Editing Apollo (section)

==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 [[laurel wreath|crown of victory]] at these games.{{sfn|Freese|1911|p=185}}

[[File:Ai-Khanoum-gold stater of Antiochos1.jpg|thumb|left|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 [[wolf|wolves]], dolphins, [[roe deer]], [[swan]]s, [[cicada]]s (symbolizing music and song), [[raven]]s, [[hawk]]s, [[Corvus (genus)|crow]]s (Apollo had hawks and crows as his messengers),<ref name="Porphyry"/> snakes (referencing Apollo's function as the god of prophecy), mice and [[griffin]]s, mythical eagle–lion hybrids of Eastern origin.{{sfn|Freese|1911|p=185}}

[[Homer]] and [[Porphyry (philosopher)|Porphyry]] wrote that Apollo had a hawk as his messenger.<ref>[https://topostext.org/work/3#15.493 Homer, ''Odyssey'', 15.493]</ref><ref name="Porphyry">[http://cts.perseids.org/read/greekLit/tlg2034/tlg003/1st1K-grc1/3.5 Porphyry, ''De abstinentia'', 3.5]</ref> In many myths Apollo is transformed into a hawk.<ref>[https://topostext.org/work/216#28 Antoninus Liberalis, ''Metamorphoses'', 28]</ref><ref>[https://topostext.org/work/141#6.103 Ovid, ''Metamorphoses'', 6.103]</ref><ref>[https://topostext.org/work/141#11.318 Ovid, ''Metamorphoses'', 11.318]</ref> In addition, [[Claudius Aelianus]] wrote that in [[Egyptians|Ancient Egypt]] people believed that hawks were sacred to the god<ref name="Aelian 10.14"/> 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.<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0545.tlg001.perseus-grc1:7.9 Aelian, ''Characteristics of Animals'', 7.9]</ref> [[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]]).<ref>[https://topostext.org/work/230#3.12.1 Eusebius, ''Preparation of the Gospels'', 3.12.1]</ref> [[Claudius Aelianus]] wrote that Egyptians called Apollo [[Horus]] in their own language.<ref name="Aelian 10.14">[https://topostext.org/work/560#10.14 Aelian, ''Characteristics of Animals'', 10.14]</ref>

[[File:Apolocitaredo8.jpg|thumb|''[[Apollo Citharoedus]]'' ("Apollo with a kithara"), [[Musei Capitolini]], Rome]]

As god of colonization,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Shachar |first=Ilan |date=2 June 2008 |title=Greek colonization and the eponymous apollo |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09518960008569776 |journal=[[Mediterranean Historical Review]] |volume=15 |issue=2|pages=1–26 |doi=10.1080/09518960008569776 |s2cid=162333182 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> Apollo gave oracular guidance on colonies, especially during the height of colonization, 750–550 BCE. According to Greek tradition, he helped [[Crete|Cretan]] or [[Arcadia (ancient region)|Arcadia]]n colonists found the city of [[Troy]]. However, this story may reflect a cultural influence which had the reverse direction: [[Hittites|Hittite]] [[Cuneiform script|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 [[Troy|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]]).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hard |first=Robin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC&dq=Lykegenes+apollo&pg=PA143 |title=The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology: Based on H.J. Rose's "Handbook of Greek Mythology" |date=2004 |publisher=Psychology Press |isbn=978-0-415-18636-0 |language=en}}</ref>

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]].{{Citation needed|date=December 2024}}

Apollo is often associated with the [[Golden mean (philosophy)|Golden Mean]]. This is the Greek [[Ideal (ethics)|ideal]] of [[moderation]] and a [[virtue]] that opposes [[gluttony]].{{Citation needed|date=December 2024}}

In antiquity, Apollo was associated with the planet Mercury. The ancient Greeks believed that the Mercury as observed during the morning was different from 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.<ref name=":merc"/>