半島のバッサイ。
• 小アジアの西海岸にあるクラロスで、デルフォイのようにプネウマを出す聖なる泉があり、神官たちはそこから水を飲んでいた。
• コリントでは、トロイア戦争で捕虜になったとされるテネアという町から、コリントの神託がもたらされた。
• デロス島では、夏の間、デリアンのアポローンへの神託所があった。聖なる湖に隣接するアポローンのヒエロン（聖域）は、神が生まれたとされる場所であった。
• デルフォイでは、ピューティアがアポローンの霊気に満たされ、アディトンの中の泉から湧き出ると言われた。
• ディディマは、アナトリアの海岸、リディア（ルヴィア）・サルディスの南西にある神殿で、神殿内にある癒しの泉を飲んで、神官たちが霊感を受けたとされる。アポロンの息子または恋人であるブランクスが創設したと信じられている。
• シリアのヒエラポリス・バンビース（現在のマンビジュ）では、『デ・デア・シリア』によると、シリアの女神の聖域にローブと髭をつけたアポロンの像が置かれていた。占いはこの像の自発的な動きに基づいていた。
• リュキアのパタラには、アポローンの季節的な冬の神託があり、デロス島から神が出かけた場所と言われている。デルフォイと同様、パタラの神託も女性であった。
• シチリア島のセゲスタにて。

神託はアポローンの息子たちによっても行われた。

• アテネの北にあるオロポスには、アポローンの息子とされるオラクル・アンピアラウスがおり、オロポスには聖なる泉もあった。
• デルフィの東20マイル（32キロ）のラバデアで、アポロンのもうひとりの息子トロフォニウスが兄を殺して洞窟に逃げ込み、その後、神託を受けたこともある。

アポローンの神殿

ギリシャやギリシャの植民地では、多くの神殿がアポローンに捧げられていた。アポローン崇拝が広まり、形の正しさと数学的関係に基づくものが多かったギリシャ建築が進化したことがわかる。特にクレタ島の最古の神殿のいくつかは、ギリシアのどの秩序にも属さないものである。最初の環状列石寺院は、長方形の木造建築だったようだ。木製のさまざまな部材は神とみなされ、その形はドーリス式神殿の大理石や石材の部材に残された。ギリシア人が標準型を用いたのは、物の世界は典型的な形の連続であり、いくつかの例で表現できると考えたからである。神殿はカノン式であるべきで、建築家はこの美的完成を目指した。古くから、長方形の周縁建築やプロスタイル建築には、ある種の規則が厳格に守られていた。最初の建物は、屋根を支えるために狭く作られており、寸法が変わると、元の形を保つために数学的な計算が必要になった。これは、物事の外見の裏に、数学の永久原理があると考えたピタゴラスの数論に影響を与えたと思われる。

紀元前6世紀から5世紀にかけてはドーリア式が主流だったが、三角形の位置に関して数学的な問題があり、原型を変えない限り解決できなかったのだ。イオニア式の順序はほとんど放棄されたが、イオニア式の柱頭も神殿の角では解決できない問題をはらんでいた。ヘレニズム時代からローマ時代にかけて、徐々にコリントの秩序が放棄されていった。

最も重要な神殿は以下の通りである。

ギリシャの神殿

• ギリシャのテーベ：アポローン・イスメニウスに捧げられたと思われる最古の神殿は、紀元前9世紀に建てられたもので、曲線的な建物だったようだ。ドーリア式神殿は紀元前7世紀初頭に建てられたが、小さな部材がいくつか見つかっている。9年ごとにアポローン・イスメニウス（またはガラクシウス）を称えるダフネフォリアという祭りが行われた。人々は月桂樹の枝（ダフナイ）を持ち、行列の先頭には「ダフネフォロス」と呼ばれる若者（アポロンの選帝侯）が歩いていた。
• エレトリア：ホメロスのアポローン讃歌によると、神は神託を行う場所を求めて平原に到着した。最初のアポローン神殿ダフネフォロス（Daphnephoros）は、「月桂樹を運ぶアポローン」、つまり「ダフネを運び出す」もので、紀元前800年のものとされている。神殿は曲線的なヘカトンベドンであった。小さな建物には、最初の建物に使用された月桂樹の枝の基部が保管されていた。紀元前7世紀には、幾何学的な前身となる神殿の上に木製の柱の内列を持つ、おそらく周縁的な別の神殿が建設された。 紀元前510年頃に再建されたもので、基壇の大きさは21,00×43,00m、基壇の数は6×14であった 。
• ドレロス（クレタ島）：アポローン・デルフィニオス神殿は、紀元前7世紀、あるいは紀元前8世紀中頃のものであろう。伝説によれば、アポローンはイルカとして現れ、クレタの神官をデルフォイの港に運んだという。平面図の寸法は10,70 x 24,00 mで、建物は周縁部ではない。ドーリア式円柱の前身と考えられるミノア式円柱基壇を含む。
• ゴーティン（クレタ島）：紀元前7世紀に建てられたピトアニスのアポローン神殿は、19,00 x 16,70 mの平面で、周縁部がない。壁は石灰岩でできていて頑丈で、東側に扉が1つあった。
• テルモン（西ギリシア）：紀元前7世紀半ばに建てられたドーリア式のアポローン神殿は、紀元前10世紀頃に建てられたと思われる曲線的な建物の上に建てられ、その上に柱廊（ペリスタイル）が追加されている。神殿は狭く、プテロン柱（おそらく木製）の数は5×15本であった。内柱は1列であった。石でできた基壇の部分で12.13 x 38.23mの大きさである。
• コリントス：紀元前6世紀に建てられたドーリス式神殿。基壇の大きさは21.36 x 53.30 m、プテロン柱は6 x 15本である。内柱は2列であった。デルフォイのアルクメオニダス神殿と様式が似ている。コリント人はドリス式建築の発明者とされる。
• ナペス（レスボス島）：紀元前7世紀、アポローン・ナパイオスの神殿と思われるエオリア式神殿が建てられた。花飾りを施した特殊な柱頭も発見されており、これはエオリックと呼ばれ、東洋から借用したものと思われる 。
• リビア、キュレネ：紀元前600年頃に建てられた最古のドーリア式アポローン神殿。プテロン柱は6本×11本で、基壇の大きさは16.75×30.05m。基壇の上に16本の内柱が2列に並んでいる。柱頭は石で作られていた 。
• ナウクラティス：紀元前6世紀初頭にイオニア式神殿が建設された。石灰岩で作られた初期のものは、イオニア式の中でも最も古いものとされている。
• シチリア島シラクサ：紀元前6世紀初頭に建てられたドーリア式神殿。神殿の基壇は21.47 x 55.36 m、プテロン柱は6 x 17本である。この神殿は、ギリシャ西部で初めて完全に石材で造られた神殿である。2列目の柱が追加され、内ポーチの効果が得られるようになった。
• セリヌス（シチリア島）：ドーリア式神殿Cは紀元前550年のもので、アポローンに捧げられていたと思われる。 神殿の基壇は10.48 x 41.63 mで、プテロン柱は6 x 17本であった。2列目の柱を持つポルティコがあり、これはシラクサの神殿でも確認されている。
• デルフォイ：紀元前7世紀、アポローンに捧げられた最初の神殿が建てられた。伝説によると、月桂樹の枝で作られた木造であったという。アルクメオニダス神殿は紀元前513年頃に建造され、大理石の重要な要素を持つ最古のドーリア式神殿である。神殿の基壇は21.65x58.00 m、プテロン柱は6x15本である。ギリシャのテーベのアポローン祭と同じような祭りが9年ごとに行われた。神殿に送られた少年は、聖なる道を歩き、月桂樹の枝（ドプネフォロス）を持って帰ってきた。乙女たちは歓喜の歌で参加した。
• キオス島：紀元前6世紀末に建てられたアポロン・ファナイオス神殿のイオニア式神殿.。

• Abae (Phocis). The temple was destroyed by the Persians in the invasion of Xerxes in 480 B.C., and later by the Boeotians. It was rebuilt by Hadrian. The oracle was in use from early Mycenaean times to the Roman period, and shows the continuity of Mycenaean and Classical Greek religion.

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Floor plan of the Temple of Apollo at Bassae

• Bassae (Peloponnesus):A temple dedicated to Apollo Epikourios ("Apollo the helper"), was built in 430 B.C. and it was designed by Iktinos.It combined Doric and Ionic elements, and the earliest use of column with a Corinthian capital in the middle. The temple is of a relatively modest size, with the stylobate measuring 14.5 x 38.3 metres containing a Doric peristyle of 6 x 15 columns. The roof left a central space open to admit light and air.
• Delos: A temple probably dedicated to Apollo and not peripteral, was built in the late 7th century B.C., with a plan measuring 10,00 x 15,60 m. The Doric Great temple of Apollo, was built in テンプレート:Circa. The temple's stylobate measures 13.72 x 29.78 m, and the number of pteron columns as 6 x 13. Marble was extensively used.
• Ambracia: A Doric peripteral temple dedicated to Apollo Pythios Sotir was built in 500 B.C., and It is lying at the centre of the Greek city Arta. Only some parts have been found, and it seems that the temple was built on earlier sanctuaries dedicated to Apollo. The temple measures 20,75 x 44,00 m at the stylobate. The foundation which supported the statue of the god, still exists.

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Temple of Apollo, Didyma

• Didyma (near Miletus): The gigantic Ionic temple of Apollo Didymaios started around 540 B.C. The construction ceased and then it was restarted in 330 B.C. The temple is dipteral, with an outer row of 10 x 21 columns, and it measures 28.90 x 80.75 m at the stylobate.
• Clarus (near ancient Colophon): According to the legend, the famous seer Calchas, on his return from Troy, came to Clarus. He challenged the seer Mopsus, and died when he lost. The Doric temple of Apollo Clarius was probably built in the 3rd century B.C., and it was peripteral with 6 x 11 columns. It was reconstructed at the end of the Hellenistic period, and later from the emperor Hadrian but Pausanias claims that it was still incomplete in the 2nd century B.C.
• Hamaxitus (Troad): In Iliad, Chryses the priest of Apollo, addresses the god with the epithet Smintheus (Lord of Mice), related with the god's ancient role as bringer of the disease (plague). Recent excavations indicate that the Hellenistic temple of Apollo Smintheus was constructed at 150–125 B.C., but the symbol of the mouse god was used on coinage probably from the 4th century B.C. The temple measures 40,00 x 23,00 m at the stylobate, and the number of pteron columns was 8 x 14.
• Pythion (テンプレート:Lang-grc), this was the name of a shrine of Apollo at Athens near the Ilisos river. It was created by Peisistratos, and tripods placed there by those who had won in the cyclic chorus at the Thargelia.
• Setae (Lydia): The temple of Apollo Aksyros located in the city.
• Apollonia Pontica: There were two temples of Apollo Healer in the city. One from the Late Archaic period and the other from the Early Classical period.
• Ikaros island in the Persian Gulf (modern Failaka Island): There was a temple of Apollo on the island.
• Argos in Cyprus: there was a temple of Apollo Erithios (Ἐριθίου Ἀπόλλωνος ἱερῷ).

Etruscan and Roman temples

• Veii (Etruria): The temple of Apollo was built in the late 6th century B.C. and it indicates the spread of Apollo's culture (Aplu) in Etruria. There was a prostyle porch, which is called Tuscan, and a triple cella 18,50 m wide.
• Falerii Veteres (Etruria): A temple of Apollo was built probably in the 4th-3rd century B.C. Parts of a teraccotta capital, and a teraccotta base have been found. It seems that the Etruscan columns were derived from the archaic Doric. A cult of Apollo Soranus is attested by one inscription found near Falerii.

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Plan of the Temple of Apollo (Pompeii)

• Pompeii (Italy): The cult of Apollo was widespread in the region of Campania since the 6th century B.C. The temple was built in 120 B.C., but its beginnings lie in the 6th century B.C. It was reconstructed after an earthquake in A.D. 63. It demonstrates a mixing of styles which formed the basis of Roman architecture. The columns in front of the cella formed a Tuscan prostyle porch, and the cella is situated unusually far back. The peripteral colonnade of 48 Ionic columns was placed in such a way that the emphasis was given to the front side.
• Rome: The temple of Apollo Sosianus and the temple of Apollo Medicus. The first temple building dates to 431 B.C., and was dedicated to Apollo Medicus (the doctor), after a plague of 433 B.C. It was rebuilt by Gaius Sosius, probably in 34 B.C. Only three columns with Corinthian capitals exist today. It seems that the cult of Apollo had existed in this area since at least to the mid-5th century B.C.
• Rome:The temple of Apollo Palatinus was located on the Palatine hill within the sacred boundary of the city. It was dedicated by Augustus on 28 B.C. The façade of the original temple was Ionic and it was constructed from solid blocks of marble. Many famous statues by Greek masters were on display in and around the temple, including a marble statue of the god at the entrance and a statue of Apollo in the cella.
• Melite (modern Mdina, Malta): A Temple of Apollo was built in the city in the 2nd century A.D. Its remains were discovered in the 18th century, and many of its architectural fragments were dispersed among private collections or reworked into new sculptures. Parts of the temple's podium were rediscovered in 2002.

Mythology

テンプレート:Main Apollo appears often in the myths, plays and hymns. As Zeus' favorite son, Apollo had direct access to the mind of Zeus and was willing to reveal this knowledge to humans. A divinity beyond human comprehension, he appears both as a beneficial and a wrathful god.

Birth

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Leto holding Apollo, by Lazar Widmann

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Leto with her children, by William Henry Rinehart

Apollo was the son of Zeus, the king of the gods, and Leto, his previous wife or one of his mistresses. Growing up, Apollo was nursed by the nymphs Korythalia and Aletheia, the personification of truth.

When Zeus' wife Hera discovered that Leto was pregnant, she banned Leto from giving birth on terra firma. Leto sought shelter in many lands, only to be rejected by them. Finally, the voice of unborn Apollo informed his mother about a floating island named Delos that had once been Asteria, Leto's own sister. Since it was neither a mainland nor an island, Leto was readily welcomed there and gave birth to her children under a palm tree. All the goddesses except Hera were present to witness the event. It is also stated that Hera kidnapped Eileithyia, the goddess of childbirth, to prevent Leto from going into labor. The other gods tricked Hera into letting her go by offering her a necklace of amber 9 yards (8.2 m) long.

When Apollo was born, clutching a golden sword, everything on Delos turned into gold and the island was filled with ambrosial fragrance. Swans circled the island seven times and the nymphs sang in delight. He was washed clean by the goddesses who then covered him in white garment and fastened golden bands around him. Since Leto was unable to feed him, Themis, the goddess of divine law, fed him with nectar, or ambrosia. Upon tasting the divine food, Apollo broke free of the bands fastened onto him and declared that he would be the master of lyre and archery, and interpret the will of Zeus to humankind. Zeus, who had calmed Hera by then, came and adorned his son with a golden headband.

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Leto with Apollo and Artemis, by Francesco Pozzi

Apollo's birth fixed the floating Delos to the earth. Leto promised that her son would be always favorable towards the Delians. According to some, Apollo secured Delos to the bottom of the ocean after some time. This island became sacred to Apollo and was one of the major cult centres of the god.

Apollo was born on the seventh day (テンプレート:Lang, hebdomagenes) of the month Thargelion—according to Delian tradition—or of the month Bysios—according to Delphian tradition. The seventh and twentieth, the days of the new and full moon, were ever afterwards held sacred to him.テンプレート:Sfn Mythographers agree that Artemis was born first and subsequently assisted with the birth of Apollo or was born on the island of Ortygia then helped Leto cross the sea to Delos the next day to give birth to Apollo.

Hyperborea

Hyperborea, the mystical land of eternal spring, venerated Apollo above all the gods. The Hyperboreans always sang and danced in his honor and hosted Pythian games. There, a vast forest of beautiful trees was called "the garden of Apollo". Apollo spent the winter months among the Hyperboreans. His absence from the world caused coldness and this was marked as his annual death. No prophecies were issued during this time. He returned to the world during the beginning of the spring. The Theophania festival was held in Delphi to celebrate his return.

It is said that Leto came to Delos from Hyperborea accompanied by a pack of wolves. Henceforth, Hyperborea became Apollo's winter home and wolves became sacred to him. His intimate connection to wolves is evident from his epithet Lyceus, meaning wolf-like. But Apollo was also the wolf-slayer in his role as the god who protected flocks from predators. The Hyperborean worship of Apollo bears the strongest marks of Apollo being worshipped as the sun god. Shamanistic elements in Apollo's cult are often liked to his Hyperborean origin, and he is likewise speculated to have originated as a solar shaman. Shamans like Abaris and Aristeas were also the followers of Apollo, who hailed from Hyperborea.

In myths, the tears of amber Apollo shed when his son Asclepius died became the waters of the river Eridanos, which surrounded Hyperborea. Apollo also buried in Hyperborea the arrow which he had used to kill the Cyclopes. He later gave this arrow to Abaris.

Childhood and youth

As a child, Apollo is said to have built a foundation and an altar on Delos using the horns of the goats that his sister Artemis hunted. Since he learnt the art of building when young, he later came to be known as Archegetes, the founder (of towns) and god who guided men to build new cities. From his father Zeus, Apollo had also received a golden chariot drawn by swans.

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Phoebe gifts the oracular tripod to Apollo, by John Flaxman

In his early years when Apollo spent his time herding cows, he was reared by Thriae, the bee nymphs, who trained him and enhanced his prophetic skills. Apollo is also said to have invented the lyre, and along with Artemis, the art of archery. He then taught to the humans the art of healing and archery. Phoebe, his grandmother, gave the oracular shrine of Delphi to Apollo as a birthday gift. Themis inspired him to be the oracular voice of Delphi thereon.

Python

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Apollo victorious over the Python, by François Gaspard Adam

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Python pursuing Leto and her children, engravings on wood

Python, a chthonic serpent-dragon, was a child of Gaia and the guardian of the Delphic Oracle, whose death was foretold by Apollo when he was still in Leto's womb. Python was the nurse of the giant Typhon. In most of the traditions, Apollo was still a child when he killed Python.

Python was sent by Hera to hunt the pregnant Leto to death, and had assaulted her. To avenge the trouble given to his mother, Apollo went in search of Python and killed it in the sacred cave at Delphi with the bow and arrows that he had received from Hephaestus. The Delphian nymphs who were present encouraged Apollo during the battle with the cry "Hie Paean". After Apollo was victorious, they also brought him gifts and gave the Corycian cave to him. According to Homer, Apollo had encountered and killed the Python when he was looking for a place to establish his shrine.

According to another version, when Leto was in Delphi, Python had attacked her. Apollo defended his mother and killed Python. Euripides in his Iphigenia in Aulis gives an account of his fight with Python and the event's aftermath. テンプレート:Blockquote

A detailed account of Apollo's conflict with Gaia and Zeus' intervention on behalf of his young son is also given. テンプレート:Blockquote Apollo also demanded that all other methods of divination be made inferior to his, a wish that Zeus granted him readily. Because of this, Athena, who had been practicing divination by throwing pebbles, cast her pebbles away in displeasure.

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Apollo killing the Python, by Hendrik Goltzius

However, Apollo had committed a blood murder and had to be purified. Because Python was a child of Gaia, Gaia wanted Apollo to be banished to Tartarus as a punishment. Zeus didn't agree and instead exiled his son from Olympus, and instructed him to get purified. Apollo had to serve as a slave for nine years. After the servitude was over, as per his father's order, he travelled to the Vale of Tempe to bath in waters of Peneus. There Zeus himself performed purificatory rites on Apollo. Purified, Apollo was escorted by his half sister Athena to Delphi where the oracular shrine was finally handed over to him by Gaia. According to a variation, Apollo had also travelled to Crete, where Carmanor purified him. Apollo later established the Pythian games to appropriate Gaia. Henceforth, Apollo became the god who cleansed himself from the sin of murder and, made men aware of their guilt and purified them.

Soon after, Zeus instructed Apollo to go to Delphi and establish his law. But Apollo, disobeying his father, went to the land of Hyperborea and stayed there for a year. He returned only after the Delphians sang hymns to him and pleaded him to come back. Zeus, pleased with his son's integrity, gave Apollo the seat next to him on his right side. He also gave to Apollo various gifts, like a golden tripod, a golden bow and arrows, a golden chariot and the city of Delphi.

Soon after his return, Apollo needed to recruit people to Delphi. So, when he spotted a ship sailing from Crete, he sprang aboard in the form of a dolphin. The crew was awed into submission and followed a course that led the ship to Delphi. There Apollo revealed himself as a god. Initiating them to his service, he instructed them to keep righteousness in their hearts. The Pythia was Apollo's high priestess and his mouthpiece through whom he gave prophecies. Pythia is arguably the constant favorite of Apollo among the mortals.

Tityos

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Apollo slaying Tityos, Attic red-figure kylix, 460–450 BC

Hera once again sent another giant, Tityos to rape Leto. This time Apollo shot him with his arrows and attacked him with his golden sword. According to other version, Artemis also aided him in protecting their mother by attacking Tityos with her arrows. After the battle Zeus finally relented his aid and hurled Tityos down to Tartarus. There, he was pegged to the rock floor, covering an area of テンプレート:Convert, where a pair of vultures feasted daily on his liver.

Admetus

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Apollo Guards the Herds (or Flocks) of King Admetus, by Felice Gianni

Admetus was the king of Pherae, who was known for his hospitality. When Apollo was exiled from Olympus for killing Python, he served as a herdsman under Admetus, who was then young and unmarried. Apollo is said to have shared a romantic relationship with Admetus during his stay. After completing his years of servitude, Apollo went back to Olympus as a god.

Because Admetus had treated Apollo well, the god conferred great benefits on him in return. Apollo's mere presence is said to have made the cattle give birth to twins. Apollo helped Admetus win the hand of Alcestis, the daughter of King Pelias, by taming a lion and a boar to draw Admetus' chariot. He was present during their wedding to give his blessings. When Admetus angered the goddess Artemis by forgetting to give her the due offerings, Apollo came to the rescue and calmed his sister. When Apollo learnt of Admetus' untimely death, he convinced or tricked the Fates into letting Admetus live past his time.

According to another version, or perhaps some years later, when Zeus struck down Apollo's son Asclepius with a lightning bolt for resurrecting the dead, Apollo in revenge killed the Cyclopes, who had fashioned the bolt for Zeus. Apollo would have been banished to Tartarus for this, but his mother Leto intervened, and reminding Zeus of their old love, pleaded him not to kill their son. Zeus obliged and sentenced Apollo to one year of hard labor once again under Admetus.

The love between Apollo and Admetus was a favored topic of Roman poets like Ovid and Servius.

Niobe

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Niobe's children are killed by Apollo and Diana by Pierre-Charles Jombert

The fate of Niobe was prophesied by Apollo while he was still in Leto's womb. Niobe was the queen of Thebes and wife of Amphion. She displayed hubris when she boasted that she was superior to Leto because she had fourteen children (Niobids), seven male and seven female, while Leto had only two. She further mocked Apollo's effeminate appearance and Artemis' manly appearance. Leto, insulted by this, told her children to punish Niobe. Accordingly, Apollo killed Niobe's sons, and Artemis her daughters. According to some versions of the myth, among the Niobids, Chloris and her brother Amyclas were not killed because they prayed to Leto. Amphion, at the sight of his dead sons, either killed himself or was killed by Apollo after swearing revenge.

A devastated Niobe fled to Mount Sipylos in Asia Minor and turned into stone as she wept. Her tears formed the river Achelous. Zeus had turned all the people of Thebes to stone and so no one buried the Niobids until the ninth day after their death, when the gods themselves entombed them.

When Chloris married and had children, Apollo granted her son Nestor the years he had taken away from the Niobids. Hence, Nestor was able to live for 3 generations.

Building the walls of Troy

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Laomedon Refusing Payment to Poseidon and Apollo, by Joachim von Sandrart

Once Apollo and Poseidon served under the Trojan king Laomedon in accordance to Zeus' words. Apollodorus states that the gods willingly went to the king disguised as humans in order to check his hubris. Apollo guarded the cattle of Laomedon in the valleys of mount Ida, while Poseidon built the walls of Troy. Other versions make both Apollo and Poseidon the builders of the wall. In Ovid's account, Apollo completes his task by playing his tunes on his lyre.

In Pindar's odes, the gods took a mortal named Aeacus as their assistant. When the work was completed, three snakes rushed against the wall, and though the two that attacked the sections of the wall built by the gods fell down dead, the third forced its way into the city through the portion of the wall built by Aeacus. Apollo immediately prophesied that Troy would fall at the hands of Aeacus's descendants, the Aeacidae (i.e. his son Telamon joined Heracles when he sieged the city during Laomedon's rule. Later, his great-grandson Neoptolemus was present in the wooden horse that lead to the downfall of Troy).

However, the king not only refused to give the gods the wages he had promised, but also threatened to bind their feet and hands, and sell them as slaves. Angered by the unpaid labour and the insults, Apollo infected the city with a pestilence and Posedion sent the sea monster Cetus. To deliver the city from it, Laomedon had to sacrifice his daughter Hesione (who would later be saved by Heracles).

During his stay in Troy, Apollo had a lover named Ourea, who was a nymph and daughter of Poseidon. Together they had a son named Ileus, whom Apollo loved dearly.

Trojan War

Apollo sided with the Trojans during the Trojan War waged by the Greeks against the Trojans.

During the war, the Greek king Agamemnon captured Chryseis, the daughter of Apollo's priest Chryses, and refused to return her. Angered by this, Apollo shot arrows infected with the plague into the Greek encampment. He demanded that they return the girl, and the Achaeans (Greeks) complied, indirectly causing the anger of Achilles, which is the theme of the Iliad.

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Apollo preceding Hector with his Aegis, and dispersing the Greeks, by John Flaxman

Receiving the aegis from Zeus, Apollo entered the battlefield as per his father's command, causing great terror to the enemy with his war cry. He pushed the Greeks back and destroyed many of the soldiers. He is described as "the rouser of armies" because he rallied the Trojan army when they were falling apart.

When Zeus allowed the other gods to get involved in the war, Apollo was provoked by Poseidon to a duel. However, Apollo declined to fight him, saying that he wouldn't fight his uncle for the sake of mortals.

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Apollo prevents Diomedes from pursuing Aeneas

When the Greek hero Diomedes injured the Trojan hero Aeneas, Aphrodite tried to rescue him, but Diomedes injured her as well. Apollo then enveloped Aeneas in a cloud to protect him. He repelled the attacks Diomedes made on him and gave the hero a stern warning to abstain himself from attacking a god. Aeneas was then taken to Pergamos, a sacred spot in Troy, where he was healed.

After the death of Sarpedon, a son of Zeus, Apollo rescued the corpse from the battlefield as per his father's wish and cleaned it. He then gave it to Sleep (Hypnos) and Death (Thanatos). Apollo had also once convinced Athena to stop the war for that day, so that the warriors can relieve themselves for a while.

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Apollo protecting Hector's body, by John Flaxman

The Trojan hero Hector (who, according to some, was the god's own son by Hecuba) was favored by Apollo. When he got severely injured, Apollo healed him and encouraged him to take up his arms. During a duel with Achilles, when Hector was about to lose, Apollo hid Hector in a cloud of mist to save him. When the Greek warrior Patroclus tried to get into the fort of Troy, he was stopped by Apollo. Encouraging Hector to attack Patroclus, Apollo stripped the armour of the Greek warrior and broke his weapons. Patroclus was eventually killed by Hector. At last, after Hector's fated death, Apollo protected his corpse from Achilles' attempt to mutilate it by creating a magical cloud over the corpse, shielding it from the rays of the sun.

Apollo held a grudge against Achilles throughout the war because Achilles had murdered his son Tenes before the war began and brutally assassinated his son Troilus in his own temple. Not only did Apollo save Hector from Achilles, he also tricked Achilles by disguising himself as a Trojan warrior and driving him away from the gates. He foiled Achilles' attempt to mutilate Hector's dead body.

Finally, Apollo caused Achilles' death by guiding an arrow shot by Paris into Achilles' heel. In some versions, Apollo himself killed Achilles by taking the disguise of Paris.

Apollo helped many Trojan warriors, including Agenor, Polydamas, Glaucus in the battlefield. Though he greatly favored the Trojans, Apollo was bound to follow the orders of Zeus and served his father loyally during the war.

Heracles

After Heracles (then named Alcides) was struck with madness and killed his family, he sought to purify himself and consulted the oracle of Apollo. Apollo, through the Pythia, commanded him to serve king Eurystheus for twelve years and complete the ten tasks the king would give him. Only then would Alcides be absolved of his sin. Apollo also renamed him as Heracles.

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Heracles and Apollo struggling over the Hind, as depicted on a Corinthian helmet (early 5th century BC)

To complete his third task, Heracles had to capture the Ceryneian Hind, a hind sacred to Artemis, and bring back it alive. After chasing the hind for one year, the animal eventually got tired, and when it tried crossing the river Ladon, Heracles captured it. While he was taking it back, he was confronted by Apollo and Artemis, who were angered at Heracles for this act. However, Heracles soothed the goddess and explained his situation to her. After much pleading, Artemis permitted him to take the hind and told him to return it later.

After he was freed from his servitude to Eurystheus, Heracles fell in conflict with Iphytus, a prince of Oechalia, and murdered him. Soon after, he contracted a terrible disease. He consulted the oracle of Apollo once again, in hope of ridding himself of the disease. The Pythia, however, denied to give any prophesy. In anger, Heracles snatched the sacred tripod and started walking away, intending to start his own oracle. However, Apollo did not tolerate this and stopped Heracles; a duel ensued between them. Artemis rushed to support Apollo, while Athena supported Heracles. Soon, Zeus threw his thunderbolt between the fighting brothers and separated them. He reprimanded Heracles for this act of violation and asked Apollo to give a solution to Heracles. Apollo then ordered the hero to serve under Omphale, queen of Lydia for one year in order to purify himself.

Periphas

Periphas was an Attican king and a priest of Apollo. He was noble, just and rich. He did all his duties justly. Because of this people were very fond of him and started honouring him to the same extent as Zeus. At one point, they worshipped Periphas in place of Zeus and set up shrines and temples for him. This annoyed Zeus, who decided to annihilate the entire family of Periphas. But because he was a just king and a good devotee, Apollo intervened and requested his father to spare Periphas. Zeus considered Apollo's words and agreed to let him live. But he metamorphosed Periphas into an eagle and made the eagle the king of birds. When Periphas' wife requested Zeus to let her stay with her husband, Zeus turned her into a vulture and fulfilled her wish.

Plato's concept of soulmates

A long time ago, there were three kinds of human beings: male, descended from the sun; female, descended from the earth; and androgynous, descended from the moon. Each human being was completely round, with four arms and fours legs, two identical faces on opposite sides of a head with four ears, and all else to match. They were powerful and unruly. Otis and Ephialtes even dared to scale Mount Olympus.

To check their insolence, Zeus devised a plan to humble them and improve their manners instead of completely destroying them. He cut them all in two and asked Apollo to make necessary repairs, giving humans the individual shape they still have now. Apollo turned their heads and necks around towards their wounds, he pulled together their skin at the abdomen, and sewed the skin together at the middle of it. This is what we call navel today. He smoothened the wrinkles and shaped the chest. But he made sure to leave a few wrinkles on the abdomen and around the navel so that they might be reminded of their punishment.

Nurturer of the young

Apollo Kourotrophos is the god who nurtures and protects children and the young, especially boys. He oversees their education and their passage into adulthood. Education is said to have originated from Apollo and the Muses. Many myths have him train his children. It was a custom for boys to cut and dedicate their long hair to Apollo after reaching adulthood.

Chiron, the abandoned centaur, was fostered by Apollo, who instructed him in medicine, prophecy, archery and more. Chiron would later become a great teacher himself.

Asclepius in his childhood gained much knowledge pertaining to medicinal arts by his father. However, he was later entrusted to Chiron for further education.

Anius, Apollo's son by Rhoeo, was abandoned by his mother soon after his birth. Apollo brought him up and educated him in mantic arts. Anius later became the priest of Apollo and the king of Delos.

Iamus was the son of Apollo and Evadne. When Evadne went into labour, Apollo sent the Moirai to assist his lover. After the child was born, Apollo sent snakes to feed the child some honey. When Iamus reached the age of education, Apollo took him to Olympia and taught him many arts, including the ability to understand and explain the languages of birds.

Idmon was educated by Apollo to be a seer. Even though he foresaw his death that would happen in his journey with the Argonauts, he embraced his destiny and died a brave death. To commemorate his son's bravery, Apollo commanded Boeotians to build a town around the tomb of the hero, and to honor him.

Apollo adopted Carnus, the abandoned son of Zeus and Europa. He reared the child with the help of his mother Leto and educated him to be a seer.

When his son Melaneus reached the age of marriage, Apollo asked the princess Stratonice to be his son's bride and carried her away from her home when she agreed.

Apollo saved a shepherd boy (name unknown) from death in a large deep cave, by the means of vultures. To thank him, the shepherd built Apollo a temple under the name Vulturius.

God of music

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The music of the spheres. Shown in this engraving from Renaissance Italy are Apollo, the Muses, the planetary spheres and musical ratios.

Immediately after his birth, Apollo demanded a lyre and invented the paean, thus becoming the god of music. As the divine singer, he is the patron of poets, singers and musicians. The invention of string music is attributed to him. Plato said that the innate ability of humans to take delight in music, rhythm and harmony is the gift of Apollo and the Muses. According to Socrates, ancient Greeks believed that Apollo is the god who directs the harmony and makes all things move together, both for the gods and the humans. For this reason, he was called Homopolon before the Homo was replaced by A. Apollo's harmonious music delivered people from their pain, and hence, like Dionysus, he is also called the liberator. The swans, which were considered to be the most musical among the birds, were believed to be the "singers of Apollo". They are Apollo's sacred birds and acted as his vehicle during his travel to Hyperborea. Aelian says that when the singers would sing hymns to Apollo, the swans would join the chant in unison.

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Apollo and the Muses on Parnassus, by Andrea Appiani

Among the Pythagoreans, the study of mathematics and music were connected to the worship of Apollo, their principal deity. Their belief was that the music purifies the soul, just as medicine purifies the body. They also believed that music was delegated to the same mathematical laws of harmony as the mechanics of the cosmos, evolving into an idea known as the music of the spheres.

Apollo appears as the companion of the Muses, and as Musagetes ("leader of Muses") he leads them in dance. They spend their time on Parnassus, which is one of their sacred places. Apollo is also the lover of the Muses and by them he became the father of famous musicians like Orpheus and Linus.

Apollo is often found delighting the immortal gods with his songs and music on the lyre. In his role as the god of banquets, he was always present to play music in weddings of the gods, like the marriage of Eros and Psyche, Peleus and Thetis. He is a frequent guest of the Bacchanalia, and many ancient ceramics depict him being at ease amidst the maenads and satyrs. Apollo also participated in musical contests when challenged by others. He was the victor in all those contests, but he tended to punish his opponents severely for their hubris.

ファイル:Detail of the statue of Apollo holding the kithara, from the Temple of Venus (Casino Fede) at Hadrian's Villa, Ny Carlsberg Glyptoteket (12233881783).jpg

Detail of Apollo's lyre

Apollo's lyre

The invention of lyre is attributed either to Hermes or to Apollo himself. Distinctions have been made that Hermes invented lyre made of tortoise shell, whereas the lyre Apollo invented was a regular lyre.

Myths tell that the infant Hermes stole a number of Apollo's cows and took them to a cave in the woods near Pylos, covering their tracks. In the cave, he found a tortoise and killed it, then removed the insides. He used one of the cow's intestines and the tortoise shell and made his lyre.

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The friendship of Apollo and Hermes, by Noël Coypel

Upon discovering the theft, Apollo confronted Hermes and asked him to return his cattle. When Hermes acted innocent, Apollo took the matter to Zeus. Zeus, having seen the events, sided with Apollo, and ordered Hermes to return the cattle. Hermes then began to play music on the lyre he had invented. Apollo fell in love with the instrument and offered to exchange the cattle for the lyre. Hence, Apollo then became the master of the lyre.

According to other versions, Apollo had invented the lyre himself, whose strings he tore in repenting of the excess punishment he had given to Marsyas. Hermes' lyre, therefore, would be a reinvention.

Contest with Pan

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The musical duel of Pan and Apollo, by Laurits Tuxen

Once Pan had the audacity to compare his music with that of Apollo and to challenge the god of music to a contest. The mountain-god Tmolus was chosen to umpire. Pan blew on his pipes, and with his rustic melody gave great satisfaction to himself and his faithful follower, Midas, who happened to be present. Then, Apollo struck the strings of his lyre. It was so beautiful that Tmolus at once awarded the victory to Apollo, and everyone was pleased with the judgement. Only Midas dissented and questioned the justice of the award. Apollo did not want to suffer such a depraved pair of ears any longer, and caused them to become the ears of a donkey.

Contest with Marsyas

Marsyas was a satyr who was punished by Apollo for his hubris. He had found an aulos on the ground, tossed away after being invented by Athena because it made her cheeks puffy. Athena had also placed a curse upon the instrument, that whoever would pick it up would be severely punished. When Marsyas played the flute, everyone became frenzied with joy. This led Marsyas to think that he was better than Apollo, and he challenged the god to a musical contest. The contest was judged by the Muses, or the nymphs of Nysa. Athena was also present to witness the contest.

Marsyas taunted Apollo for "wearing his hair long, for having a fair face and smooth body, for his skill in so many arts". He also further said,

The Muses and Athena sniggered at this comment. The contestants agreed to take turns displaying their skills and the rule was that the victor could "do whatever he wanted" to the loser.

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The contest between Apollo and Marsyas by Palma il Giovane

According to one account, after the first round, they both were deemed equal by the Nysiads. But in the next round, Apollo decided to play on his lyre and add his melodious voice to his performance. Marsyas argued against this, saying that Apollo would have an advantage and accused Apollo of cheating. But Apollo replied that since Marsyas played the flute, which needed air blown from the throat, it was similar to singing, and that either they both should get an equal chance to combine their skills or none of them should use their mouths at all. The nymphs decided that Apollo's argument was just. Apollo then played his lyre and sang at the same time, mesmerising the audience. Marsyas could not do this. Apollo was declared the winner and, angered with Marsyas' haughtiness and his accusations, decided to flay the satyr.

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Marsyas Flayed by the Order of Apollo, by Charles-André van Loo

According to another account, Marsyas played his flute out of tune at one point and accepted his defeat. Out of shame, he assigned to himself the punishment of being skinned for a wine sack. Another variation is that Apollo played his instrument upside down. Marsyas could not do this with his instrument. So the Muses who were the judges declared Apollo the winner. Apollo hung Marsyas from a tree to flay him.

Apollo flayed the limbs of Marsyas alive in a cave near Celaenae in Phrygia for his hubris to challenge a god. He then gave the rest of his body for proper burial and nailed Marsyas' flayed skin to a nearby pine-tree as a lesson to the others. Marsyas' blood turned into the river Marsyas. But Apollo soon repented and being distressed at what he had done, he tore the strings of his lyre and threw it away. The lyre was later discovered by the Muses and Apollo's sons Linus and Orpheus. The Muses fixed the middle string, Linus the string struck with the forefinger, and Orpheus the lowest string and the one next to it. They took it back to Apollo, but the god, who had decided to stay away from music for a while, laid away both the lyre and the pipes at Delphi and joined Cybele in her wanderings to as far as Hyperborea.

Contest with Cinyras

Cinyras was a ruler of Cyprus, who was a friend of Agamemnon. Cinyras promised to assist Agamemnon in the Trojan war, but did not keep his promise. Agamemnon cursed Cinyras. He invoked Apollo and asked the god to avenge the broken promise. Apollo then had a lyre-playing contest with Cinyras, and defeated him. Either Cinyras committed suicide when he lost, or was killed by Apollo.

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Apollon Raon, Versailles

Patron of sailors

Apollo functions as the patron and protector of sailors, one of the duties he shares with Poseidon. In the myths, he is seen helping heroes who pray to him for safe journey.

When Apollo spotted a ship of Cretan sailors that was caught in a storm, he quickly assumed the shape of a dolphin and guided their ship safely to Delphi.

When the Argonauts faced a terrible storm, Jason prayed to his patron, Apollo, to help them. Apollo used his bow and golden arrow to shed light upon an island, where the Argonauts soon took shelter. This island was renamed "Anaphe", which means "He revealed it".

Apollo helped the Greek hero Diomedes, to escape from a great tempest during his journey homeward. As a token of gratitude, Diomedes built a temple in honor of Apollo under the epithet Epibaterius ("the embarker").

During the Trojan War, Odysseus came to the Trojan camp to return Chriseis, the daughter of Apollo's priest Chryses, and brought many offerings to Apollo. Pleased with this, Apollo sent gentle breezes that helped Odysseus return safely to the Greek camp.

Arion was a poet who was kidnapped by some sailors for the rich prizes he possessed. Arion requested them to let him sing for the last time, to which the sailors consented. Arion began singing a song in praise of Apollo, seeking the god's help. Consequently, numerous dolphins surrounded the ship and when Arion jumped into the water, the dolphins carried him away safely.

Wars

Titanomachy

Once Hera, out of spite, aroused the Titans to war against Zeus and take away his throne. Accordingly, when the Titans tried to climb Mount Olympus, Zeus with the help of Apollo, Artemis and Athena, defeated them and cast them into tartarus.

Trojan War

Apollo played a pivotal role in the entire Trojan War. He sided with the Trojans, and sent a terrible plague to the Greek camp, which indirectly led to the conflict between Achilles and Agamemnon. He killed the Greek heroes Patroclus, Achilles, and numerous Greek soldiers. He also helped many Trojan heroes, the most important one being Hector. After the end of the war, Apollo and Poseidon together cleaned the remains of the city and the camps.

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Paris (on the left) putting on his armour as Apollo (on the right) watches him. Attic red-figure kantharos, 425 - 420 BC

Telegony war

A war broke out between the Brygoi and the Thesprotians, who had the support of Odysseus. The gods Athena and Ares came to the battlefield and took sides. Athena helped the hero Odysseus while Ares fought alongside of the Brygoi. When Odysseus lost, Athena and Ares came into a direct duel. To stop the battling gods and the terror created by their battle, Apollo intervened and stopped the duel between them.

Indian war

When Zeus suggested that Dionysus defeat the Indians in order to earn a place among the gods, Dionysus declared war against the Indians and travelled to India along with his army of Bacchantes and satyrs. Among the warriors was Aristaeus, Apollo's son. Apollo armed his son with his own hands and gave him a bow and arrows and fitted a strong shield to his arm. After Zeus urged Apollo to join the war, he went to the battlefield. Seeing several of his nymphs and Aristaeus drowning in a river, he took them to safety and healed them. He taught Aristaeus more useful healing arts and sent him back to help the army of Dionysus.

Theban war

During the war between the sons of Oedipus, Apollo favored Amphiaraus, a seer and one of the leaders in the war. Though saddened that the seer was fated to be doomed in the war, Apollo made Amphiaraus' last hours glorious by "lighting his shield and his helm with starry gleam". When Hypseus tried to kill the hero by a spear, Apollo directed the spear towards the charioteer of Amphiaraus instead. Then Apollo himself replaced the charioteer and took the reins in his hands. He deflected many spears and arrows away them. He also killed many of the enemy warriors like Melaneus, Antiphus, Aetion, Polites and Lampus. At last when the moment of departure came, Apollo expressed his grief with tears in his eyes and bid farewell to Amphiaraus, who was soon engulfed by the Earth.

Slaying of giants

Apollo killed the giants Python and Tityos, who had assaulted his mother Leto.

Gigantomachy

During the gigantomachy, Apollo and Heracles blinded the giant Ephialtes by shooting him in his eyes, Apollo shooting his left and Heracles his right. He also killed Porphyrion, the king of giants, using his bow and arrows.

Aloadae

The Aloadae, namely Otis and Ephialtes, were twin giants who decided to wage war upon the gods. They attempted to storm Mt. Olympus by piling up mountains, and threatened to fill the sea with mountains and inundate dry land. They even dared to seek the hand of Hera and Artemis in marriage. Angered by this, Apollo killed them by shooting them with arrows. According to another tale, Apollo killed them by sending a deer between them; as they tried to kill it with their javelins, they accidentally stabbed each other and died.

Phorbas

Phorbas was a savage giant king of Phlegyas who was described as having swine like features. He wished to plunder Delphi for its wealth. He seized the roads to Delphi and started harassing the pilgrims. He captured the old people and children and sent them to his army to hold them for ransom. And he challenged the young and sturdy men to a match of boxing, only to cut their heads off when they would get defeated by him. He hung the chopped off heads to an oak tree. Finally, Apollo came to put an end to this cruelty. He entered a boxing contest with Phorbas and killed him with a single blow.

Other stories

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Apollo as the rising sun, by François Boucher

In the first Olympic games, Apollo defeated Ares and became the victor in wrestling. He outran Hermes in the race and won first place.

Apollo divides months into summer and winter. He rides on the back of a swan to the land of the Hyperboreans during the winter months, and the absence of warmth in winters is due to his departure. During his absence, Delphi was under the care of Dionysus, and no prophecies were given during winters.

Molpadia and Parthenos

Molpadia and Parthenos were the sisters of Rhoeo, a former lover of Apollo. One day, they were put in charge of watching their father's ancestral wine jar but they fell asleep while performing this duty. While they were asleep, the wine jar was broken by the swines their family kept. When the sisters woke up and saw what had happened, they threw themselves off a cliff in fear of their father's wrath. Apollo, who was passing by, caught them and carried them to two different cities in Chersonesus, Molpadia to Castabus and Parthenos to Bubastus. He turned them into goddesses and they both received divine honors. Molpadia's name was changed to Hemithea upon her deification.

Prometheus

Prometheus was the titan who was punished by Zeus for stealing fire. He was bound to a rock, where each day an eagle was sent to eat Prometheus' liver, which would then grow back overnight to be eaten again the next day. Seeing his plight, Apollo pleaded Zeus to release the kind Titan, while Artemis and Leto stood behind him with tears in their eyes. Zeus, moved by Apollo's words and the tears of the goddesses, finally sent Heracles to free Prometheus.

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Apollo crowning the arts, by Nicolas-Guy Brenet

The rock of Leukas

Leukatas was believed to be a white colored rock jutting out from the island of Leukas into the sea. It was present in the sanctuary of Apollo Leukates. A leap from this rock was believed to have put an end to the longings of love.

Once, Aphrodite fell deeply in love with Adonis, a young man of great beauty who was later accidentally killed by a boar. Heartbroken, Aphrodite wandered looking for the rock of Leukas. When she reached the sanctuary of Apollo in Argos, she confided in him her love and sorrow. Apollo then brought her to the rock of Leukas and asked her to throw herself from the top of the rock. She did so and was freed from her love. When she sought for the reason behind this, Apollo told her that Zeus, before taking another lover, would sit on this rock to free himself from his love to Hera.

Another tale relates that a man named Nireus, who fell in love with the cult statue of Athena, came to the rock and jumped in order relieve himself. After jumping, he fell into the net of a fisherman in which, when he was pulled out, he found a box filled with gold. He fought with the fisherman and took the gold, but Apollo appeared to him in the night in a dream and warned him not to appropriate gold which belonged to others.

It was an ancestral custom among the Leukadians to fling a criminal from this rock every year at the sacrifice performed in honor of Apollo for the sake of averting evil. However, a number of men would be stationed all around below rock to catch the criminal and take him out of the borders in order to exile him from the island. This was the same rock from which, according to a legend, Sappho took her suicidal leap.

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Apollo as the setting sun, by François Boucher

Female lovers

Love affairs ascribed to Apollo are a late development in Greek mythology. Their vivid anecdotal qualities have made some of them favorites of painters since the Renaissance, the result being that they stand out more prominently in the modern imagination.

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Apollo and Daphne by Bernini in the Galleria Borghese

Daphne was a nymph who scorned Apollo's advances and ran away from him. When Apollo chased her in order to persuade her, she changed herself into a laurel tree. According to other versions, she cried for help during the chase, and Gaia helped her by taking her in and placing a laurel tree in her place. According to Roman poet Ovid, the chase was brought about by Cupid, who hit Apollo with golden arrow of love and Daphne with leaden arrow of hatred. The myth explains the origin of the laurel and connection of Apollo with the laurel and its leaves, which his priestess employed at Delphi. The leaves became the symbol of victory and laurel wreaths were given to the victors of the Pythian games.

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Apollo and the Muses, by Robert Sanderson

Apollo is said to have been the lover of all nine Muses, and not being able to choose one of them, decided to remain unwed. He fathered the Corybantes by the Muse Thalia, Orpheus by Calliope, Linus of Thrace by Calliope or Urania and Hymenaios (Hymen) by one of the Muses.

In the Great Eoiae that is attributed to Hesoid, Scylla is the daughter of Apollo and Hecate.

Cyrene was a Thessalian princess whom Apollo loved. In her honor, he built the city Cyrene and made her its ruler. She was later granted longevity by Apollo who turned her into a nymph. The couple had two sons, Aristaeus, and Idmon.

Evadne was a nymph daughter of Poseidon and a lover of Apollo. She bore him a son, Iamos. During the time of the childbirth, Apollo sent Eileithyia, the goddess of childbirth to assist her.

Rhoeo, a princess of the island of Naxos was loved by Apollo. Out of affection for her, Apollo turned her sisters into goddesses. On the island Delos she bore Apollo a son named Anius. Not wanting to have the child, she entrusted the infant to Apollo and left. Apollo raised and educated the child on his own.

Ourea, a daughter of Poseidon, fell in love with Apollo when he and Poseidon were serving the Trojan king Laomedon. They both united on the day the walls of Troy were built. She bore to Apollo a son, whom Apollo named Ileus, after the city of his birth, Ilion (Troy). Ileus was very dear to Apollo.

Thero, daughter of Phylas, a maiden as beautiful as the moonbeams, was loved by the radiant Apollo, and she loved him in return. By their union, she became mother of Chaeron, who was famed as "the tamer of horses". He later built the city Chaeronea.

Hyrie or Thyrie was the mother of Cycnus. Apollo turned both the mother and son into swans when they jumped into a lake and tried to kill themselves.

Hecuba was the wife of King Priam of Troy, and Apollo had a son with her named Troilus. An oracle prophesied that Troy would not be defeated as long as Troilus reached the age of twenty alive. He was ambushed and killed by Achilleus, and Apollo avenged his death by killing Achilles. After the sack of Troy, Hecuba was taken to Lycia by Apollo.

Coronis was daughter of Phlegyas, King of the Lapiths. While pregnant with Asclepius, Coronis fell in love with Ischys, son of Elatus and slept with him. When Apollo found out about her infidelity through his prophetic powers or thanks to his raven who informed him, he sent his sister, Artemis, to kill Coronis. Apollo rescued the baby by cutting open Koronis' belly and gave it to the centaur Chiron to raise.

Dryope, the daughter of Dryops, was impregnated by Apollo in the form of a snake. She gave birth to a son named Amphissus.

In Euripides' play Ion, Apollo fathered Ion by Creusa, wife of Xuthus. He used his powers to conceal her pregnancy from her father. Later, when Creusa left Ion to die in the wild, Apollo asked Hermes to save the child and bring him to the oracle at Delphi, where he was raised by a priestess.

Apollo loved and kidnapped an Oceanid nymph, Melia. Her father Oceanus sent one of his sons, Caanthus, to find her, but Caanthus could not take her back from Apollo, so he burned Apollo's sanctuary. In retaliation, Apollo shot and killed Caanthus.

Male lovers

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Apollo and Hyacinthus, by Carlo Cesio

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Death of Hyacinth, by Alexander Kiselyov, 1850–1900

Hyacinth (or Hyacinthus), a beautiful and athletic Spartan prince, was one of Apollo's favourite lovers. The pair was practicing throwing the discus when a discus thrown by Apollo was blown off course by the jealous Zephyrus and struck Hyacinthus in the head, killing him instantly. Apollo is said to be filled with grief. Out of Hyacinthus' blood, Apollo created a flower named after him as a memorial to his death, and his tears stained the flower petals with the interjection テンプレート:Lang, meaning alas. He was later resurrected and taken to heaven. The festival Hyacinthia was a national celebration of Sparta, which commemorated the death and rebirth of Hyacinthus.

Another male lover was Cyparissus, a descendant of Heracles. Apollo gave him a tame deer as a companion but Cyparissus accidentally killed it with a javelin as it lay asleep in the undergrowth. Cyparissus was so saddened by its death that he asked Apollo to let his tears fall forever. Apollo granted the request by turning him into the Cypress named after him, which was said to be a sad tree because the sap forms droplets like tears on the trunk.

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Apollo and Cyparissus, by Jean-Pierre Granger (1779–1840)

Admetus, the king of Pherae, was also Apollo's lover. During his exile, which lasted either for one year or nine years, Apollo served Admetus as a herdsman. The romantic nature of their relationship was first described by Callimachus of Alexandria, who wrote that Apollo was "fired with love" for Admetus. Plutarch lists Admetus as one of Apollo's lovers and says that Apollo served Admetus because he doted upon him. Latin poet Ovid in his Ars Amatoria said that even though he was a god, Apollo forsook his pride and stayed in as a servant for the sake of Admetus. Tibullus describes Apollo's love to the king as servitium amoris (slavery of love) and asserts that Apollo became his servant not by force but by choice. He would also make cheese and serve it to Admetus. His domestic actions caused embarrassment to his family.

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Apollo visiting Admetus, by Nicolas-Antoine Taunay, 19th century

テンプレート:Blockquote When Admetus wanted to marry princess Alcestis, Apollo provided a chariot pulled by a lion and a boar he had tamed. This satisfied Alcestis' father and he let Admetus marry his daughter. Further, Apollo saved the king from Artemis' wrath and also convinced the Moirai to postpone Admetus' death once.

Branchus, a shepherd, one day came across Apollo in the woods. Captivated by the god's beauty, he kissed Apollo. Apollo requited his affections and wanting to reward him, bestowed prophetic skills on him. His descendants, the Branchides, were an influential clan of prophets.

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Apollo, Hyacinth and Cyparissus singing and playing by Alexander Ivanov, 1831–1834

Other male lovers of Apollo include:

• Adonis, who is said to have been the lover of both Apollo and Aphrodite. He behaved as a man with Aphrodite and as a woman with Apollo.
• Atymnius, otherwise known as a beloved of Sarpedon
• Boreas, the god of North winds
• Cinyras, king of Cyprus and the priest of Aphrodite
• Helenus, a Trojan prince (son of Priam and Hecuba). He received from Apollo an ivory bow with which he later wounded Achilles in the hand.
• Hippolytus of Sicyon (not the same as Hippolytus, the son of Theseus)
• Hymenaios, the son of Magnes
• Iapis, to whom Apollo taught the art of healing
• Phorbas, the dragon slayer (probably the son of Triopas)

Children

Apollo sired many children, from mortal women and nymphs as well as the goddesses. His children grew up to be physicians, musicians, poets, seers or archers. Many of his sons founded new cities and became kings. They were all usually very beautiful.テンプレート:Citation needed

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Apollo Entrusting Chiron with the Education of Aescalapius

Asclepius is the most famous son of Apollo. His skills as a physician surpassed that of Apollo's. Zeus killed him for bringing back the dead, but upon Apollo's request, he was resurrected as a god. Aristaeus was placed under the care of Chiron after his birth. He became the god of beekeeping, cheese making, animal husbandry and more. He was ultimately given immortality for the benefits he bestowed upon the humanity. The Corybantes were spear-clashing, dancing demigods.

The sons of Apollo who participated in the Trojan War include the Trojan princes Hector and Troilus, as well as Tenes, the king of Tenedos, all three of whom were killed by Achilles over the course of the war.

Apollo's children who became musicians and bards include Orpheus, Linus, Ialemus, Hymenaeus, Philammon, Eumolpus and Eleuther. Apollo fathered 3 daughters, Apollonis, Borysthenis and Cephisso, who formed a group of minor Muses, the "Musa Apollonides". They were nicknamed Nete, Mese and Hypate after the highest, middle and lowest strings of his lyre.テンプレート:Citation needed Phemonoe was a seer and a poetess who was the inventor of Hexameter.

Apis, Idmon, Iamus, Tenerus, Mopsus, Galeus, Telmessus and others were gifted seers. Anius, Pythaeus and Ismenus lived as high priests. Most of them were trained by Apollo himself.

Arabus, Delphos, Dryops, Miletos, Tenes, Epidaurus, Ceos, Lycoras, Syrus, Pisus, Marathus, Megarus, Patarus, Acraepheus, Cicon, Chaeron and many other sons of Apollo, under the guidance of his words, founded eponymous cities.

He also had a son named Chrysorrhoas who was a mechanic artist. His other daughters include Eurynome, Chariclo wife of Chiron, Eurydice the wife of Orpheus, Eriopis, famous for her beautiful hair, Melite the heroine, Pamphile the silk weaver, Parthenos, and by some accounts, Phoebe, Hilyra and Scylla. Apollo turned Parthenos into a constellation after her early death.

Additionally, Apollo fostered and educated Chiron, the centaur who later became the greatest teacher and educated many demigods, including Apollo's sons. Apollo also fostered Carnus, the son of Zeus and Europa.

Offspring and mothers

Offspring	Mother
Amphithemis (Garamas), Caphauras, Miletus, Naxos, Oaxes, Phylacides, Philander	Acacallis
Eleuther	Aethusa
Chios	Aganippe
Linus (possibly)	Alciope
Oaxes	Anchiale
Miletus	Areia or Deione
Eumolpus (possibly)	Astycome, nymph
Asclepius (possibly). Eriopis	Arsinoe
Arabus	Babylo
Orpheus, Ialemus	Calliope
Linus	Calliope or Aethusa or Urania or Terpsichore, or father not Apollo
Delphus	Celaeno or Melaina or Thyia (or son of Poseidon, not Apollo)
Philammon	Chione or Leuconoe or Philonis
Coronus	Chrysorthe
Parthenos	Chrysothemis
Asclepius	Coronis
Leo, Lycorus (Lycoreus)	Coryceia
Ion	Creusa
Aristaeus, Agetes, Autuchus, Idmon, Nomius	Cyrene
The Curetes	Danais, Cretan nymph
Telmessus	Daughter of Antenor
Dryops	Dia
Amphissus	Dryope
Agreus	Euboea
Linus (possibly)	Euterpe
Iamus	Evadne
Scylla	Hecate

Offspring and mothers, continued

Offspring	Mother
Amphiaraus	Hypermnestra
Troilus, Hector	Hecuba
Cycnus	Hyria (Thyria)
Eicadius, Patarus	Lycia
Mopsus	Manto
Ismenus, Tenerus	Melia
Phagrus	Othreis
Cynnes	Parnethia, nymph
Lycomedes	Parthenope
Cinyras	Pharnace
Dorus, Laodocus, Polypoetes	Phthia
Tenes	Procleia
Linus of Argos	Psamathe
The Corybantes	Rhetia (nymph) or Thalia, or father not Apollo
Anius	Rhoeo
Ceos	Rhodoessa, nymph
Cicon	Rhodope
Syrus	Sinope
Centaurus, Lapithes, Aineus	Stilbe
Zeuxippus	Syllis / Hyllis
Hymenaeus	Terpsichore or Urania or Clio
Galeus	Themisto
Chaeron	Thero
Ileus	Ourea
Trophonius	Wife of Erginus
Ptous	Zeuxippe
Acraepheus, Chariclo, Erymanthus, Eurynome, Marathus (eponym of Marathon), Megarus, Melaneus, Melite, Oncius, Pamphila, Phemonoe, Pisus, founder of Pisa in Etruria Pytheus, Younger Muses, (Cephisso, Apollonis, Borysthenis)	unknown mothers

Failed love attempts

Marpessa was kidnapped by Idas but was loved by Apollo as well. Zeus made her choose between them, and she chose Idas on the grounds that Apollo, being immortal, would tire of her when she grew old.

Sinope, a nymph, was approached by the amorous Apollo. She made him promise that he would grant to her whatever she would ask for, and then cleverly asked him to let her stay a virgin. Apollo kept his promise and went back.

Bolina was admired by Apollo but she refused him and jumped into the sea. To avoid her death, Apollo turned her into a nymph, saving her life.

Castalia was a nymph whom Apollo loved. She fled from him and dove into the spring at Delphi, at the base of Mt. Parnassos, which was then named after her. Water from this spring was sacred; it was used to clean the Delphian temples and inspire the priestesses.

Cassandra, was a daughter of Hecuba and Priam. Apollo wished to court her. Cassandra promised to return his love on one condition - he should give her the power to see the future. Apollo fulfilled her wish, but she went back on her word and rejected him soon after. Angered that she broke her promise, Apollo cursed her that even though she would see the future, no one would ever believe her prophecies.

Hestia, the goddess of the hearth, rejected both Apollo's and Poseidon's marriage proposals and swore that she would always stay unmarried.

Female counterparts

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Apollo and Artemis, by Gavin Hamilton

Artemis

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Apollo (left) and Artemis. Brygos (potter signed), tondo of an Attic red-figure cup c. 470 BC, Musée du Louvre.

Artemis as the sister of Apollo, is thea apollousa, that is, she as a female divinity represented the same idea that Apollo did as a male divinity. In the pre-Hellenic period, their relationship was described as the one between husband and wife, and there seems to have been a tradition which actually described Artemis as the wife of Apollo.テンプレート:Citation needed However, this relationship was never sexual but spiritual, which is why they both are seen being unmarried in the Hellenic period.テンプレート:Citation needed

Artemis, like her brother, is armed with a bow and arrows. She is the cause of sudden deaths of women. She also is the protector of the young, especially girls. Though she has nothing to do with oracles, music or poetry, she sometimes led the female chorus on Olympus while Apollo sang. The laurel (daphne) was sacred to both. Artemis Daphnaia had her temple among the Lacedemonians, at a place called Hypsoi. Apollo Daphnephoros had a temple in Eretria, a "place where the citizens are to take the oaths". In later times when Apollo was regarded as identical with the sun or Helios, Artemis was naturally regarded as Selene or the moon.

Hecate

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Hecate's procession by the witches, by Jusepe de Ribera

Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft and magic, is the chthonic counterpart of Apollo. They both are cousins, since their mothers - Leto and Asteria - are sisters. One of Apollo's epithets, Hecatos, is the masculine form of Hecate, and both the names mean "working from afar". While Apollo presided over the prophetic powers and magic of light and heaven, Hecate presided over the prophetic powers and magic of night and chthonian darkness.テンプレート:Citation needed If Hecate is the "gate-keeper", Apollo Agyieus is the "door-keeper". Hecate is the goddess of crossroads and Apollo is the god and protector of streets.

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Pallas Athene Visiting Apollo on the Parnassus, by Arnold Houbraken

The oldest evidence found for Hecate's worship is at Apollo's temple in Miletos. There, Hecate was taken to be Apollo's sister counterpart in the absence of Artemis. Hecate's lunar nature makes her the goddess of the waning moon and contrasts and complements, at the same time, Apollo's solar nature.

Athena

As a deity of knowledge and great power, Apollo was seen being the male counterpart of Athena. Being Zeus' favorite children, they were given more powers and duties. Apollo and Athena often took up the role as protectors of cities, and were patrons of some of the important cities. Athena was the principle goddess of Athens, Apollo was the principle god of Sparta.

As patrons of arts, Apollo and Athena were companions of the Muses, the former a much more frequent companion than the latter. Apollo was sometimes called the son of Athena and Hephaestus.

In the Trojan war, as Zeus' executive, Apollo is seen holding the aegis like Athena usually does. Apollo's decisions were usually approved by his sister Athena, and they both worked to establish the law and order set forth by Zeus.

Apollo in the Oresteia

In Aeschylus' Oresteia trilogy, Clytemnestra kills her husband, King Agamemnon because he had sacrificed their daughter Iphigenia to proceed forward with the Trojan war. Apollo gives an order through the Oracle at Delphi that Agamemnon's son, Orestes, is to kill Clytemnestra and Aegisthus, her lover. Orestes and Pylades carry out the revenge, and consequently Orestes is pursued by the Erinyes or Furies (female personifications of vengeance).

Apollo and the Furies argue about whether the matricide was justified; Apollo holds that the bond of marriage is sacred and Orestes was avenging his father, whereas the Erinyes say that the bond of blood between mother and son is more meaningful than the bond of marriage. They invade his temple, and he drives them away. He says that the matter should be brought before Athena. Apollo promises to protect Orestes, as Orestes has become Apollo's supplicant. Apollo advocates Orestes at the trial, and ultimately Athena rules in favor of Apollo.

Roman Apollo

The Roman worship of Apollo was adopted from the Greeks.テンプレート:Sfn As a quintessentially Greek god, Apollo had no direct Roman equivalent, although later Roman poets often referred to him as Phoebus. There was a tradition that the Delphic oracle was consulted as early as the period of the kings of Rome during the reign of Tarquinius Superbus.

On the occasion of a pestilence in the 430s BCE, Apollo's first temple at Rome was established in the Flaminian fields, replacing an older cult site there known as the "Apollinare". During the Second Punic War in 212 BCE, the Ludi Apollinares ("Apollonian Games") were instituted in his honor, on the instructions of a prophecy attributed to one Marcius. In the time of Augustus, who considered himself under the special protection of Apollo and was even said to be his son, his worship developed and he became one of the chief gods of Rome.テンプレート:Sfn

After the battle of Actium, which was fought near a sanctuary of Apollo, Augustus enlarged Apollo's temple, dedicated a portion of the spoils to him, and instituted quinquennial games in his honour. He also erected a new temple to the god on the Palatine hill. Sacrifices and prayers on the Palatine to Apollo and Diana formed the culmination of the Secular Games, held in 17 BCE to celebrate the dawn of a new era.

Festivals

The chief Apollonian festival was the Pythian Games held every four years at Delphi and was one of the four great Panhellenic Games. Also of major importance was the Delia held every four years on Delos. Athenian annual festivals included the Boedromia, Metageitnia, Pyanepsia, and Thargelia. Spartan annual festivals were the Carneia and the Hyacinthia. Thebes every nine years held the Daphnephoria.

Attributes and symbols

Apollo's most common attributes were the bow and arrow. Other attributes of his included the kithara (an advanced version of the common lyre), the plectrum and the sword. Another common emblem was the sacrificial tripod, representing his prophetic powers. The Pythian Games were held in Apollo's honor every four years at Delphi. The bay laurel plant was used in expiatory sacrifices and in making the crown of victory at these games.テンプレート:Sfn

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Gold stater of the Seleucid king Antiochus I Soter (reigned 281–261 BCE) showing on the reverse a nude Apollo holding his key attributes: two arrows and a bow

The palm tree was also sacred to Apollo because he had been born under one in Delos. Animals sacred to Apollo included wolves, dolphins, roe deer, swans, cicadas (symbolizing music and song), ravens, hawks, crows (Apollo had hawks and crows as his messengers), snakes (referencing Apollo's function as the god of prophecy), mice and griffins, mythical eagle–lion hybrids of Eastern origin.テンプレート:Sfn

Homer and Porphyry wrote that Apollo had a hawk as his messenger. In many myths Apollo is transformed into a hawk. In addition, Claudius Aelianus wrote that in Ancient Egypt people believed that hawks were sacred to the god and that according to the ministers of Apollo in Egypt there were certain men called "hawk-keepers" (ἱερακοβοσκοί) who fed and tended the hawks belonging to the god. Eusebius wrote that the second appearance of the moon is held sacred in the city of Apollo in Egypt and that the city's symbol is a man with a hawklike face (Horus). Claudius Aelianus wrote that Egyptians called Apollo Horus in their own language.

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Apollo Citharoedus ("Apollo with a kithara"), Musei Capitolini, Rome

As god of colonization, Apollo gave oracular guidance on colonies, especially during the height of colonization, 750–550 BCE. According to Greek tradition, he helped Cretan or Arcadian colonists found the city of Troy. However, this story may reflect a cultural influence which had the reverse direction: Hittite cuneiform texts mention an Asia Minor god called Appaliunas or Apalunas in connection with the city of Wilusa attested in Hittite inscriptions, which is now generally regarded as being identical with the Greek Ilion by most scholars. In this interpretation, Apollo's title of Lykegenes can simply be read as "born in Lycia", which effectively severs the god's supposed link with wolves (possibly a folk etymology).

In literary contexts, Apollo represents harmony, order, and reason—characteristics contrasted with those of Dionysus, god of wine, who represents ecstasy and disorder. The contrast between the roles of these gods is reflected in the adjectives Apollonian and Dionysian. However, the Greeks thought of the two qualities as complementary: the two gods are brothers, and when Apollo at winter left for Hyperborea, he would leave the Delphic oracle to Dionysus. This contrast appears to be shown on the two sides of the Borghese Vase.

Apollo is often associated with the Golden Mean. This is the Greek ideal of moderation and a virtue that opposes gluttony.

In antiquity, Apollo was associated with the planet Mercury. The ancient Greeks believed that Mercury as observed during the morning was a different planet than the one during the evening, because each twilight Mercury would appear farther from the Sun as it set than it had the night before. The morning planet was called Apollo, and the one at evening Hermes/Mercury before they realised they were the same, thereupon the name 'Mercury/Hermes' was kept, and 'Apollo' was dropped.

Apollo in the arts

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Piraeus Apollo, archaic-style bronze, Archaeological Museum of Piraeus

Apollo is a common theme in Greek and Roman art and also in the art of the Renaissance. The earliest Greek word for a statue is "delight" (テンプレート:Lang, agalma), and the sculptors tried to create forms which would inspire such guiding vision. Greek art puts into Apollo the highest degree of power and beauty that can be imagined. The sculptors derived this from observations on human beings, but they also embodied in concrete form, issues beyond the reach of ordinary thought.テンプレート:Citation needed

The naked bodies of the statues are associated with the cult of the body that was essentially a religious activity. The muscular frames and limbs combined with slim waists indicate the Greek desire for health, and the physical capacity which was necessary in the hard Greek environment. The statues of Apollo embody beauty, balance and inspire awe before the beauty of the world.テンプレート:Citation needed

Archaic sculpture

Numerous free-standing statues of male youths from Archaic Greece exist, and were once thought to be representations of Apollo, though later discoveries indicated that many represented mortals. In 1895, V. I. Leonardos proposed the term kouros ("male youth") to refer to those from Keratea; this usage was later expanded by Henri Lechat in 1904 to cover all statues of this format.

The earliest examples of life-sized statues of Apollo may be two figures from the Ionic sanctuary on the island of Delos. Such statues were found across the Greek speaking world, the preponderance of these were found at the sanctuaries of Apollo with more than one hundred from the sanctuary of Apollo Ptoios, Boeotia alone. Significantly more rare are the life-sized bronze statues. One of the few originals which survived into the present day—so rare that its discovery in 1959 was described as "a miracle" by Ernst Homann-Wedeking—is the masterpiece bronze, Piraeus Apollo. It was found in Piraeus, a port city close to Athens, and is believed to have come from north-eastern Peloponnesus. It is the only surviving large-scale Peloponnesian statue.

Classical sculpture

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Apollo of Mantua, marble Roman copy after a 5th-century BCE Greek original attributed to Polykleitos, Musée du Louvre

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A marble sculpture of Apollo and Marsyas by Walter Runeberg at the arrivals hall of Ateneum in Helsinki, Finland

The famous Apollo of Mantua and its variants are early forms of the Apollo Citharoedus statue type, in which the god holds the cithara, a sophisticated seven-stringed variant of the lyre, in his left arm. While none of the Greek originals have survived, several Roman copies from approximately the late 1st or early 2nd century exist.

Other notable forms are the Apollo Citharoedus and the Apollo Barberini.

Hellenistic Greece-Rome

Apollo as a handsome beardless young man, is often depicted with a cithara (as Apollo Citharoedus) or bow in his hand, or reclining on a tree (the Apollo Lykeios and Apollo Sauroctonos types). The Apollo Belvedere is a marble sculpture that was rediscovered in the late 15th century; for centuries it epitomized the ideals of Classical Antiquity for Europeans, from the Renaissance through the 19th century. The marble is a Hellenistic or Roman copy of a bronze original by the Greek sculptor Leochares, made between 350 and 325 BCE.テンプレート:Citation needed

The life-size so-called "Adonis" found in 1780 on the site of a villa suburbana near the Via Labicana in the Roman suburb of Centocelle is identified as an Apollo by modern scholars. In the late 2nd century CE floor mosaic from El Djem, Roman Thysdrus, he is identifiable as Apollo Helios by his effulgent halo, though now even a god's divine nakedness is concealed by his cloak, a mark of increasing conventions of modesty in the later Empire.テンプレート:Citation needed

Another haloed Apollo in mosaic, from Hadrumentum, is in the museum at Sousse. The conventions of this representation, head tilted, lips slightly parted, large-eyed, curling hair cut in locks grazing the neck, were developed in the 3rd century BCE to depict Alexander the Great. Some time after this mosaic was executed, the earliest depictions of Christ would also be beardless and haloed.

Modern reception

Apollo often appears in modern and popular culture due to his status as the god of music, dance and poetry.

Postclassical art and literature

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Bust of Apollo used at decorating the Neoclassical house of Romanian architect Alexandru Săvulescu (Strada Biserica Amzei no. 30) in Bucharest, Romania

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Detail of Apollo and the Muses on Mount Parnassus, porcelain group by Johann Joachim Kaendler, テンプレート:Circa1750

Dance and music

Apollo has featured in dance and music in modern culture. Percy Bysshe Shelley composed a "Hymn of Apollo" (1820), and the god's instruction of the Muses formed the subject of Igor Stravinsky's Apollon musagète (1927–1928). In 1978, the Canadian band Rush released an album with songs "Apollo: Bringer of Wisdom"/"Dionysus: Bringer of Love".

Books

Apollo been portrayed in modern literature, such as when Charles Handy, in Gods of Management (1978) uses Greek gods as a metaphor to portray various types of organizational culture. Apollo represents a 'role' culture where order, reason, and bureaucracy prevail. In 2016, author Rick Riordan published the first book in the Trials of Apollo series, publishing four other books in the series in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.

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William Blake, The Overthrow of Apollo and the Pagan Gods (1809), illustration for John Milton's On the Morning of Christ's Nativity

Film

Apollo has been depicted in modern films—for instance, by Keith David in the 1997 animated feature film Hercules, by Luke Evans in the 2010 action film Clash of the Titans, and by Dimitri Lekkos in the 2010 film Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief.

Video games

Apollo has appeared in many modern video games. Apollo appears as a minor character in Santa Monica Studio's 2010 action-adventure game God of War III with his bow being used by Peirithous. He also appears in the 2014 Hi-Rez Studios Multiplayer Online Battle Arena game Smite as a playable character.

Psychology and philosophy

In philosophical discussion of the arts, a distinction is sometimes made between the Apollonian and Dionysian impulses, where the former is concerned with imposing intellectual order and the latter with chaotic creativity. Friedrich Nietzsche argued that a fusion of the two was most desirable. Psychologist Carl Jung's Apollo archetype represents what he saw as the disposition in people to over-intellectualise and maintain emotional distance.

Spaceflight

テンプレート:See also In spaceflight, the 1960s and 1970s NASA program for orbiting and landing astronauts on the Moon was named after Apollo, by NASA manager Abe Silverstein:

See also

• Darrhon
• Dryad
• Epirus
• Family tree of the Greek gods
• Phoebus (disambiguation)
• Sibylline oracles
• Tegyra
• Temple of Apollo (disambiguation)

Sources

Primary sources

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Secondary sources

• Athanassakis, Apostolos N., and Benjamin M. Wolkow, The Orphic Hymns, Johns Hopkins University Press; owlerirst Printing edition (May 29, 2013). ISBN 978-1-4214-0882-8. Google Books.
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• テンプレート:EB1911
• Fontenrose, Joseph Eddy, Python: A Study of Delphic Myth and Its Origins, University of California Press, 1959. ISBN 9780520040915.
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• テンプレート:Cite book
• Miranda J. Green, 1997. Dictionary of Celtic Myth and Legend, Thames and Hudson.
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• テンプレート:SmithDGRA
• Smith, William, A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities. William Smith, LLD. William Wayte. G. E. Marindin. Albemarle Street, London. John Murray. 1890. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
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External links

• Apollo at the Greek Mythology Link, by Carlos Parada
• The Warburg Institute Iconographic Database: ca 1650 images of Apollo テンプレート:Webarchive

概説

アポローンは主神ゼウスとレートーとの息子で狩猟の女神アルテミスの双子の弟。オリュンポス十二神に名を連ねる。古くから牧畜と予言の神、また、竪琴を手に執る音楽と詩歌文芸の神であった。光明神の性格を持つことから前5世紀には時としてヘーリオスと混同されて太陽神とされ、ローマ時代にはすっかり太陽神と化した。聖獣は狼および蛇、鹿で、聖鳥はヒュペルボレオイの国から飛来する白鳥および、鴉、雄鶏、鷹、禿鷹で、蝉もアポローンの使いとされる。聖樹は月桂樹、オリーブ、棕櫚、御柳。また、イルカ（デルピス）との関係も深く、イルカの姿に変身したという神話からデルピニオスとも呼ばれ、「デルポイ」という地名はここから来ているともいわれる。

また、あらゆる知的文化的活動の守護神とされ、詩神ムーサイを主宰するとともに、オルペウス教の伝説的開祖である詩人オルペウスの父親ともされる。一方、人間に当たれば苦痛なく一瞬で即死する金の矢を武器とし、姉（妹）神アルテミスとともに「遠矢射るアポローン」として疫病神の性格を持ち、転じて医術の神としても信仰された。医神アスクレーピオスがアポローンの子とされるのはそのためである。このように、アポローンの性格は理性的であると同時に人間を地上に向かって放った矢から広がる疫病で虐殺したり、音楽の腕を競う賭けでサテュロスの1人マルシュアースを生きたまま全身の皮膚を剥いで殺すなどの冷酷さ、残忍さをも併せ持っている。腕力も強く、イーリアスではアカイア勢の築いた頑強な城壁を素手で軽々と打ち砕いて崩壊させている。ボクシングを創始した神としても知られる。

フリードリヒ・ニーチェは、理性をつかさどる神として、ディオニューソスと対照的な存在と考えた（『悲劇の誕生』）。

神話

アスクレーピオス

アスクレーピオスは、テッサリアのラーリッサ領主の娘コローニスとアポローンの子。アポローンとコローニスの伝令であった鴉の讒言によってアポローンは嫉妬に駆られ彼女を射殺した。しかしすぐに後悔し、彼女の胎内から取り出したアスクレーピオスをケンタウロス族の賢者ケイローンに預けた。医術の神の血を引く彼は、やがてすぐれた医術を獲得するに至り、人を救うことに熱心だったが、やがて死者をも蘇らせることになったので、冥府の神ハーデースはゼウスにこの不条理を訴えた。そのためアスクレーピオスはゼウスの雷霆に撃たれて死に、天の神になったとされる。そして、アスクレーピオスと鴉は共にへびつかい座とからす座として天に掲げられた。

ダプネー

ダプネー (Daphnē) は、テッサリアの河神ペーネイオスの娘である。大蛇ピュートーンを矢で射殺したアポローンが、帰途偶然出会ったエロースと彼の持つ小さな弓を馬鹿にしたことから、エロースはアポローンへの仕返しに、黄金の矢（愛情を芽生えさせる矢）でアポローンを撃ち、鉛の矢（愛情を拒絶させる矢）でダプネーを射た。このため、アポローンはダプネーに愛情を抱いたが、ダプネーはアポローンの愛を拒絶した。

エロースの悪戯によってアポローンは彼女を奪おうと追いかけ続け、ダプネーも必死に逃げ続けた。しかし、ダプネーの体力が限界に近づき、ついにはペーネイオス河畔に追いつめられたため、ダプネーは父ペーネイオスに祈って助けを求めた。追いつめたアポローンがダプネーの腕に触れかけたとき、娘の苦痛を聞き入れたペーネイオスにより、ダプネーは月桂樹に身を変じた。

失意のアポローンは「せめて私の聖樹になって欲しい」と頼むと、ダプネーは枝を揺らしてうなずき、月桂樹の葉をアポローンの頭に落とした。この故事により、デルポイのピューティア大祭で行われる競技の優勝者には、月桂冠が与えられることになった（ダプネー （Δάφνη）は「月桂樹」という意味の普通名詞）。

カッサンドラー

カッサンドラー (Kassandr) はトロイア王、プリアモスの娘である。アポローンはカッサンドラーの美貌に懸想し、求愛する。自分の愛を受け入れれば「百発百中の予言能力」を授けるとカッサンドラーを誘惑する。カッサンドラーはそれを受け入れ「予言能力」を手に入れるが、その瞬間「アポローンに弄ばれたあげく、捨てられる自分の運命」を予言してしまう。

カッサンドラーはすぐさまアポローンの許を去る。アポローンは怒り、「カッサンドラーの予言は誰も信じない」という呪いを掛けた。後に、ギリシア諸ポリスとトロイアとの間でトロイア戦争が起きると、カッサンドラーはトロイアの悲劇的滅亡を予言し、父王プリアモスらに警告するが、誰もそれを信じなかった。はたしてトロイアは、カッサンドラーの予言通り、アカイア人（ギリシア）との戦争に敗れ、滅亡するのである。

ヒュアキントス

ヒュアキントスはペラ王ピーエロスと、歴史のムーサであるクレイオーとの間に生まれた美少年である。スパルタのアミュークライ市で生まれたという。

アポローンと西風の神ゼピュロスの2人がヒュアキントスの気を惹こうとしたが、彼はアポローンとばかり仲良くしていた。ある日、2人が仲良く円盤投げを楽しんでいた時、アポローンの投げた円盤がヒュアキュントスの頭部に激突、少年は息を引き取った。これはゼピュロスが2人の仲睦まじい様子を空から見て嫉妬し、円盤の飛ぶ方向を風で狂わせたためであった。アポローンは嘆き悲しんだが、溢れ出た少年の真っ赤な血の中から、赤い花が咲いた。この花は少年の名にちなんでヒュアキントス（ヒアシンス）と呼ばれた。

ただし、このヒュアキントスが現在ヒアシンスと呼ばれる花と同じものであると断定することはできない。その後、スパルタでは毎年初夏にヒュアキンティアという彼の死を記念した祭典が行われたという。ヒアシンスは多年生の球根植物である。古代ギリシア人は、初夏に開花して間もなく枯れ、次の年の備えをするヒアシンスの習性に死と復活を重ね合わせて見たのであろう。

ギガントマキアー

巨人戦争ギガントマキアーにもアポローンは参戦した。アポローンはヘーラクレースと共闘し、ギガースの一人であるエピアルテースの左目を射た。ギガースは神々に対しては不死身であったため、それだけでは死ななかったが、すかさ半神半人のヘーラクレースによって右目を射られ、絶命した。

アカンサス

アポローンからの寵愛を受け続けた妖精。しかしアカンサスは拒み続け、ある日アポローンの顔に傷をつけてしまい、アポローンによりアカンサスの花に変えられてしまった。

信仰

起源

ギリシア的な神とされるが、『イーリアス』ではつねにトロイア側に加担している。また、母親とされるレートーは、元来は小アジアで信仰された大地の女神で、アポローンはこれに付き従う植物神を核として形成された、複数の神格の集合体と考えられている。その名前もギリシア語に由来するものではないというのが一般的な見解である。

また、生誕後、ギリシアに現れる前の一時期を北方の民ヒュペルボレオイの国で暮らしていたとされ、北海沿岸の琥珀産地と地中海沿岸を結ぶ交易路「琥珀の道」とも深いかかわりを持つ神だと考えられている。さらにアルテミスの起源は北アフリカとされ、この女神と双子であるという性格は、地中海周辺で崇拝されていた女神群の配偶者群（タンムーズ、アドーニス、オシーリスなど）と同列のものと考えられる。

デルポイ

デルポイはアポローンの神託所で、ギリシア世界では最大の権威を持つ聖地であるが、少なくともミケーネ文明以前の時代から開けており、元は他の別神格の信仰中心地であったと考えられる。神話によれば、もともとガイアの聖地だったものを、番人の大蛇ピュートーンを射殺して奪ったものだという。神託は巫女・ピューティアーにより詩の形で与えられた。ギリシア人たちは、主に植民市建設の助言を貰い受けるためにデルポイを訪れ、デルポイは捧げ物によって繁栄を謳歌した。戦勝記念にもギリシア各地から贈り物が届けられ、マラトンの戦いの際にはアテナイから神殿が寄贈され、ガウガメラの戦いの勝利後には東方遠征中のアレクサンドロス大王から敵兵の武具が寄贈された。

このほか、生誕地とされるデーロス島、ミーレートス市近郊のディデュマもアポローンの聖地とされる。

ピューティア大祭

アポローンを讃える祭事はギリシアで広く行われていた。特に有名なのはデルポイを開催地として行われていたピューティア大祭であり、4年に1度、古代オリンピックの開催年と被らないように開かれた。音楽演奏の競技が最初に行われていたが、やがてキタラーの伴奏付きの歌唱や、フルートの演奏、フルートの伴奏による歌唱などが加わった。更に、演劇の上演コンクールや、詩や散文作品の朗読競技が行われ、紀元前582年以降では、オリュンピア大祭に倣って、各種の運動競技も加わり、また戦車（チャリオット）による競争も加わるようになった。

これらの数々の競技には、全ギリシアから参加者やその見物人が集まり、古代ギリシアの国際親善の場とも機会ともなった。各種競技の優勝者には、アポローンの聖樹であるダプネーつまり月桂樹の葉で飾られた冠が贈られ、これを「月桂冠」と称した。

異名とローマ神話

ホメーロスではポイボス・アポローン（Phoibos Apollōn）とも呼ばれる。ポイボスは「輝ける」の意と解される。このほかの異称には、ロクシアース、パイアーン、リュキオス、ヒュアキンティオス、アリュギュロトクソス（銀の弓矢を持つ神）などがある。

アポローン信仰はイタリア半島のギリシア植民地クーマエを通じて古代ローマにもたらされた。ローマ神話においては主要な神格がギリシア神話の神格と同化されたが、その中でアポローンだけは双方に共通する名をもつ神であり、ラテン語でアポロー（APOLLO, Apollō）と呼ばれた。「ポイボス」もラテン語形でポエブス (Phoebus) と呼ばれた。

参考文献

• Wikipedia：アポローン（最終閲覧日：23-01-22）

関連項目

• アパリウナス：ヒッタイト神話の神。
• アプル：エトルリア神話の神。
• ラーフ
• スコル
• ウプウアウト
• 弓矢
• 高御産巣日神

Appendix

• アポローン：管理人の与太話