Apollo Statue - Handmade Roman and popular Greek God - Decorative Gift Greek God Sculpture - Handmade Natural Marble Powder Sculpture

* THE MYTHOLOGICAL STORY OF APOLLO

Apollo is the Olympian god of the sun and light, music and poetry, healing and plagues, prophecy and knowledge, order and beauty, archery and agriculture. An embodiment of the Hellenic ideal of kalokagathia, he is harmony, reason and moderation personified, a perfect blend of physical superiority and moral virtue. A complex deity who turns up in art and literature possibly as often as Zeus himself, Apollo is the only major god who appears with the same name in both Greek and Roman mythology.

The origin of the name Apollo is still not properly understood. Many Greeks seem to have supposed that it stands for “destroyer,” but this was only one of the many suggestions (“redemptory,” “purifier,” “assembler,” “stony”). Modern scholars disagree with most of them, with the majority linking Apollo's name to the Greek word apella which means “a sheepfold,” and which may suggest that Apollo was originally merely a protector of the flocks and herds.

However, in time, he evolved to become a multifaceted god adored all over Greece as the perfectly developed classical male nude, the kouros. Beardless and athletically built, he is often depicted with a laurel crown on his head and either a bow and arrow or a lyre and plectrum in his hands. The sacrificial tripod – representing his prophetic powers – was another common attribute of Apollo, just as few animals linked with the god in various myths: wolf, dolphin, python, mouse, deer, swan.

Apollo was in charge of so many things that, naturally, even his more famous epithets are numerous. As a sun god, he was called “Phoebus,” or “bright.” As a prophet, the Greeks called him “Loxias,” or “The One Who Speaks Crookedly.” As the god of music, he was known as the “Leader of the Muses.” Finally, the places of Apollo's birth and worship adorned him with three other appellations: “Delian,” “Delphic,” and “Pythian.”

Apollo is the son of Zeus and Leto. As one of the numerous Zeus's lovers, his mother incurred the wrath of Hera, who sent the dragon Python to pursue Leto throughout all lands and forbade her to give birth anywhere on solid earth. Nobody would accept the pregnant Titaness, except for the island of Delos, where Leto first delivered Artemis while balancing her body on an olive branch. Afterward, Artemis helped her mother deliver Apollo as well.

After these events, Delos and Delphi became sacred sites for the worship of Zeus, Leto, Artemis, and, especially, Apollo. The high priestess Pythia presided over the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, serving as its enigmatic oracle.

The day he was born, Hermes invented the lyre and stole Apollo's cattle. So as to appease his older brother after he found out what happened, Hermes offered Apollo his new invention. Ever since then, the lyre became one of Apollo's most popular famous attributes, and its most celebrated master.

However, Apollo's virtuosity would be challenged on at least three different occasions. The first one to dare do such a thing was the least fortunate one, the satyr Marsyas. He wasn't bad at all playing the aulos (the double flute), even equaling Apollo's skill. However, he ultimately lost the contest, since, unlike Apollo, he couldn't sing while playing. As punishment, Marsyas was hanged inside a cave and was subsequently flayed alive. Fortunately for him, Pan survived unscathed after challenging Apollo and almost unanimously losing the contest. Midas, however the only judge who deemed that Pan was the better player – got what he deserved: asses' ears, since he obviously lacked human ears for music in the first place.

Apollo's most famous love interest was Daphne, a nymph who had once vowed to Artemis to remain eternally innocent. Apollo, however, fell for her and persistently stalked her, until one day Daphne couldn't take it no more. She asked from her father, the river god Peneus, to be transformed into something else. And just as Apollo was about to embrace her, she was – into a laurel tree. The god swore to love her forever and, ever since, he wears a laurel wreath as a token of his unhappy love.