Apollo and the Muses Apollon, Apollo and more, were the names of this Sun-God. When the Goddess Hera, the wife of Zeus found out about Leto's pregnancy, by her own husband Zeus, she was outraged with jealousy. Seeking revenge Hera forced Leto, the lover of Zeus, to roam the earth in search of a place to give birth. Since Hera had forbidden Leto to stay anywhere on earth, either on terra-firma or an island at sea, the only place to seek shelter was Delos, being in the center of the Aegean and also difficult to reach, as there were strong under-currents. Because it was a floating island, it was not considered in Hera's prohibitions and so Leto was able to give birth to the divine twins Apollo and Artemis. Before Leto gave birth to Apollo, the island was encircled by a flock of swans, this is why the swan was sacred to him. As a gesture of thanks Delos was secured to the sea-bed by four columns to give it stability and from then on it became one of the most important sanctuaries for Apollo. During Leto's search for a place to give birth, the snake Python of Delphi, having been warned that Leto's son would be the snake's demise, attempted to kill Leto as she had passed by on her way to Delos. In Homer's hymn we're told that after the birth of Apollo on Delos, he then, in revenge for his mother's near death experience, went to Delphi and killed the snake Python with his bow. Then Apollo went for justice sake, into exile for many years to make atonement for his crime of killing the snake. Upon his return the Sun-God Apollo took his place as the God and conqueror of Delphi. Apollo and his beloved Daphne The beautiful river nymph Daphne pictured above, was Apollo's first love. To teach Apollo the God of rationality, a lesson for insulting him, Eros better known as Cupid, the son of Aphrodite, was angered by Apollo's remark that he was little and weak. Therefore Eros shot two arrows, one tipped with gold and one tipped with lead. The arrow tipped with gold had the power to create insatiable lust of love in a God or in a mortal, while the other tipped with Lead, created absolute abhorrence towards all things romantic and passionate. The unfortunate soul who was struck with that arrow would have no desire to love anyone. The arrow tipped in gold struck Apollo, but the arrow tipped in lead struck the beautiful Daphne, who was the daughter of the River-God Peneus. Apollo chased down the maiden, desperate for her love, but because of Ero's curse, she wanted nothing to do with him and ran from him endlessly. Soon, she grew weary of running and thought that Apollo would ultimately catch her. Fearful, she called out to her father for help. As all Gods of water posses the ability of transformation, Peneus transformed his daughter into a laurel tree. Suddenly her legs took root, and her arms grew into long and slender branches. Apollo reached the laurel tree and still enamored with Daphne, held the tree forever in a special place in his heart. He claimed the tree as his special tree and adorned himself with a crown of laurel leaves, which he picked from this tree, just to be near his beloved Daphne for all times. Apollon - Daphne- and Poussin Since Apollo killed the Python of Delphi and took over that oracle and now he is the vanquisher of unconscious terrors. He is golden-haired like the sun, he is an archer who shoots arrows of insight and or death, he is a God of music and the lyre. Healing belongs to his realm: he was the father of Asclepius, the God of medicine. The Muses are part of his retinue so that music, history, dreams, poetry, dance, all belong to him. The Muses are those we call on when we evoke creative imagination to give us helpful tender images to live by. "Know Thyself" This famous Greek maxim is attributed to many ancient Greek philosophers, including the great Socrates. However, according to the ancient historian Plutarch, "Know Thyself" was originally the admonition "Gnothi se auton" inscribed on the Sun-God Apollo's Oracle of Delphi temple in ancient Greece. Plutarch should know about the inscription on the Oracle, since he was once one of its caretakers. In deference to Socrates, it is known that Apollo's Oracle of Delphi identified him as being the wisest of all men. Apollo was worshiped throughout the Greek world. At Delphi every four years the Pythian Games were held in his honor. He had many epithets including: "Pythian Apollo" his name at Delphi; :"Apollo Apotropaeus" Apollo who averts evil and: "Apollo Nymphegetes" Apollo who looks after the Nymphs. As the God of the shepherds he also had the cult titles: "Lukeios" protecting the flocks from the wolfs and: "Nomius" protecting the pastures. Being the God of colonists, Apollo influenced his priests at Delphi to give divine guidance, as to where the expedition should proceed. This was during the height of the colonizing era circa 750-550 b.C. Apollo's title was then: "Archigetes" leader of the colonists. According to one legend, it was Apollo who helped either Cretan or Arcadian colonists found the city of Troy. Apollo had his ominous aspects too. Marsyas, who dared challenge him to a music contest, was flayed after he lost, signifying the stripping power of light. Apollo's arrows can symbolize the rays of the sun that bring light and insight, but they also can bring death. The Iliad begins with a terrible pestilence that Apollo brought down upon the Greeks because they dishonored one of his priests. Apollo's arrows of death, struck again when Queen Niobe, who was excessively proud of her seven sons and seven daughters and disparaged Apollo's mother Leto, for having only two children, Apollo and Artemis. In art Apollo is at most times depicted as a handsome young man, clean shaven and carrying either a lyre, or his bow and arrows. There are many sculptures of Apollo and one of the most famous is the central figure from the west pediment of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia, showing Apollo declaring victory in favor of the Lapiths in their struggle against the Centaurs. In the sixth century b.C. Apollo was depicted as a bearded God, which proved later to be the paradigm of the male attractiveness, in the form of a naked youth, but also as a kithara-player. The Kithara was the premier musical instrument of ancient Greece and was played both in popular music and in serious forms of music. Larger and heavier than a lyre, the kithara was a loud, sweet, and piercing instrument with precision tuning ability. It was said some players could make it cry. Apollo and Aphrodite Two more beautiful oil paintings of and with Apollo