APOLLO Apollo is a comprehensive study of the Greek god in all his aspects, from the first attestations of his myth and worship to his reception in modern European and American culture. Fritz Graf uses literary texts, inscriptions, and archaeological finds to develop the complex image of a young god who was central to Greek culture, both in the way the Greeks themselves perceived him and as later ages looked at the Greeks. Apollo was the god of what the Greeks called mousikē, a combination of song, lyre music, and dance. He was the god of divination: as Zeus’ favorite son, he had direct access to the mind of Zeus and was willing to reveal this knowledge to humans. He was the god of healing: as a healer he arrived in Rome and from there in the Western provinces of the Roman Empire. He was the god of the young male citizen and through them the protector of all citizens of a Greek city-state. He has ties to the Ancient Near East, but he is no Eastern god brought to Greece; he became important in Etruria, Italy, and the Roman West. Literature, art, philosophy, and astrology preserved and transformed the god in the Middle Ages and the Modern Age: he became a god of poetry, the god of the planet sun, finally a symbol of pure rationality and order in opposition to the chaotic god Dionysus. For students of Greek religion and culture, of myth and legend, and in the fields of art and literature, Apollo is an informative and enlightening introduction to this powerful figure from the past. Fritz Graf is Professor of Greek and Latin, and Director of the Center for Epigraphical Studies at the Ohio State University. His research interests include the religions of the Greek and Roman world. His publications include Greek Mythology: An Introduction (1993), Magic in the Ancient World (1997), and with Sarah Iles Johnston, Ritual Texts for the Afterlife: Orpheus and the Bacchic Gold Tablets (2006). Gods and Heroes of the Ancient World Series editor Susan Deacy Roehampton University Routledge is pleased to present an exciting new series, Gods and Heroes of the Ancient World. These figures from antiquity are embedded in our culture, many functioning as the source of creative inspiration for poets, novelists, artists, composers and filmmakers. Concerned with their multifaceted aspects within the world of ancient paganism and how and why these figures continue to fascinate, the books provide a route into understanding Greek and Roman polytheism in the 21st century. These concise and comprehensive guides provide a thorough understanding of each figure, offering the latest in critical research from the leading scholars in the field in an accessible and approachable form, making them ideal for undergraduates in Classics and related disciplines. Each volume includes illustrations, time charts, family trees and maps where appropriate. Also available: Perseus Daniel Ogden Athena Susan Deacy Zeus Keith Dowden Prometheus Carol Dougherty Medea Emma Griffiths Dionysos Richard Seaford Oedipus Lowell Edmunds Susan Deacy is Senior Lecturer in Greek History and Literature at Roehampton University. Her main research interests are Greek religion, and gender and sexuality. Publications include the co-edited volumes Rape in Antiquity (1997), and Athena in the Classical World (2001), and the monograph A Traitor to Her Sex? Athena the Trickster (forthcoming). APOLLO Fritz Graf LONDON AND NEW YORK First published 2009 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2008. “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.” All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Graf, Fritz. Apollo / Fritz Graf. p. cm. Includes index. 1. Apollo (Greek deity) 2. Greece—Religious life and customs. I. Title. BL820.A7G73 2008 292.2′113—dc22 2008016457 ISBN 0-203-58171-7 Master e-book ISBN ISBN10: 0-415-31710-X (hbk) ISBN10: 0-415-31711-8 (pbk) ISBN10: 0-203-58171-7 (Print Edition) (ebk) ISBN13: 978-0-415-31710-8 (hbk) ISBN13: 978-0-415-31711-5 (pbk) ISBN13: 978-0-203-58171-1 (Print Edition) (ebk) For Sarah Iles Johnston CONTENTS Series foreword xii Acknowledgments xv List of illustrations xvii 1 WHY APOLLO? INTRODUCTION: WHY WRITE A BOOK ON A 3 GOD? 7 KEY THEMES 1 APOLLO IN HOMER 9 The god of the Iliad 9 Archer, killer, and healer 13 Festivals and sanctuaries of Apollo 17 The Homeric Hymn to Apollo 21 Summary 26 2 APOLLO THE MUSICIAN 28 The bow and the lyre 28 Mousikē and Archaic Greek society 28 Lyre and flute 31 Apollo leader of the Muses 33 The paean 34 Divine poets and inspired men 37 Pythagoras and shamanism 39 Apollo Citharoedus 41 Summary 42 3 ORACULAR APOLLO 43 Apollo’s divination 44 The history of the three major oracles of Apollo 46 Methods of divination 51 The prophets of Apollo 52 Other prophets: Cassandra, Helenus, the Sibyl 61 Summary 63 4 APOLLO, GOD OF HEALING 65 Gods and epidemics 65 Apollo (and) Paeon/Paean 66 Other forms of Healing Apollo 68 From Greece to Italy 70 A healer among barbarians 73 Apollo averter of evil 74 Apollo and Asclepius 77 Concepts of healing 80 Summary 83 5 APOLLO, THE YOUNG, AND THE CITY 84 The young god and the young men, 1: cutting one’s hair 84 The young god and the young men, 2: a hapless lover 85 Groups and institutions 86 Ancestral Apollo 88 Apollo Delphinios 88 Molpoi and Curetes 89 Apollo, initiation, and “Männerbund” 90 Archaic institutions in Ionia and Crete 92 Spartan festivals and the adolescents 94 Wolf-Apollo, the Dorian invasion, and the early city 97