93-505: Laocoön ( / l eɪ ˈ ɒ k oʊ ˌ ɒ n , - k ə ˌ w ɒ n / ; Ancient Greek : Λαοκόων , romanized : Laokóōn , IPA: [laokóɔːn] , gen.: Λαοκόοντος ) is a figure in Greek and Roman mythology and the Epic Cycle . Laocoön is a Trojan priest. He and his two young sons are attacked by giant serpents, sent by the gods when Laocoön argued against bringing
186-543: A pitch accent . In Modern Greek, all vowels and consonants are short. Many vowels and diphthongs once pronounced distinctly are pronounced as /i/ ( iotacism ). Some of the stops and glides in diphthongs have become fricatives , and the pitch accent has changed to a stress accent . Many of the changes took place in the Koine Greek period. The writing system of Modern Greek, however, does not reflect all pronunciation changes. The examples below represent Attic Greek in
279-509: A god of archery, music and dance, truth and prophecy, healing and diseases, the Sun and light, poetry, and more. One of the most important and complex of the Greek gods, he is the son of Zeus and Leto , and the twin brother of Artemis , goddess of the hunt. He is considered to be the most beautiful god and is represented as the ideal of the kouros (ephebe, or a beardless, athletic youth). Apollo
372-412: A healer. Some commonly-used examples are "paion" ( παιών literally "healer" or "helper") "epikourios" ( ἐπικούριος , "succouring"), "oulios" ( οὔλιος , "healer, baleful") and "loimios" ( λοίμιος , "of the plague"). In later writers, the word, "paion", usually spelled "Paean", becomes a mere epithet of Apollo in his capacity as a god of healing . Apollo in his aspect of "healer" has a connection to
465-477: A lack of contemporaneous evidence. Several theories exist about what Hellenic dialect groups may have existed between the divergence of early Greek-like speech from the common Proto-Indo-European language and the Classical period. They have the same general outline but differ in some of the detail. The only attested dialect from this period is Mycenaean Greek , but its relationship to the historical dialects and
558-419: A lesser degree. Pamphylian Greek , spoken in a small area on the southwestern coast of Anatolia and little preserved in inscriptions, may be either a fifth major dialect group, or it is Mycenaean Greek overlaid by Doric, with a non-Greek native influence. Regarding the speech of the ancient Macedonians diverse theories have been put forward, but the epigraphic activity and the archaeological discoveries in
651-498: A prefix /e-/, called the augment . This was probably originally a separate word, meaning something like "then", added because tenses in PIE had primarily aspectual meaning. The augment is added to the indicative of the aorist, imperfect, and pluperfect, but not to any of the other forms of the aorist (no other forms of the imperfect and pluperfect exist). The two kinds of augment in Greek are syllabic and quantitative. The syllabic augment
744-471: A quiver of silver or golden arrows. As the god of mousike , Apollo presides over all music, songs, dance, and poetry. He is the inventor of string-music and the frequent companion of the Muses, functioning as their chorus leader in celebrations. The lyre is a common attribute of Apollo . Protection of the young is one of the best attested facets of his panhellenic cult persona. As a kourotrophos , Apollo
837-608: A separate historical stage, though its earliest form closely resembles Attic Greek , and its latest form approaches Medieval Greek . There were several regional dialects of Ancient Greek; Attic Greek developed into Koine. Ancient Greek was a pluricentric language , divided into many dialects. The main dialect groups are Attic and Ionic , Aeolic , Arcadocypriot , and Doric , many of them with several subdivisions. Some dialects are found in standardized literary forms in literature , while others are attested only in inscriptions. There are also several historical forms. Homeric Greek
930-510: A she-wolf before giving birth. This is given as the reason why Homer describes Apollo as the "wolf-born god". Libanius wrote that neither land nor visible islands would receive Leto, but by the will of Zeus Delos then became visible, and thus received Leto and the children. According to Strabo, the Curetes helped Leto by creating loud noises with their weapons and thus frightening Hera, they concealed Leto's childbirth. Theognis wrote that
1023-403: A spear. Virgil gives Laocoön the famous line This quote is the source of the saying: "Beware of Greeks bearing gifts." In Sophocles, however, he was a priest of Apollo who should have been celibate, but had married. The serpents killed only the two sons, leaving Laocoön himself alive to suffer. In other versions, he was killed for having committed an impiety by making love with his wife in
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#17327653705901116-630: A standard subject of study in educational institutions of the Western world since the Renaissance . This article primarily contains information about the Epic and Classical periods of the language, which are the best-attested periods and considered most typical of Ancient Greek. From the Hellenistic period ( c. 300 BC ), Ancient Greek was followed by Koine Greek , which is regarded as
1209-541: A temple. Both orders were abandoned for the Corinthian order gradually during the Hellenistic age and under Rome. The most important temples are: In the myths, Apollo is the son of Zeus , the king of the gods, and Leto , his previous wife or one of his mistresses. Apollo often appears in the myths, plays and hymns either directly or indirectly through his oracles. As Zeus' favorite son, he had direct access to
1302-510: A vowel or /n s r/ ; final stops were lost, as in γάλα "milk", compared with γάλακτος "of milk" (genitive). Ancient Greek of the classical period also differed in both the inventory and distribution of original PIE phonemes due to numerous sound changes, notably the following: The pronunciation of Ancient Greek was very different from that of Modern Greek . Ancient Greek had long and short vowels ; many diphthongs ; double and single consonants; voiced, voiceless, and aspirated stops ; and
1395-570: Is a literary form of Archaic Greek (derived primarily from Ionic and Aeolic) used in the epic poems , the Iliad and the Odyssey , and in later poems by other authors. Homeric Greek had significant differences in grammar and pronunciation from Classical Attic and other Classical-era dialects. The origins, early form and development of the Hellenic language family are not well understood because of
1488-418: Is added to stems beginning with consonants, and simply prefixes e (stems beginning with r , however, add er ). The quantitative augment is added to stems beginning with vowels, and involves lengthening the vowel: Some verbs augment irregularly; the most common variation is e → ei . The irregularity can be explained diachronically by the loss of s between vowels, or that of the letter w , which affected
1581-401: Is also stated to be Leto's sister. Wanting to escape Zeus' advances, she flung herself into the sea and became a floating rock called Ortygia until the twins were born. When Leto stepped on the rock, four pillars with adamantine bases rose from the earth and held up the rock. When Apollo and Artemis were born, their bodies shone radiantly and a chant was sung by Eileithyia and Lachesis , one of
1674-510: Is also the bringer of disease and death with his arrows, similar to the function of the Vedic god of disease Rudra . He sends a plague ( λοιμός ) to the Achaeans . Knowing that Apollo can prevent a recurrence of the plague he sent, they purify themselves in a ritual and offer him a large sacrifice of cows, called a hecatomb . The Homeric Hymn to Apollo depicts Apollo as an intruder from
1767-758: Is called "the archer" and the bow is also an attribute of Shiva . Rudra could bring diseases with his arrows, but he was able to free people of them and his alternative Shiva is a healer physician god. However the Indo-European component of Apollo does not explain his strong association with omens, exorcisms, and an oracular cult. Unusually among the Olympic deities, Apollo had two cult sites that had widespread influence: Delos and Delphi . In cult practice, Delian Apollo and Pythian Apollo (the Apollo of Delphi) were so distinct that they might both have shrines in
1860-666: Is called 'East Greek'. Arcadocypriot apparently descended more closely from the Mycenaean Greek of the Bronze Age. Boeotian Greek had come under a strong Northwest Greek influence, and can in some respects be considered a transitional dialect, as exemplified in the poems of the Boeotian poet Pindar who wrote in Doric with a small Aeolic admixture. Thessalian likewise had come under Northwest Greek influence, though to
1953-502: Is concerned with the health and education of children, and he presided over their passage into adulthood. Long hair, which was the prerogative of boys, was cut at the coming of age ( ephebeia ) and dedicated to Apollo. The god himself is depicted with long, uncut hair to symbolise his eternal youth. Apollo is an important pastoral deity, and he was the patron of herdsmen and shepherds. Protection of herds, flocks and crops from diseases, pests and predators were his primary rustic duties. On
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#17327653705902046-749: Is connected with the Ancient Macedonian word "pella" ( Pella ), stone . Stones played an important part in the cult of the god, especially in the oracular shrine of Delphi ( Omphalos ). George Huxley considered the identification of Apollo with the Minoan deity Paiawon, worshipped in Crete, to have originated at Delphi. In the Homeric Hymn , Apollo appears as a dolphin carrying Cretan priests to Delphi, to which site they evidently transfer their religious practices. Apollo Delphinios or Delphidios
2139-448: Is considered by some linguists to have been closely related to Greek . Among Indo-European branches with living descendants, Greek is often argued to have the closest genetic ties with Armenian (see also Graeco-Armenian ) and Indo-Iranian languages (see Graeco-Aryan ). Ancient Greek differs from Proto-Indo-European (PIE) and other Indo-European languages in certain ways. In phonotactics , ancient Greek words could end only in
2232-555: Is known in Greek-influenced Etruscan mythology as Apulu . As the patron deity of Delphi ( Apollo Pythios ), Apollo is an oracular god—the prophetic deity of the Delphic Oracle and also the deity of ritual purification. His oracles were often consulted for guidance in various matters. He was in general seen as the god who affords help and wards off evil, and is referred to as Alexicacus ,
2325-549: Is not mentioned by Homer , but it had been the subject of a tragedy, now lost, by Sophocles and was mentioned by other Greek writers, though the events around the attack by the serpents vary considerably. The most famous account of these is now in Virgil 's Aeneid where Laocoön was a priest of Neptune ( Poseidon ), who was killed with both his sons after attempting to expose the ruse of the Trojan Horse by striking it with
2418-529: The Iliad . According to Quintus, Laocoön begged the Trojans to set fire to the Trojan horse to ensure it was not a trick. Athena, angry with him and the Trojans, shook the ground around Laocoön's feet and painfully blinded him. The Trojans, watching this unfold, assumed Laocoön was punished for the Trojans' mutilating and doubting Sinon , the undercover Greek soldier sent to convince the Trojans to let him and
2511-708: The Greek region of Macedonia during the last decades has brought to light documents, among which the first texts written in Macedonian , such as the Pella curse tablet , as Hatzopoulos and other scholars note. Based on the conclusions drawn by several studies and findings such as Pella curse tablet , Emilio Crespo and other scholars suggest that ancient Macedonian was a Northwest Doric dialect , which shares isoglosses with its neighboring Thessalian dialects spoken in northeastern Thessaly . Some have also suggested an Aeolic Greek classification. The Lesbian dialect
2604-925: The Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes , Rome , the Uffizi Gallery in Florence and in front of the Archaeological Museum, Odesa , Ukraine , amongst others. Alexander Calder also designed a stabile which he called Laocoön in 1947; it's part of the Eli and Edyth Broad collection in Los Angeles. The marble Laocoön provided the central image for Lessing's Laocoön , 1766, an aesthetic polemic directed against Winckelmann and
2697-497: The Trojan horse into the city. The story of Laocoön has been the subject of numerous artists, both in ancient and in more contemporary times. Laocoön was variously called as the son of Acoetes , Antenor or Poseidon ; or the son of Priam and Hecuba . He had two sons. The most detailed description of Laocoön's grisly fate was provided by Quintus Smyrnaeus in Posthomerica , a later, literary version of events following
2790-542: The comte de Caylus . Daniel Albright reengages the role of the figure of Laocoön in aesthetic thought in his book Untwisting the Serpent: Modernism in Literature, Music, and Other Arts . In Hector Berlioz 's 1863 opera Les Troyens , the death of Laocoön is a pivotal moment of the first act after Aeneas ' entrance, sung by eight singers and a double choir ("ottetto et double chœur"). It begins with
2883-501: The present , future , and imperfect are imperfective in aspect; the aorist , present perfect , pluperfect and future perfect are perfective in aspect. Most tenses display all four moods and three voices, although there is no future subjunctive or imperative. Also, there is no imperfect subjunctive, optative or imperative. The infinitives and participles correspond to the finite combinations of tense, aspect, and voice. The indicative of past tenses adds (conceptually, at least)
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2976-498: The toponymic epithet Abaeus ( Ἀπόλλων Ἀβαῖος , Apollon Abaios ), was important enough to be consulted by Croesus . His oracular shrines include: Oracles were also given by sons of Apollo. Many temples were dedicated to Apollo in Greece and the Greek colonies. They show the spread of the cult of Apollo and the evolution of Greek architecture, which was mostly based on the rightness of form and on mathematical relations. Some of
3069-416: The "averter of evil". Medicine and healing are associated with Apollo, whether through the god himself or mediated through his son Asclepius . Apollo delivered people from epidemics, yet he is also a god who could bring ill health and deadly plague with his arrows. The invention of archery itself is credited to Apollo and his sister Artemis. Apollo is usually described as carrying a silver or golden bow and
3162-802: The 2nd and 3rd century CE, those at Didyma and Claros pronounced the so-called "theological oracles", in which Apollo confirms that all deities are aspects or servants of an all-encompassing, highest deity . "In the 3rd century, Apollo fell silent. Julian the Apostate (359–361) tried to revive the Delphic oracle, but failed." Apollo had a famous oracle in Delphi, and other notable ones in Claros and Didyma . His oracular shrine in Abae in Phocis , where he bore
3255-1031: The 5th century BC. Ancient pronunciation cannot be reconstructed with certainty, but Greek from the period is well documented, and there is little disagreement among linguists as to the general nature of the sounds that the letters represent. /oː/ raised to [uː] , probably by the 4th century BC. Greek, like all of the older Indo-European languages , is highly inflected. It is highly archaic in its preservation of Proto-Indo-European forms. In ancient Greek, nouns (including proper nouns) have five cases ( nominative , genitive , dative , accusative , and vocative ), three genders ( masculine , feminine , and neuter ), and three numbers (singular, dual , and plural ). Verbs have four moods ( indicative , imperative , subjunctive , and optative ) and three voices (active, middle, and passive ), as well as three persons (first, second, and third) and various other forms. Verbs are conjugated through seven combinations of tenses and aspect (generally simply called "tenses"):
3348-495: The Archaic period of ancient Greek (see Homeric Greek for more details): Μῆνιν ἄειδε, θεά, Πηληϊάδεω Ἀχιλῆος οὐλομένην, ἣ μυρί' Ἀχαιοῖς ἄλγε' ἔθηκε, πολλὰς δ' ἰφθίμους ψυχὰς Ἄϊδι προΐαψεν ἡρώων, αὐτοὺς δὲ ἑλώρια τεῦχε κύνεσσιν οἰωνοῖσί τε πᾶσι· Διὸς δ' ἐτελείετο βουλή· ἐξ οὗ δὴ τὰ πρῶτα διαστήτην ἐρίσαντε Ἀτρεΐδης τε ἄναξ ἀνδρῶν καὶ δῖος Ἀχιλλεύς. The beginning of Apology by Plato exemplifies Attic Greek from
3441-636: The Classical period of ancient Greek. (The second line is the IPA , the third is transliterated into the Latin alphabet using a modern version of the Erasmian scheme .) Ὅτι [hóti Hóti μὲν men mèn ὑμεῖς, hyːmêːs hūmeîs, Apollo Apollo is one of the Olympian deities in classical Greek and Roman religion and Greek and Roman mythology . Apollo has been recognized as
3534-538: The Doric word apella ( ἀπέλλα ), which originally meant "wall," "fence for animals" and later "assembly within the limits of the square." Apella ( Ἀπέλλα ) is the name of the popular assembly in Sparta, corresponding to the ecclesia ( ἐκκλησία ). R. S. P. Beekes rejected the connection of the theonym with the noun apellai and suggested a Pre-Greek proto-form * Apal un . Several instances of popular etymology are attested by ancient authors. Thus,
3627-623: The Greeks most often associated Apollo's name with the Greek verb ἀπόλλυμι ( apollymi ), "to destroy". Plato in Cratylus connects the name with ἀπόλυσις ( apolysis ), "redemption", with ἀπόλουσις ( apolousis ), "purification", and with ἁπλοῦν ( [h]aploun ), "simple", in particular in reference to the Thessalian form of the name, Ἄπλουν , and finally with Ἀειβάλλων ( aeiballon ), "ever-shooting". Hesychius connects
3720-427: The Hellenistic poet Euphorion of Chalcis , Laocoön was actually punished for procreating upon holy ground sacred to Poseidon; it was only unlucky timing that caused the Trojans to misinterpret his death as punishment for striking the horse with a spear, which they bring into the city with disastrous consequences. The episode furnished the subject of Sophocles ' lost tragedy, Laocoön . In Aeneid , Virgil describes
3813-550: The aorist. Following Homer 's practice, the augment is sometimes not made in poetry , especially epic poetry. The augment sometimes substitutes for reduplication; see below. Almost all forms of the perfect, pluperfect, and future perfect reduplicate the initial syllable of the verb stem. (A few irregular forms of perfect do not reduplicate, whereas a handful of irregular aorists reduplicate.) The three types of reduplication are: Irregular duplication can be understood diachronically. For example, lambanō (root lab ) has
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3906-512: The appearance of things there was the permanent principle of mathematics. The Doric order dominated during the 6th and the 5th century BC but there was a mathematical problem regarding the position of the triglyphs, which could not be solved without changing the original forms. The order was almost abandoned for the Ionic order , but the Ionic capital also posed an insoluble problem at the corner of
3999-451: The architects were trying to achieve this esthetic perfection. From the earliest times there were certain rules strictly observed in rectangular peripteral and prostyle buildings. The first buildings were built narrowly in order to hold the roof, and when the dimensions changed some mathematical relations became necessary in order to keep the original forms. This probably influenced the theory of numbers of Pythagoras , who believed that behind
4092-419: The augment when it was word-initial. In verbs with a preposition as a prefix, the augment is placed not at the start of the word, but between the preposition and the original verb. For example, προσ(-)βάλλω (I attack) goes to προσ έ βαλoν in the aorist. However compound verbs consisting of a prefix that is not a preposition retain the augment at the start of the word: αὐτο(-)μολῶ goes to ηὐ τομόλησα in
4185-400: 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. He then started to walk, which caused the island to be filled with gold. The island Delos used to be Asteria , a goddess who jumped into the waters to escape the advances of Zeus and became a free-floating island of the same name. When Leto got pregnant, Hera
4278-469: The beginning of the common era , but the Doric form, Apellon ( Ἀπέλλων ), is more archaic, as it is derived from an earlier * Ἀπέλjων . It probably is a cognate to the Doric month Apellaios ( Ἀπελλαῖος ), and the offerings apellaia ( ἀπελλαῖα ) at the initiation of the young men during the family-festival apellai ( ἀπέλλαι ). According to some scholars, the words are derived from
4371-581: The capital of ancient Macedonia ) and Πελλήνη ( Pellēnē / Pellene ). The Hittite form Apaliunas ( x-ap-pa-li-u-na-aš ) is attested in the Manapa-Tarhunta letter . The Hittite testimony reflects an early form * Apeljōn , which may also be surmised from the comparison of Cypriot Ἀπείλων with Doric Ἀπέλλων . The name of the Lydian god Qλdãns /kʷʎðãns/ may reflect an earlier /kʷalyán-/ before palatalization, syncope, and
4464-438: The center of Greek scholarship, this division of people and language is quite similar to the results of modern archaeological-linguistic investigation. One standard formulation for the dialects is: West vs. non-West Greek is the strongest-marked and earliest division, with non-West in subsets of Ionic-Attic (or Attic-Ionic) and Aeolic vs. Arcadocypriot, or Aeolic and Arcado-Cypriot vs. Ionic-Attic. Often non-West
4557-468: The circumstances of Laocoön's death: perfusus sanie vittas clamores simul horrendos qualis mugitus, fugit taurus et incertam his fillets soaked with saliva at the same time he lifted horrendous like the bellowing when fleeing bull and has shaken the His holy fillets His roaring fills Thus, when an ox He breaks his bands, And with loud bellowings The story of Laocoön
4650-615: The dialect of Sparta ), and Northern Peloponnesus Doric (including Corinthian ). All the groups were represented by colonies beyond Greece proper as well, and these colonies generally developed local characteristics, often under the influence of settlers or neighbors speaking different Greek dialects. After the conquests of Alexander the Great in the late 4th century BC, a new international dialect known as Koine or Common Greek developed, largely based on Attic Greek , but with influence from other dialects. This dialect slowly replaced most of
4743-555: The earliest temples, especially in Crete , do not belong to any Greek order. It seems that the first peripteral temples were rectangular wooden structures. The different wooden elements were considered divine , and their forms were preserved in the marble or stone elements of the temples of Doric order . The Greeks used standard types because they believed that the world of objects was a series of typical forms which could be represented in several instances. The temples should be canonic , and
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#17327653705904836-632: The empire of the Hittites , and from there into Greece. Homer pictures Apollo on the side of the Trojans , fighting against the Achaeans , during the Trojan War . He is pictured as a terrible god, less trusted by the Greeks than other gods. The god seems to be related to Appaliunas , a tutelary god of Wilusa ( Troy ) in Asia Minor, but the word is not complete. The stones found in front of
4929-526: The following periods: Mycenaean Greek ( c. 1400–1200 BC ), Dark Ages ( c. 1200–800 BC ), the Archaic or Epic period ( c. 800–500 BC ), and the Classical period ( c. 500–300 BC ). Ancient Greek was the language of Homer and of fifth-century Athenian historians, playwrights, and philosophers . It has contributed many words to English vocabulary and has been
5022-486: The future he would punish a slanderous woman in Thebes ( Niobe ), so he did not want to be born there. Leto then went to Thessaly and sought the help of the river nymphs who were the daughters of the river Peneus. Though he was initially fearful and reluctant, Peneus later decided to let Leto give birth in his waters. He did not change his mind even when Ares produced a terrifying sound and threatened to hurl mountain peaks into
5115-477: The gates of Homeric Troy were the symbols of Apollo. A western Anatolian origin may also be bolstered by references to the parallel worship of Artimus ( Artemis ) and Qλdãns , whose name may be cognate with the Hittite and Doric forms, in surviving Lydian texts . However, recent scholars have cast doubt on the identification of Qλdãns with Apollo. The Greeks gave to him the name ἀγυιεύς agyieus as
5208-497: The hands of Leto's offspring. However, on Zeus' orders, Boreas carried away Leto and entrusted her to Poseidon . To protect her, Poseidon took her to the island Ortygia and covered it with waves so that the sun would not shine on it. Leto gave birth clinging to an olive tree and henceforth the island was called Delos. Other variations of Apollo's birth include: Aelian states that it took Leto twelve days and twelve nights to travel from Hyperborea to Delos. Leto changed herself into
5301-561: The historical Dorians . The invasion is known to have displaced population to the later Attic-Ionic regions, who regarded themselves as descendants of the population displaced by or contending with the Dorians. The Greeks of this period believed there were three major divisions of all Greek people – Dorians, Aeolians, and Ionians (including Athenians), each with their own defining and distinctive dialects. Allowing for their oversight of Arcadian, an obscure mountain dialect, and Cypriot, far from
5394-476: The historical circumstances of the times imply that the overall groups already existed in some form. Scholars assume that major Ancient Greek period dialect groups developed not later than 1120 BC, at the time of the Dorian invasions —and that their first appearances as precise alphabetic writing began in the 8th century BC. The invasion would not be "Dorian" unless the invaders had some cultural relationship to
5487-448: The horse inside their city walls. Thus, the Trojans wheeled the great wooden horse in. Laocoön did not give up trying to convince the Trojans to burn the horse. According to one source, it was Athena who punished Laocoön even further, by sending two giant sea serpents to strangle and kill him and his two sons. Another version of the story says that it was Poseidon who sent the sea serpents to kill them. And according to Apollodorus , it
5580-409: The island, she sat down against a palm tree and asked Apollo to be born. During the childbirth, swans circled the island seven times, a sign that later on Apollo would play the seven-stringed lyre. When Apollo finally "leapt forth" from his mother's womb, the nymphs of the island sang a hymn to Eileithyia that was heard to the heavens. The moment Apollo was born, the entire island, including the trees and
5673-407: The island. Delos then revealed to Leto that Apollo was rumoured to be the god who will "greatly lord it among gods and men all over the fruitful earth". For this reason, all the lands were fearful and Delos feared that Apollo would cast her aside once he is born. Hearing this, Leto swore on the river Styx that if she is allowed to give birth on the island, her son would honour Delos the most amongst all
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#17327653705905766-420: The island. Thus, clutching a palm tree, Leto finally gave birth after labouring for nine days and nine nights, with Apollo "leaping forth" from his mother's womb. The goddesses washed the newborn, covered him in a white garment and fastened golden bands around him. As Leto was unable to feed him, Themis , the goddess of divine law, fed him nectar and ambrosia . Upon tasting the divine food, the child broke free of
5859-438: 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. Pregnant with the offsprings of Zeus, Leto wandered through many lands wanting to give birth to Apollo. However all the lands rejected her out of fear. Upon reaching Delos, Leto requested the island to shelter her, and that in return her son would bring fame and prosperity to
5952-497: The more popular Apollo. A non-Greek origin of Apollo has long been assumed in scholarship. The name of Apollo's mother Leto has Lydian origin, and she was worshipped on the coasts of Asia Minor . The inspiration oracular cult was probably introduced into Greece from Anatolia , which is the origin of Sibyl , and where some of the oldest oracular shrines originated. Omens, symbols, purifications, and exorcisms appear in old Assyro - Babylonian texts. These rituals were spread into
6045-400: The name Apollo with the Doric ἀπέλλα ( apella ), which means "assembly", so that Apollo would be the god of political life, and he also gives the explanation σηκός ( sekos ), "fold", in which case Apollo would be the god of flocks and herds. In the ancient Macedonian language πέλλα ( pella ) means "stone," and some toponyms may be derived from this word: Πέλλα ( Pella ,
6138-404: The north. The connection with the northern-dwelling Dorians and their initiation festival apellai is reinforced by the month Apellaios in northwest Greek calendars. The family-festival was dedicated to Apollo ( Doric : Ἀπέλλων ). Apellaios is the month of these rites, and Apellon is the "megistos kouros" (the great Kouros). However it can explain only the Doric type of the name, which
6231-481: The noun Paeon to designate both a god and that god's characteristic song of apotropaic thanksgiving and triumph. Such songs were originally addressed to Apollo and afterwards to other gods: to Dionysus , to Apollo Helios , to Apollo's son Asclepius the healer. About the 4th century BCE, the paean became merely a formula of adulation; its object was either to implore protection against disease and misfortune or to offer thanks after such protection had been rendered. It
6324-508: The older dialects, although the Doric dialect has survived in the Tsakonian language , which is spoken in the region of modern Sparta. Doric has also passed down its aorist terminations into most verbs of Demotic Greek . By about the 6th century AD, the Koine had slowly metamorphosed into Medieval Greek . Phrygian is an extinct Indo-European language of West and Central Anatolia , which
6417-464: The other hand, Apollo also encouraged the founding of new towns and the establishment of civil constitutions, is associated with dominion over colonists , and was the giver of laws. His oracles were often consulted before setting laws in a city. Apollo Agyieus was the protector of the streets, public places and home entrances. In Hellenistic times, especially during the 5th century BCE, as Apollo Helios he became identified among Greeks with Helios ,
6510-418: The other lands. Assured by this, Delos agreed to assist Leto. All goddesses except Hera also came to aid Leto. However, Hera had tricked Eileithyia , the goddess of childbirth, to stay on Olympus, due to which Leto was unable to give birth. The goddesses then convinced Iris to go bring Eileithyia by offering her a necklace of amber 9 yards (8.2 m) long. Iris did accordingly and persuaded Eileithyia to step onto
6603-487: The perfect stem eilēpha (not * lelēpha ) because it was originally slambanō , with perfect seslēpha , becoming eilēpha through compensatory lengthening. Reduplication is also visible in the present tense stems of certain verbs. These stems add a syllable consisting of the root's initial consonant followed by i . A nasal stop appears after the reduplication in some verbs. The earliest extant examples of ancient Greek writing ( c. 1450 BC ) are in
6696-532: The personification of the Sun. Although Latin theological works from at least 1st century BCE identified Apollo with Sol , there was no conflation between the two among the classical Latin poets until 1st century CE. Apollo ( Attic , Ionic , and Homeric Greek : Ἀπόλλων , Apollōn ( GEN Ἀπόλλωνος ); Doric : Ἀπέλλων , Apellōn ; Arcadocypriot : Ἀπείλων , Apeilōn ; Aeolic : Ἄπλουν , Aploun ; Latin : Apollō ) The name Apollo —unlike
6789-446: The pre-Lydian sound change *y > d. Note the labiovelar in place of the labial /p/ found in pre-Doric Ἀπέλjων and Hittite Apaliunas . A Luwian etymology suggested for Apaliunas makes Apollo "The One of Entrapment", perhaps in the sense of "Hunter". Apollo's chief epithet was Phoebus ( / ˈ f iː b ə s / FEE -bəs ; Φοῖβος , Phoibos Greek pronunciation: [pʰó͜i.bos] ), literally "bright". It
6882-452: The prehistory of Apollo worship, which he termed "a Dorian-northwest Greek component, a Cretan-Minoan component, and a Syro-Hittite component." In classical times, his major function in popular religion was to keep away evil, and he was therefore called "apotropaios" ( ἀποτρόπαιος , "averting evil") and "alexikakos" ( ἀλεξίκακος "keeping off ill"; from v. ἀλέξω + n. κακόν ). Apollo also had many epithets relating to his function as
6975-462: The presence of a cult image in a sanctuary, or simply making a sacrifice in the temple with his wife present. In this second group of versions, the snakes were sent by Poseidon and in the first by Poseidon and Athena , or Apollo , and the deaths were interpreted by the Trojans as proof that the horse was a sacred object. The two versions have rather different morals: Laocoön was either punished for doing wrong, or for being right. The death of Laocoön
7068-511: The primitive god Paean ( Παιών-Παιήων ), who did not have a cult of his own. Paean serves as the healer of the gods in the Iliad , and seems to have originated in a pre-Greek religion. It is suggested, though unconfirmed, that he is connected to the Mycenaean figure pa-ja-wo-ne (Linear B: 𐀞𐀊𐀺𐀚 ). Paean was the personification of holy songs sung by "seer-doctors" ( ἰατρομάντεις ), which were supposed to cure disease. Homer uses
7161-426: The protector god of public places and houses who wards off evil and his symbol was a tapered stone or column. However, while usually Greek festivals were celebrated at the full moon , all the feasts of Apollo were celebrated on the seventh day of the month, and the emphasis given to that day ( sibutu ) indicates a Babylonian origin. The Vedic Rudra has some functions similar to those of Apollo. The terrible god
7254-665: The related older name Paean —is generally not found in the Linear B ( Mycenean Greek ) texts, although there is a possible attestation in the lacunose form ]pe-rjo-[ (Linear B: ] 𐀟𐁊 -[) on the KN E 842 tablet, though it has also been suggested that the name might actually read " Hyperion " ([u]-pe-rjo-[ne]). The etymology of the name is uncertain. The spelling Ἀπόλλων ( pronounced [a.pól.lɔːn] in Classical Attic ) had almost superseded all other forms by
7347-420: The river. But Leto herself declined his help and departed, as she did not want him to suffer for her sake. After being turned away from various lands, Apollo spoke again from the womb, asking his mother to take look at the floating island in front of her and expressing his wish to be born there. When Leto approached Asteria, all the other islands fled. But Asteria welcomed Leto without any fear of Hera. Walking on
7440-485: The same locality. Lycia was sacred to the god, for this Apollo was also called Lycian. Apollo's cult was already fully established when written sources commenced, about 650 BCE. Apollo became extremely important to the Greek world as an oracular deity in the archaic period , and the frequency of theophoric names such as Apollodorus or Apollonios and cities named Apollonia testify to his popularity. Oracular sanctuaries to Apollo were established in other sites. In
7533-517: The syllabic script Linear B . Beginning in the 8th century BC, however, the Greek alphabet became standard, albeit with some variation among dialects. Early texts are written in boustrophedon style, but left-to-right became standard during the classic period. Modern editions of ancient Greek texts are usually written with accents and breathing marks , interword spacing , modern punctuation , and sometimes mixed case , but these were all introduced later. The beginning of Homer 's Iliad exemplifies
7626-449: The three Moirai . Scorning the advances of Zeus, Asteria transformed herself into a bird and jumped into a sea. From her, an island rose which was called Ortygia. When Hera discovered that Leto was pregnant with Zeus' child, she decreed that Leto can give birth only in a place where sun does not shine. During this time, the monster Python also started hounding Leto with an intent of killing her, because he had foreseen his death coming at
7719-403: The verse "Châtiment effroyable" ("frightful punishment"). Compiled by Tracy, which includes a fragmentary line possibly by Nicander : Ancient Greek language Ancient Greek ( Ἑλληνῐκή , Hellēnikḗ ; [hellɛːnikɛ́ː] ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into
7812-404: The waters, became gold. Asteria bathed the newborn, swaddled him and fed him with her breast milk. The island had become rooted and was later called Delos. Hera was no longer angry, as Zeus had managed to calm her down; and she held no grudge against Asteria, since Asteria had rejected Zeus in the past. Pindar is the earliest source who explicitly calls Apollo and Artemis as twins. Here, Asteria
7905-655: Was Apollo who sent the two sea serpents, because Laocoön had insulted Apollo by having sex with his wife in front of his cult statue. Virgil used the story in the Aeneid . According to Virgil, Laocoön advised the Trojans not to receive the horse from the Greeks. They were taken in by the deceitful testimony of Sinon and disregarded Laocoön's advice. The enraged Laocoön threw his spear at the Horse in response. Minerva then sent sea serpents to strangle Laocoön and his two sons, Antiphantes and Thymbraeus, for his actions. According to
7998-480: Was Aeolic. For example, fragments of the works of the poet Sappho from the island of Lesbos are in Aeolian. Most of the dialect sub-groups listed above had further subdivisions, generally equivalent to a city-state and its surrounding territory, or to an island. Doric notably had several intermediate divisions as well, into Island Doric (including Cretan Doric ), Southern Peloponnesus Doric (including Laconian ,
8091-399: Was a sea-god worshipped especially in Crete and in the islands. Apollo's sister Artemis , who was the Greek goddess of hunting, is identified with Britomartis (Diktynna), 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 whose name has been lost; aspects of this figure may have been absorbed into
8184-643: Was famously depicted in a much-admired marble Laocoön and His Sons , attributed by Pliny the Elder to the Rhodian sculptors Agesander , Athenodoros , and Polydorus , which stands in the Vatican Museums , Rome . Copies have been executed by various artists, notably Baccio Bandinelli . These show the complete sculpture (with conjectural reconstructions of the missing pieces) and are located in Rhodes , at
8277-563: Was in this way that Apollo had become recognized as the god of music. Apollo's role as the slayer of the Python led to his association with battle and victory; hence it became the Roman custom for a paean to be sung by an army on the march and before entering into battle, when a fleet left the harbour, and also after a victory had been won. In the Iliad , Apollo is the healer under the gods, but he
8370-400: Was told that Leto's son would become more dear to Zeus than Ares. Enraged by this, Hera watched over the heavens and sent out Ares and Iris to prevent Leto from giving birth on the earth. Ares, stationed over the mainland, and Iris, over the islands, threatened all the lands and prevented them from helping Leto. When Leto arrived at Thebes, fetal Apollo prophesied from his mother's womb that in
8463-464: Was venerated as the slayer of the monstrous serpent Python . For the Greeks, Apollo was the most Greek of all the gods, and through the centuries he acquired different functions. In Archaic Greece he was the prophet , the oracular god who in older times was connected with "healing". In Classical Greece he was the god of light and of music, but in popular religion he had a strong function to keep away evil. Walter Burkert discerned three components in
8556-535: Was very commonly used by both the Greeks and Romans for Apollo's role as the god of light. Like other Greek deities, he had a number of others applied to him, reflecting the variety of roles, duties, and aspects ascribed to the god. However, while Apollo has a great number of appellations in Greek myth, only a few occur in Latin literature . Apollo's birthplace was Mount Cynthus on the island of Delos . Delphi and Actium were his primary places of worship. Apollo
8649-521: Was worshipped throughout the Roman Empire . In the traditionally Celtic lands, he was most often seen as a healing and sun god. He was often equated with Celtic gods of similar character. Apollo is considered the most Hellenic (Greek) of the Olympian gods . The cult centers of Apollo in Greece, Delphi and Delos , date from the 8th century BCE. The Delos sanctuary was primarily dedicated to Artemis , Apollo's twin sister. At Delphi, Apollo
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