In Greek mythology , Styx ( / ˈ s t ɪ k s / ; Ancient Greek : Στύξ [stýks] ; lit. "Shuddering"), also called the River Styx , is a goddess and one of the rivers of the Greek Underworld . Her parents were the Titans Oceanus and Tethys , and she was the wife of the Titan Pallas and the mother of Zelus , Nike , Kratos , and Bia . She sided with Zeus in his war against the Titans, and because of this, to honor her, Zeus decreed that the solemn oaths of the gods be sworn by the water of Styx.
96-666: According to the usual account, Styx was the eldest of the Oceanids , the many daughters of the Titan Oceanus , the great world-encircling river, and his sister-wife, the Titaness Tethys . However, according to the Roman mythographer Hyginus , she was the daughter of Nox ("Night", the Roman equivalent of Nyx ) and Erebus (Darkness). She married the Titan Pallas and by him gave birth to
192-828: A bronze Océanide in 1933 which was equally suited for outdoor display. Largely abstract in conception, the sea connection is suggested by the shell-like wave shape that upholds one of her legs. Several copies of the sculpture exist, displayed in the Middelheim Open Air Sculpture Museum outside Antwerp, the German Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe and the Centre Pompidou in Paris. And in Australia Helen Leete went on to create an equally abstracted group of "Oceanides" in 1997 to mount on
288-697: A certain Ptolemy Hephaestion (probably referring to Ptolemy Chennus ) knew of a story, "concerning the water of the Styx in Arcadia", which told how an angry Demeter had turned the Styx's water black. According to James George Frazer , this "fable" provided an explanation for the fact that, from a distance, the waterfall appears black. Water from this Styx was said to be poisonous and able to dissolve most substances. The first-century natural philosopher Pliny , wrote that drinking its water caused immediate death, and that
384-446: 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 , 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
480-412: 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
576-439: A heavy trance overshadows him. But when he has spent a long year in his sickness, another penance more hard follows after the first. For nine years he is cut off from the eternal gods and never joins their councils or their feasts, nine full years. But in the tenth year he comes again to join the assemblies of the deathless gods who live in the house of Olympus. The Roman poet Ovid has Jove (the Roman equivalent of Zeus) swear by
672-612: A high and beetling rock. Far under the wide-pathed earth a branch of Oceanus flows through the dark night out of the holy stream, and a tenth part of his water is allotted to her. In the Iliad the river Styx forms a boundary of Hades, the abode of the dead, in the Underworld. Athena mentions the "sheer-falling waters of Styx" needing to be crossed when Heracles returned from Hades after capturing Cerberus , and Patroclus 's shade begs Achilles to bury his corpse quickly so that he might "pass within
768-477: A nude extended on the shore in the track of the incoming tide, of which a more sympathetic critic of the 1905 Salon noted how the artist delights in comparing a lissom body to the sea's undulations. Manchester-born Annie Swynnerton 's "Oceanid" emerging from the sea was painted the same year and is presently in the Cartwright Hall Art Gallery, Bradford. Sculptures of the subject are comparable to
864-505: 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
960-423: A single drop from that holiest—and cruelest—of springs? Even the gods and Jupiter himself are frightened of these Stygian waters. You must know that, at least by hearsay, and that, as you swear by the powers of the gods, so the gods always swear by the majesty of the Styx. Styx, along with the underworld rivers Cocytus and Acheron , were associated with waterways in the upper world. For example, according to Homer,
1056-529: 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
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#17328441446561152-467: A town (in what was then ancient Arcadia and now modern Achaea ) not far from Pheneus , and says that the Spartan king Cleomenes , would make men take oaths swearing by its water. Herodotus describes it as "a stream of small appearance, dropping from a cliff into a pool; a wall of stones runs round the pool". Pausanias reports visiting the "water of the Styx" near Nonacris (which at the time of his visit, in
1248-581: Is a branch of the Styx. In Dante 's Inferno , Phlegyas ferries Virgil and Dante across the foul waters of the river Styx which is portrayed as a marsh comprising the Hell 's Fifth Circle, where the angry and sullen are punished. By metonymy , the adjective stygian ( /ˈstɪdʒiən/ ) came to refer to anything unpleasantly dark, gloomy, or forbidding. In the Homeric Hymn 2 to Demeter Persephone names Styx as one of her "frolicking" Oceanid -companions when she
1344-503: 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 the beginning of
1440-401: 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
1536-501: 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
1632-428: 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 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
1728-742: 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
1824-727: 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
1920-570: Is considered to be the most beautiful god and is represented as the ideal of the kouros (ephebe, or a beardless, athletic youth). Apollo 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
2016-469: Is credited to Apollo and his sister Artemis. Apollo is usually described as carrying a silver or golden bow and 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
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#17328441446562112-550: Is one of the Olympian deities in classical Greek and Roman religion and Greek and Roman mythology . Apollo has been recognized as 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
2208-547: The Homeric Hymns . Demeter asks the "implacable" water of Styx to be her witness, as she swears to Metaneira , Leto swears to the personified Delos by the water of Styx, calling it the "most powerful and dreadful oath that the blessed gods can swear", while Apollo asks Hermes to swear to him on the "dread" water of Styx. Hesiod , in the Theogony , gives an account of how this role for Styx came about. He says that, during
2304-559: The Golden Fleece , the Argonauts made an offering of flour, honey, and sea to the ocean deities, sacrificed bulls to them, and entreated their protection from the dangers of their journey. They were also recorded as the companions of Persephone when she was abducted by Hades. The goddess Artemis requested that sixty Oceanids of nine years be made her personal choir, to serve her as her personal handmaids and remain virgins. Hesiod gives
2400-504: The Titanomachy , the great war of Zeus and his fellow Olympians against Cronus and his fellow Titans, Zeus summoned "all the deathless gods to great Olympus" and promised, to whosoever would join him against the Titans, that he would preserve whatever rights and offices each had, or if they had none under Cronus, they would be given both under his rule. Styx, upon the advice of her father Oceanus,
2496-496: 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
2592-521: The nymphs who were the three thousand (a number interpreted as meaning "innumerable") daughters of the Titans Oceanus and Tethys . The Oceanids' father Oceanus was the great primordial world-encircling river, their mother Tethys was a sea goddess, and their brothers the Potamoi (also three thousand in number) were the personifications of the great rivers of the world. Like the rest of their family,
2688-494: 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
2784-412: The "famous cold water" of Styx for the gods to swear by, and describes the punishments which would follow the breaking of such an oath: For whoever of the deathless gods that hold the peaks of snowy Olympus pours a libation of her water and is forsworn, must lie breathless until a full year is completed, and never come near to taste ambrosia and nectar, but lie spiritless and voiceless on a strewn bed: and
2880-776: 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
2976-534: 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,
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3072-559: The Great's death was caused by being poisoned with the water of this Styx. The Arcadian Styx may have been named so after its mythological counterpart, but it is also possible that this Arcadian stream was the model for the mythological Styx. The latter seems to be the case, at least, for the Styx in Apuleius 's Metamorphoses , which has Venus , addressing Psyche , give the following description: Do you see that steep mountain-peak standing above
3168-498: The Greek Helios ) promised his son Phaethon whatever he desired, which also resulted in the boy's death. The goddess Styx, like her father Oceanus, and his sons the Potamoi , was also a river, in her case, a river of the Underworld. According to Hesiod, Styx was given one-tenth of her father's water, which flowed far underground, and came up to the surface to pour out from a high rock: the famous cold water ... trickles down from
3264-608: 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
3360-622: The Musée départemental de Gap . The other, titled simply The Oceanids (The Naiads of the Sea) (1869), was by Gustave Doré . Lehmann's painting was savaged as lacking in Classical decorum by the critics of the Salon at which it was exhibited; in particular, the nymphs clustered about the sea-girt rock on which Prometheus is chained were compared to "a troop of young seals clambering onshore". Doré's naiads, engaged in
3456-517: The Oceanid nymphs were associated with water, as the personification of springs. Hesiod says they are "dispersed far and wide" and everywhere "serve the earth and the deep waters", while in Apollonius of Rhodes ' Argonautica , the Argonauts , stranded in the desert of Libya, beg the "nymphs, sacred of the race of Oceanus" to show them "some spring of water from the rock or some sacred flow gushing from
3552-504: 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
3648-451: 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
3744-400: 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
3840-571: The blessed gods". Homer has Hera (in the Iliad ) say this when she swears by Styx to Zeus, that she is not to blame for Poseidon's intervention on the side of the Greeks in the Trojan War , and he has Calypso (in the Odyssey ) use the same words when she swears by Styx to Odysseus that she will cease to plot against him. Also Hypnos (in the Iliad ) makes Hera swear to him "by the inviolable water of Styx". Examples of oaths sworn by Styx also occur in
3936-570: 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
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4032-472: 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 the related older name Paean —is generally not found in the Linear B ( Mycenean Greek ) texts, although there
4128-551: 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
4224-406: The earth". The Oceanids are not easily categorized, nor confined to any single function, not even necessarily associated with water. Though most nymphs were considered to be minor deities, many Oceanids were significant figures. Metis , the personification of intelligence, was Zeus ' first wife, whom Zeus impregnated with Athena and then swallowed. The Oceanid Doris , like her mother Tethys,
4320-558: 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
4416-482: 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
4512-472: 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
4608-515: The gates of Hades" and join the other dead "beyond the River". So too in Virgil 's Aeneid , where the Styx winds nine times around the borders of Hades, and the boatman Charon is in charge of ferrying the dead across it. More usually, however, Acheron is the river (or lake) which separates the world of the living from the world of the dead. In the Odyssey , Circe says that the Underworld river Cocytus
4704-497: 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
4800-427: The hoof of a female mule was the only material not "rotted" by its water. According to Plutarch the poisonous water could only be held by an ass's hoof, since all other vessels would "be eaten through by it, owing to its coldness and pungency." While according to Pausanias, the only vessel that could hold the Styx's water (poisonous to both men and animals) was a horse's hoof. There were ancient suspicions that Alexander
4896-409: 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
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#17328441446564992-407: 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
5088-420: 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
5184-438: 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
5280-497: 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
5376-704: The mother of Iris and the Harpies . Other notable Oceanids include: Perseis , wife of the Titan sun god Helios and mother of Circe , and Aeetes the king of Colchis ; Idyia , wife of Aeetes and mother of Medea ; and Callirhoe , the wife of Chrysaor and mother of Geryon . Sailors routinely honored and entreated the Oceanids, dedicating prayers, libations, and sacrifices to them. Appeals to them were made to protect seafarers from storms and other nautical hazards. Before they began their legendary voyage to Colchis in search of
5472-400: 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 ,
5568-455: The name of one of Pluto's moons . The other moons of Pluto ( Charon , Nix , Hydra , and Kerberos ) also have names from Greco-Roman mythology related to the underworld. Oceanids In Greek mythology , the Oceanids or Oceanides ( / oʊ ˈ s iː ən ɪ d z , ˈ oʊ ʃ ə n ɪ d z / oh- SEE -ə-nidz, OH -shə-nidz ; Ancient Greek : Ὠκεανίδες , romanized : Ōkeanídes , pl. of Ὠκεανίς , Ōkeanís ) are
5664-575: The name of 41 Oceanids, with other ancient sources providing many more. While some were important figures, most were not. Some were perhaps the names of actual springs, others merely poetic inventions. Some names, consistent with the Oceanids' charge of having "youths in their keeping", represent things which parents might hope to be bestowed upon their children: Plouto ("Wealth"), Tyche ("Good Fortune"), Idyia ("Knowing"), and Metis ("Wisdom"). Others appear to be geographical eponyms , such as Europa, Asia, Ephyra ( Corinth ), and Rhodos ( Rhodes ). Several of
5760-579: The names of Oceanids were also among the names given to the Nereids . As a group, the Oceanids form the chorus of the ancient Greek tragedy Prometheus Bound , coming up from their cave beneath the ground to console the chained Titan Prometheus . There they are described as moving with haste, in contrast to the hero's immobility. In his new interpretation of the Greek play's continuation, Prometheus Unbound (1820), Percy Bysshe Shelley included three Oceanids among his characters. Ione and Panthea accompany
5856-404: 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
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#17328441446565952-481: 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
6048-418: 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
6144-521: The paintings in some respects. In Johann Eduard Müller's marble statue of "Prometheus and the Oceanides" (1868–79), the nymphs scramble upwards in an attempt to alleviate the Titan's suffering, as they do in Lehmann's canvas. The smaller-scale Océanides (1905) of Auguste Rodin cluster like waves breaking at the base of a rock, their "supple feminine forms emerging from rough marble". A larger scale version of
6240-422: The personifications Zelus (Glory, Emulation), Nike (Victory), Kratos (Strength, Dominion), and Bia (Force, Violence). The geographer Pausanias tells us that, according to Epimenides of Crete , Styx was the mother of the monster Echidna , by an otherwise unknown Perias. Although usually Demeter was the mother, by Zeus, of the underworld-goddess Persephone, according to the mythographer Apollodorus , it
6336-446: 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
6432-452: 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
6528-552: 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
6624-426: 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
6720-631: The river Titaressus , a tributary of the river Peneius in Thessaly , was a branch of the Styx. However Styx has been most commonly associated with an Arcadian stream and waterfall (the Mavronéri ) that runs through a ravine on the North face of mount Chelmos and flows into the Krathis river. The fifth-century BC historian Herodotus , locates this stream—calling it "the water of Styx"—as being near Nonacris
6816-420: 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
6912-485: 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
7008-501: The same occupation, were eventually identified more elegantly by Dorothea Tanning as akin to mermaids. Later artists reinterpreted the nymphs tumbling among the waves, as depicted by both painters, in order to portray individual Oceanids as female manifestations of sea foam. Examples include Wilhelm Trübner 's study of a female form in a frothy wave ( Weiblicher Akt im Schaum einer Welle ), which he titled "Oceanide" (1872); and William-Adolphe Bouguereau 's Océanide (1904), portraying
7104-515: The sculpture was finally cast in bronze in 1925 and is in Philadelphia's Rodin Museum . The fountain at York House, Twickenham concentrates on a purely marine theme and is of much wider extent. This gave the turn of the century sculptor, Oscar Spalmach (1864–1917), the opportunity to drape his white marble Oceanids about the rocks of the cascade in a variety of painterly poses. Henri Laurens created
7200-512: The seaside rocks off Manly, New South Wales . A musical interpretation of these mythical figures was the result of the visit by Jean Sibelius to the US in 1914, before which he was commissioned to compose a tone poem . Though this is generally titled The Oceanides (Opus 73), Sibelius referred to it in his diary as Aallottaret : the Finnish word for "nymphs of the waves". Phoebus Apollo
7296-458: The second century AD, was already a partially-buried ruins), saying that: Not far from the ruins is a high cliff; I know of none other that rises to so great a height. A water trickles down the cliff, called by the Greeks the water of the Styx. According to Aelian , Demeter caused the water of this Arcadian Styx "to well up in the neighbourhood of Pheneus". An ancient legend apparently also connected Demeter with this Styx. According to Photius ,
7392-477: The second-century Metamorphoses of Apuleius , one of the impossible trials which Venus imposed on Psyche was to fetch water from the Styx. Apuleius has the water guarded by fierce dragons ( dracones ), and from the water itself came fearsome cries of deadly warning. The sheer impossibility of her task caused Psyche to become senseless, as if turned into stone. Jupiter's eagle admonishes Psyche saying: Do you ... really expect to be able to steal, or even touch,
7488-467: The suffering hero and are joined by his lover, Asia . The setting is in the Caucasus mountains and Shelley describes these characters as winged beings. Two 19th century artists depicted the mourning of the Oceanids about the rock on which Prometheus is chained, which was interpreted in this case as rising mid-ocean. The first of these was La Désolation des Océanides (1850) by Henri Lehmann , presently in
7584-449: 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
7680-580: The towering cliff? Dark waves flow down from a black spring on that peak and are enclosed by the reservoir formed by the valley nearby, to water the swamps of Styx and feed the rasping currents of Cocytus. That Apuleius has his "black spring" being guarded by dragons, also suggests a connection between his Styx and two modern local names for the waterfall: the Black Water ( Mavro Nero ) and the Dragon Water ( Drako Nero ). On 2 July 2013, "Styx" officially became
7776-516: The waters of Styx when he promises Semele : Whatever thy wish, it shall not be denied, and that thy heart shall suffer no distrust, I pledge me by that Deity, the Waves of the deep Stygian Lake,—oath of the Gods. and was then obliged to follow through even though he realized to his horror that Semele's request would lead to her death. Similarly Phoebus (here identified with Sol , the Roman equivalent of
7872-404: 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
7968-424: The young is one of the best attested facets of his panhellenic cult persona. As a kourotrophos , Apollo 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
8064-483: The young. According to Hesiod, who described them as "neat-ankled daughters of Ocean ... children who are glorious among goddesses", they are "a holy company of daughters who with the lord Apollo and the Rivers have youths in their keeping—to this charge Zeus appointed them". Like Metis, the Oceanids also functioned as the wives (or lovers) of many gods, and the mothers, by these gods, of many other gods and goddesses. Doris
8160-458: Was Styx. However, when Apollodorus relates the famous story of the abduction of Persephone, and the search for her by her angry and distraught mother, as usual, it is Demeter who conducts the search. Styx was the oath of the gods. Homer calls Styx the "dread river of oath". In both the Iliad and the Odyssey , it is said that swearing by the water of Styx, is "the greatest and most dread oath for
8256-399: 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
8352-474: Was abducted by Hades . According to the Achilleid , written by the Roman poet Statius in the 1st century AD, when Achilles was born his mother Thetis tried to make him immortal by dipping him in the river Styx; however, he was left vulnerable at the part of the body by which she held him: his left heel. And so Paris was able to kill Achilles during the Trojan War by shooting an arrow into his heel. In
8448-460: Was an important sea-goddess. While their brothers, the Potamoi, were the usual personifications of major rivers, Styx (according to Hesiod the eldest and most important Oceanid) was also the personification of a major river, the underworld 's river Styx. And some, like Europa, and Asia , seem associated with areas of land rather than water. The Oceanids were also responsible for keeping watch over
8544-412: Was in general seen as the god who affords help and wards off evil, and is referred to as Alexicacus , 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
8640-504: 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
8736-405: Was the first to side with Zeus, bringing her children by Pallas along with her. And so in return Zeus appointed Styx to be "the great oath of the gods, and her children to live with him always." According to Hesiod, Styx lived at the entrance to Hades, in a cave "propped up to heaven all round with silver pillars". Hesiod also tells us that Zeus would send Iris , the messenger of the gods, to fetch
8832-530: Was the wife of the sea-god Nereus , and the mother of the fifty sea nymphs, the Nereids . Styx was the wife of the Titan Pallas , and the mother of Zelus , Nike , Kratos , and Bia . Eurynome , Zeus' third wife, was the mother of the Charites . Clymene was the wife of the Titan Iapetus , and mother of Atlas , Menoetius , Prometheus , and Epimetheus . Electra was the wife of the sea god Thaumas and
8928-400: 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
9024-464: 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
9120-531: 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
9216-515: 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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