Apollo

Apollo, a prominent deity in Greek and Roman religion, is known for his roles in archery, music, dance, truth, prophecy, healing, diseases, the Sun, light, poetry, and more. As the son of Zeus and Leto, Apollo is also the twin brother of Artemis, the goddess of the hunt. He is considered the most beautiful god and is often depicted as the ideal of the kouros (beardless, athletic youth).
Apollo is also the patron deity of Delphi, an oracular god and the prophetic deity of the Delphic Oracle. He is often consulted for guidance in various matters and is seen as the "averter of evil." Apollo is associated with medicine and healing, having delivered people from epidemics and causing ill health and deadly plagues with his arrows. The invention of archery is credited to Apollo and his sister Artemis.
Apollo is also the god of mousike, presiding over all music, songs, dance, and poetry. He is the inventor of string-music and the frequent companion of the Muses. Apollo is concerned with the health and education of children and presided over their passage into adulthood. His long, uncut hair symbolizes his eternal youth.
Apollo was also an important pastoral deity, patronizing herdsmen and shepherds, encouraging the founding of new towns, establishing civil constitutions, and giving laws. His oracles were often consulted before setting laws in cities. Apollo Agyieus was the protector of streets, public places, and home entrances.
== Etymology ==
Apollo, a Greek god, is generally not found in Linear B (Mycenean Greek) texts, although there is a possible attestation in the lacunose form ]pe-rjo-[ on the KN E 842 tablet. The etymology of the name is uncertain, with some scholars suggesting it is derived from the Doric word apella, which originally meant "wall," "fence for animals" and later "assembly within the limits of the square."
Ancient authors have attested several instances of popular etymology for Apollo's name, such as the Greek verb ἀπόλλυμι (apollymi), "to destroy", Plato in Cratylus, ἀπόλυσις (apolysis), "redemption", ἀπόλoυσις (apolousis), "purification", ἁπλoῦv ([h]aploun), "simple", and Ἀειβάλλωv (aeiballon), "ever-shooting". Hesychius connects the name Apollo with the Doric ἀπέλλα (apella), meaning "assembly", so that Apollo would be the god of political life, and also gives the explanation σηκός (sekos), "fold", in which case Apollo would be the god of flocks and herds.
The Hittite form Apaliunas is attested in the Manapa-Tarhunta letter, reflecting an early form *Apeljōn. The name of the Lydian god Qλdãns may reflect an earlier /kʷalyán-/ before palatalization, syncope, and the pre-Lydian sound change *y > d. A Luwian etymology suggested for Apaliunas makes Apollo "The One of Entrapment", perhaps in the sense of "Hunter".
== Background ==
Apollo, the most Hellenic of the Olympian gods, is venerated in Greece's cult centers, Delphi and Delos, dating back to the 8th century BCE. Delos was primarily dedicated to Artemis, Apollo's twin sister, and Delphi was venerated as the slayer of Python. Apollo's various functions throughout history include prophet, healing, light and music in Classical Greece, and a strong function in popular religion to keep away evil. Walter Burkert identified three components in Apollo worship's prehistory: a Dorian-northwest Greek component, a Cretan-Minoan component, and a Syro-Hittite component.
=== Healer and god-protector from evil ===
Apollo, a Greek god of healing, was known for his role in popular religion as a healer. He was often referred to as "apotropaios" or "alexikakos" and had various epithets related to his healing abilities. In later times, the term "paion" became a mere epithet of Apollo in his healing capacity. Apollo's aspect of "healer" has a connection to the primitive god Paean, who serves as the healer of the gods in the Iliad. Paean is believed to have originated in a pre-Greek religion and is believed to be connected to the Mycenaean figure pa-ja-wo-ne.
Homer illustrated Paeon the god and the song of apotropaic thanksgiving or triumph. These songs were addressed to Apollo and later to other gods, such as Dionysus, Apollo Helios, and Apollo's son Asclepius the healer. By the 4th century BCE, the paean became a formula of adulation, imploring protection against disease and misfortune or offering thanks after protection had been rendered. Apollo became recognized as the god of music.
In the Iliad, Apollo is the healer under the gods but also brings disease and death with his arrows, similar to the Vedic god of disease Rudra. He sends a plague to the Achaeans, who purify themselves in a ritual and offer him a large sacrifice of cows, called a hecatomb.
=== Dorian origin ===
The Homeric Hymn to Apollo portrays Apollo as an intruder from the north, referencing the northern-dwelling Dorians and their initiation festival apellai. The month Apellaios in northwest Greek calendars reinforces this connection. The family-festival was dedicated to Apollo, with Apellaios being the month of these rites. The name Apollo is connected to the Ancient Macedonian word "pella," meaning stone, which played a significant role in the god's cult.
=== Minoan origin ===
George Huxley believed Apollo, a sea-god worshipped in Crete, originated at Delphi. Apollo appeared as a dolphin in the Homeric Hymn, carrying Cretan priests to the site. Artemis, the Greek goddess of hunting, is identified with Britomartis, the Minoan "Mistress of the animals." In her earliest depictions, she was accompanied by the "Master of the animals," a bow-wielding god of hunting. Some aspects of this figure may have been absorbed into Apollo.
=== Anatolian origin ===
Apollo, a Greek god, has a non-Greek origin, possibly originating from Lydian mother Leto, worshipped on the coasts of Asia Minor. The inspiration oracular cult was likely introduced into Greece from Anatolia, where Sibyl and some of the oldest oracular shrines originated. Omens, symbols, purifications, and exorcisms appear in old Assyro-Babylonian texts, which were spread into the Hittites' empire and Greece. Apollo is depicted as a terrible god, less trusted by Greeks than other gods. He is related to Appaliunas, a tutelary god of Wilusa in Asia Minor. The stones found in front of the gates of Homeric Troy were Apollo's symbols. A western Anatolian origin may be supported by references to the parallel worship of Artimus and Qλdãns in surviving Lydian texts. The Greeks named Apollo ἀγυιεύς agyieus, the protector god of public places and houses, and his symbol was a tapered stone or column.
=== Proto-Indo-European ===
The Vedic Rudra, also known as the archer, is a god with similar functions to Apollo, but with a different role. Rudra can bring diseases with his arrows but can also free people. His Indo-European component doesn't explain his strong connection to omens, exorcisms, and the oracular cult.
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Category:Religion
Category:Roman Pantheon
Category:Greek Pantheon
Category:God
Category:Male Characters