Apollo: God of music, prophecy and more
Apollo is a god connected with many things; there is no one thing he is the god of. He is connected with music, prophecy, archery, medicine, and through the process of assimilation, he sometimes takes over the role of the sun-god from Helios. The first image below is a white-ground vase painting showing Apollo seated with his instrument, the lyre. The crow seen on the left is from a specific story, in which the crow started out white but was made black forever because it delivered bad news to Apollo. The second image is a typical Roman-era statue of Apollo, easily recognized again by his lyre. The third image is the sculpture by Michelangelo, but this is not considered one of his major works.
White-ground
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Roman
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Michelangelo
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Apollo in the Pediment of Zeus' Temple at Olympia
We have already seen the first image in Section 3, a museum model of Olympia with the temple of Zeus in the center. Inside this temple was the colossal statue by Pheidias, but this time we are going to focus only on one of the two pediment sculptures. The fragments of these figures were discovered by archaeologists in the late 1800s, and enough remains to come up with a probable restoration, seen here. The story being depicted is the fight between the Lapiths and the Centaurs; the Lapiths had gathered to celebrate a marriage, but the event was disrupted when the brutish centaurs rushed in, attempting to steal the Lapith women. The men fought valiantly against the centaurs, and here in this pediment, we see Apollo as the tallest figure in the center, helping to subdue the centaurs. Apollo is clearly a symbol of civilization triumphing over savagery, a representative of the younger generation of the Olympians. The final image is a close-up of the head of Apollo; it is unquestionably a product of the early Classical period, dated to about 470 B.C. There is no explanation as to why Apollo is the major figure on a temple dedicated to Zeus.
Olympia - model
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Pediment
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Center 1
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Center 2
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Head
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Apollo Belvedere
Nothing definite is known about the artist or location of this statue of the god. It is first mentioned in an inventory taken in 1509 of artwork belonging to the Vatican, where it is still on display. When scholars began the systematic study of ancient art in the 1700s, this figure was first praised as an example of the finest work of the Classical period. However, the latest opinions have reclassified this as most likely a Roman copy (perhaps 2nd c. A.D.) which was based on a 4th century B.C. Greek work. The name Belvedere comes from the gallery in the Vatican where it is displayed. In the 1960s, the name Apollo was given to NASA's manned lunar landing program, although no one knows for sure why this god's name was chosen, since he is not closely connected with the moon. The sixth and final moon landing was the Apollo 17 mission in December 1972, and the mission patch, seen here, included the head of the Apollo Belvedere.
Belv 1
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Belv 2
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Belv 3
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NASA
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Apollo's contests with Pan & Marsyas
Apollo is featured in two very similar stories, in which his musical skill with the lyre is challenged by a rival. In the first story, the challenger was the god Pan, known for his talent with the syrinx, or pan-pipes. The judge of the contest was the god of Mt. Tmolus, and one spectator was king Midas. In the first painting below by Jordaens, we see Mt. Tmolus giving Apollo the victory crown, but Midas objected, proclaiming that Pan should have won; Apollo then punished Midas by giving him the ears of an ass. The second painting, by Sebastiano Ricci, clearly shows Apollo with the rays of the sun-god around him. The third painting by Halle once again focuses on the punishment of Midas.
Jordaens
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Ricci
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Halle
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Perugino
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Raphael
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Domenichino
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Ribera
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Titian
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Apollo and the Oracle of Delphi
One of the most sacred places of ancient Greece was Delphi, in the region of known as Phocis. This was a fairly remote location, far from major urban centers, nestled alongside Mt. Parnassus (mentioned previously in connection with the Muses). In some ways, Delphi was similar to Olympia, in the sense that it was a sort of neutral ground, where the different cities of Greece, often in conflict with one another, could participate equally. The main attraction of Delphi was the temple of Apollo which was the site of the oracle. The remains of the temple are seen in these modern photos (one, two, three). The next image is a museum model of Delphi restored to its appearance in ancient times, followed by a stone which is shaped like the famous Omphalos at Delphi, said to mark the exact center of the world (the word omphalos is Greek for navel or belly-button).
Delphi - now 1
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Delphi - now 2
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Delphi - Tholos
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Model
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Omphalos
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One of the most important myths about Apollo is how he became the god at Delphi, a story told in the Homeric Hymn to Apollo. This poem tells how Apollo had to first defeat a monstrous creature, the previous owner of the sacred site, known as Pytho or Python, the offsping of Typhoeus. This is the subject of the ceiling mural in the Apollo Gallery of the Louvre by Delacroix, seen below in the first image; Apollo as the god of sunlight and order against the chaotic forces below. Next is the sculpture by Rodin, showing Apollo triumphant over the dead body of Pytho. The next image is a red-figure vase painting showing Apollo's priestess (known as the Pythia, a name derived from the dead monster Pytho) performing the duty of the oracle: the male on the right has come to consult the oracle, while she responds seated in a bronze tripod (an object not normally used as a chair). Then a painting by John Collier from 1891 with the priestess seen seated over a gaseous fissure. The last two images are two views of the same red-figure vase painting, depicting Apollo himself seated in the tripod, playing his lyre; the second view clearly seems to show the tripod as a seafaring vehicle. Whether or not the oracle really had prophetic powers is of course impossible to say; but certainly the ancient Greeks firmly believed in these messages from Apollo delivered through the Pythia.
Delacroix
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Rodin
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Pythia
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Collier
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Red-figure 1
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Red-figure 2
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Apollo & Daphne
In several of the myths of Apollo, there is a recurring theme of tragic love affairs; it seems that despite his good looks, Apollo almost always got involved in relationships that didn't work out. One of the best examples is the story of Daphne. The story begins with a quarrel between Apollo and Eros (Cupid), with Apollo claiming to be the master of archery, and Eros just a child with his tiny weapon. Eros took his revenge against Apollo by causing him to fall in love with the girl named Daphne, but he shot her with an arrow that makes her despise Apollo. This is the scene in the first painting below by Poussin; the rest all depict the tragic end, where Daphne prays to the gods to do anything to let her escape Apollo, and the result is her transformation into the laurel tree (the word Daphne is Greek for the laurel tree). The second image is a Roman mosaic, followed by a Renaissance painting by Pollaiuolo. The next painting is by Tiepolo, with Apollo clearly shown with the rays of the sun-god around his head; and then a second painting by Poussin with Apollo taking some of the laurel leaves to make himself a memento of his lost love.
Poussin 1
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Mosaic
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Pollaiuolo
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Tiepolo
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Poussin 2
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Bernini's Apollo & Daphne
The final set of images are several different views of the Baroque sculpture by Bernini, definitely one of his finest masterpieces, now at the Borghese Gallery in Rome. It was produced between 1622-25. (One, two, three, and detail)
Bernini 1
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Bernini 2
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Bernini 3
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Bernini 4
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Book
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Daphne
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Hermes (Mercury), the Messenger god
Probably the most familiar image of this god is the way he appears here in the famous bronze sculpture from the Renaissance by Giovanni da Bologna (known sometimes as Giambologna, an abbreviation of his name). Hermes/Mercury appears as a youthful, beardless male, with his winged helmet and winged feet, symbols of his quickness. The sculpture is seen here from three slightly different angles (one, two, three); following this is a similar depiction which was part of a ceiling mural by Tiepolo. Hermes' staff, known as the caduceus, was originally the symbol of being a herald or messenger; only later did it become associated with medicine and doctors.
Giam
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Giam 2
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Giam 3
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Tiepolo
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Bronze
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Shep.
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Herm
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Herm
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Argus
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Psychopompus
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Hermes and Dionysus by Praxiteles
One of he most significant sculptures of Hermes is this one, discovered in the 1800s in the ruins of Hera's temple at Olympia. Thanks to a written description recorded in ancient times, we can identify this as the work of Praxiteles, the artist most famous for the Aphrodite of Knidos, described in Section 4. The god Hermes is seen holding the infant Dionysus, who will grow up to be the god of wine (and covered in the next section, 7). We know that the broken arm of Hermes was holding a cluster of grapes in front of the baby, teasing him with the grapes from which his wine will be made. There is something of a controversy surrounding this sculpture, a debate on whether this is the original work of Praxiteles, or a very close copy made later. Certain details of the figure resemble trends from later times, but no one can really say for certain. If it is not the original work, it is an extremely faithful duplicate. The last view is a recent tourist photo that shows the rear view, not often pictured.
Front 1
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Front 2
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Head
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Rear
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Pan, the goatherd god
This next set of images depict the god Pan, one of the important minor gods, who is unique in that he is part human and part goat. He was a god of woodlands and pastures, known especially for two things: his extremely lustful nature and his musical instrument, the syrinx or pan-pipes. The first images are two views (overall and a close-up) of a red-figure vase painting showing the lustful Pan pursuing a shepherd boy. This painting gives a name to the artist now known as the Pan Painter, since we do not know his actual name, as is often the case. This vase features on its opposite side the scene of Artemis and Actaeon seen in Section 5. The close-up shows the head of Pan and a somewhat-comical looking herm-statue, described just above. Certainly there is an obvious parallel being made between the herm statue and the aroused Pan. The next image is a Hellenistic sculpture of Pan with a young man, a mythical musician named Olympus. Although it seems innocent at first, with Pan teaching him to play the pipes, there is little doubt that Pan has more on his mind than a music lesson. After that is a sculpture we saw previously in Section 4, with Pan putting the moves on Aphrodite, a Hellenistic work found on the island of Delos. One more depiction of Pan from the ancient world is this wall painting from Pompeii.
Pan painter
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Detail
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Olympus
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Delos
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Pompeii
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Romano
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Böcklin
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Böcklin
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Jordaens
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