The eternally young and beautiful sun god - Apollo was considered the patron saint of arts in ancient Greece. The cult of Apollo was in many ways consonant with the cults of Phoebus and Helios.
Apollo cult
In his cult, one of the oldest in Greece, there are clearly traces of totemism. In Arcadia, for example, Apollo, depicted in the form of a ram, was worshiped, since he was originally considered a god protecting the flock. Then he began to be considered the patron saint of immigrants, the founding Greek colonies, and then the patron saint of art, music, poetry. On the building of the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow is the figure of Apollo, who drives four horses while on a chariot. Apollo also takes part in the creation and management of cities, and is depicted with a bow and arrow, because he punishes criminals.
Apollo was also considered a god of foretelling the future. The Pythia, who lived in his sanctuary in Delphi, is now known to the whole world. There is no mention of the wife of Apollo, although many earthly women and nymphs had children from him and enjoyed his favor. At the same time, he was often rejected.
In the art of music, the god Pan and the satyr Marsyas competed with Apollo, but were defeated. Apollo is also called Helios, reverence for him from the Greeks passed to the Romans, but there he was worshiped more as a healer and saver from pestilence.
Apollo biography
Apollo is the twin brother of the goddess Artemis, and his father is Zeus. He was born on the floating island of Asteria, which adopted Leto, Zeus's beloved, after Zeus's wife Hera forbade her to step on solid ground. The island, on which the miracle of birth took place, has since been called Delos, which is translated from Greek as “phenomenon”. Like the very place of birth of two gods, the palm tree, under which Leto was released from the burden, became sacred.
Apollo quickly matured and at a very young age killed the serpent Python, or Delphinia, which devastated the vicinity of Delphi. Then, in the same place, in Delphi, Apollo founded his own divination in the place of the oracle of Gaia and Themis. There, the Pythian Games were established in honor of Apollo, and in the Tempeian Valley he received a purification from the murder of Python. The inhabitants of Delphi glorified him more than once in sacred hymns.
With his arrows, Apollo struck the giant Titius, who insulted his mother, Leto, and the Cyclops, who forged Zeus with lightning. He participated in the battles of the Olympians with giants and titans. The arrows of Artemis, his sister, and Apollo himself are believed to sometimes strike for no reason, and sometimes bring death to the elders. Apollo helps the Trojans in the Trojan War; his arrows carry the plague to the Achaean camp for 10 days in a row. It was believed that he invisibly participated in the murder of Patroclus and Achilles by Paris by Hector, and together with his sister, he is considered the destroyer of the children of Niobe.
