StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...

The God Apollo: Threat and Help for the Greeks - Term Paper Example

Cite this document
Summary
The god Apollo had several powers that both aid and harm men from the ancient world. Consequently, this important deity was both loved and feared by the citizens of the Greek society. Concerning Apollo’s importance to the Greeks, there were numerous and various…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER92.7% of users find it useful
The God Apollo: Threat and Help for the Greeks
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "The God Apollo: Threat and Help for the Greeks"

Download file to see previous pages

The god Apollo had several powers that both aid and harm men from the ancient world. Consequently, this important deity was both loved and feared by the citizens of the Greek society. Concerning Apollo’s importance to the Greeks, there were numerous and various. The role of Apollo to the life of the Greeks greatly depended on the god’s specific power or attribute. This deity has many and varied abilities and capabilities. It is arguably presumed that Apollo is the “most Greek of the gods” (Burkert 143).

Of all the gods known to the ancient Greeks, Apollo stands tall and high. The Greek citizens perhaps perceived the importance of Apollo with respect to his particular attribute: youth. As seen in many art objects portraying the Apollo image, this god is commonly depicted as a young man possessing a beautiful body and figure. It is noteworthy that the Greeks considerably value all things or ideas that are ideal and pure. The Greek philosopher Plato, for instance, had theorized about and thoroughly promoted truth or reality in its ideal form.

Further, mathematics -- the most ideal facet of human knowledge -- was highly esteemed by the Greek intellectuals such as Euclid and Pythagoras. Thence, what was ideal appeared to fascinate the olden Greeks. Burkert states that Apollo, as an embodiment of youth and vigor, was the culture of the Greeks. Here, Apollo is idealized; in particular, the concept of youth attributed to this god is “raised to its ideal” state (Burkert 143). . As the deity of healing, the ancient people constantly approached Apollo especially during times of serious epidemic (Littleton 133).

In fact, few temples were built for Apollo Medicus as a dedication to the god of healing. Apollo was also prominent among the ancient people as the god of prophecy and divination. In fact, this deity had shared the “workings of fate” with the great god Zeus. Budin argues that the knowledge of prophecy was chiefly the domain of Zeus (268). Nevertheless, the supreme god of the Greek and Roman worlds had permitted his son Apollo to share the knowledge of the workings of fate. Budin contends that Apollo became the deity of divination by virtue of his birth right: Zeus’s first son.

In general, Apollo helps the Greeks and the Romans through prophesy and healing. Apollo had largely contributed in the spheres of culture and entertainment. Other equally important functions of this deity were poetry and music. It is interesting to note that the laurel leaves, in the contemporary epoch, are representations of the poet and his or her poetry. The laurel tree, for the record, is Apollo’s favorite. The legend of the laurel tree originates from the tragic story of Daphne whom Apollo loves dearly.

In addition, Stechow says that laurel leaves, in the ancient world, were placed underneath one’s pillow before he or she falls asleep in order to know the truth about one’s dream (70). Dreams and prophecies are, again, attributed to Apollo. On the other hand, Apollo’s being the god of music is associated to his relationship with the Muses (Budin 268). Burkert observes that the Muses always surround Apollo (173). The Muses are lovers of poetry, music, and other cultural elements. Further, this god is famous for his

...Download file to see next pages Read More
Tags
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“The God Apollo: Threat and Help for the Greeks Term Paper”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/literature/1421673-final-essay-classics
(The God Apollo: Threat and Help for the Greeks Term Paper)
https://studentshare.org/literature/1421673-final-essay-classics.
“The God Apollo: Threat and Help for the Greeks Term Paper”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/literature/1421673-final-essay-classics.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF The God Apollo: Threat and Help for the Greeks

On the Mythological Origins of Logo's

Her beauty was renown and when the Olympian god apollo caught a glimpse of her while she was visiting the Oracle at his shrine or Temple in Delphi.... So, she then began to see a relationship between the changing and the unchanging, and understood that just like the unchanging 'pole star' helped to locate the more changing other constellations of stars, that which is stable will always help to understand that which is changing.... Knowing the future, she knew that her daughter would one day pose a threat to the Gods and felt that if they knew that, they would come after her....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

Representation of the Goddess Isis in Ancient Egypt

For instance, Zeus is viewed as the mighty king of all gods and goddesses of ancient Greece, while Apollo is believed to be the god of the sun and music and Mars is the god of war, while Eurybia is the sea goddess.... The same is applied to the Egyptian civilization of ancient times, where the people had developed faith in supernatural powers, and sought their help at every hour of need....
7 Pages (1750 words) Term Paper

Delian League and the Athens Empire

The activities of the Athens in the leadership of the League prompted the question, were Athens trying to genuinely make a united government under their leadership to promote a better defence against the Persian threat or were the Delian League just an attempt by them to create a Thalassocracy.... The Persian threat, although having been key to the formation of the government, in a big way, it was not the main interest of the Athenians.... In explaining whether Athens was genuinely making a united government under their leadership to promote a better defence against the Persian threat, reasons for the formation of the Delian League are discussed....
9 Pages (2250 words) Essay

Greek Temples and French Gothic Cathedrals

the greeks created the three variations of columns the Doric, the Ionic and the Corinthian.... Finally, it could be said that greeks like their architecture had a much simpler way of life and the Gothic with all its innovations initiated the beginning of the modern era, which is anything but simple.... Each temple had its cult-image or the statue of their community god who would protect them against all evils....
8 Pages (2000 words) Coursework

The Use of Symbolism in The Iliad by Homer

Achilles is the greatest warrior among the greeks.... They manage to kill him with the help of Apollo, a god.... Achilles sends his mother to make a new armor for him made by the fire god....  This essay discusses symbolism in The Iliad by Homer....
7 Pages (1750 words) Research Paper

Gods and Goddesses

the greeks came into contact with Romans right from the moment the city started to expand in size.... Most gods that the Romans worshipped came from the greeks.... For example, the Romans began worshipping the goddess Cybele because of the threat that Hannibal was posing towards the people of Rome.... Jupiter was their main god, while Juno was his wife, and she was regarded as a goddess of fertility....
5 Pages (1250 words) Research Paper

Heracles in Euripides: Hero or Villain

According to the greeks, any human child that was fathered by a god was regarded as a hero who would one day save the Greek community from their problems.... He defends the innocent, protects his family from any kind of threat and was regarded as a superhuman (Holmes, 2008).... He created most of his problems, for example, he once threatened a priestess of apollo at Delphi when he asked a question and no one answered him.... According to classical myths, a hero has extraordinary strength and courage and is regarded as the offspring of a god....
2 Pages (500 words) Assignment

Comparison of the Iliad, Odyssey and Aeneid

In Aeneid, the human character Aeneas in his journey upon leaving his homeland to search for another; received help from the gods as shown when his goddess mother, Venus rescued him from death at the Trojan War.... This essay "Comparison of the Iliad, Odyssey and Aeneid" comprehensively delves into the differences and similarities in the connection among humans, gods and fate....
10 Pages (2500 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us