Term Paper on "Apollo and Artemis"

Term Paper 6 pages (2104 words) Sources: 10 Style: MLA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Apollo -- artemis

An Examination On The Greek Gods

apollo and artemis

As one of the most important of all the ancient Greek gods that dwelt on Mount Olympus and influenced the lives of men on earth, Apollo was the son of Zeus and Leto and was the twin brother of Artemis. He is generally seen as "the god of music, the archer, the god of healing, the god of light and truth who cannot speak a lie" ("The Ancient Gods -- Apollo," Internet). His origins as a Greek god are uncertain, for some scholars have suggested that he originated in Asia and was either "a Hittite god, a Hellenic double of the Arabic god Hobal, or a god of Lycia;" others have suggested that Apollo "because of his close relations with the Hyperboreans, was a Nordic divinity, brought by the Greeks from northern Europe in the course of their wanderings and migrations" into Greece proper some 5,000 years ago (Gimbutas, 114).

Apollo was first of all the Greek god of light, in some sense, a god of the sun. Thus, as a solar god, Apollo created the fruits of the world and made it possible for them to become ripe for consumption. He also protected the crops by eliminating all pests which might infest the fields while also driving off locusts to protect the harvest. Apollo was also seen as an archer-god who shot his arrows when a person died from a sudden death; in contrast, Apollo was a healer-god who drove away all illnesses. As Sir Paul Harvey relates, Apollo also stood as the god of divination and prophecy and was directly linked to "many early oracles, such as those at Thymbra, Gyrnia, and Thebes where Mantos devoted herself to the cult of Apollo" (178). In addition, Apollo represented the shepherd-god whose mission was to protect the flocks and also was seen as the musician-god, the god of song and of the lyre. As Homer describes him, when the gods of Mount Olympus listened to Apollo play his lyre, "they broke down in tears and cried like children and thus heaped much grace and divinity upon him" (Finley, 234).

The childhood of Apollo is quite dissimilar to that of other Greek gods, for it is said that he was not nourished by his mother's milk but by Themis who put nectar and sweet ambrosia to his lips which resulted in the infant Apollo "throwing of his swaddling clothes to reveal manly vigor which he proved immediately by battling the dreaded serpent Python" (Gimbutas, 156). Four days after his birth, Apollo set forth to find his sanctuary and armed with arrows forged by the god Hephaestus, he climbed the heights of Mount Olympus and then arrived in the valley of Crissa. He then exiled himself to Thessaly but soon returned to Delphi with "his head crowned by sacred laurels and escorted by chanting priests, singing songs of triumph" (Harvey, 180).

As a young man, Apollo became well-known amongst the Greeks for his heroism and dangerous exploits. As the celestial archer, Apollo fought against Ephialtes and Otus, two giants and the sons of Poseidon, and attempted to win the hearts of Hera and his sister Artemis. He also slew the giant Tityus who once assailed the honor of his mother Leto. For these and many other exploits, Apollo enjoyed special consideration on Mount Olympus, for upon entering, the assembly of gods "all rose in a sign of respect while his mother Leto would relieve him of his bow and quiver and hang them on a golden nail." His father Zeus always cordially welcomed his son with a golden cup of nectar, yet "cunning Hermes (a.k.a. Mercury in Roman mythology), dared to play tricks on his half-brother" which led to a number of disagreements between the two powerful gods of Olympus (Kerenyi, 245).

Since Apollo was endowed with all the charms of youth, strength and grace, he often found it rather easy to seduce a number of lovers. For example, he was greatly loved by the Oceanid Melia but was spurned by Daphne, a beautiful nymph. When he tried to ravage her, she firmly resisted and fled, but Apollo caught up with her and when she called upon Gaea, the earth mother, to protect her, the earth "opened up and Daphne disappeared. In her place, a laurel tree sprang up which was then adopted by Apollo as his own sacred plant" (Fantham, 345). Another conquest was Cyrene, the daughter of King Hypseus. As a huntress, Cyrene appealed greatly to Apollo and one day he saw her on the slopes of Mount Pelion wrestling with a lion. Charmed by her beauty and courage, Apollo "carried her away in a golden chariot to Libya, where she gave birth to his son Aristaeus" (Fantham, 346).

Of course, as the god of music, Apollo was always in the company of the Muses. These beings totaled nine in number -- Clio, Euterpe, Thalia, Melpomene, Terpsichore, Erato, Polyhymnia, Urania and Calliope. As Apollo's constant companions, the Muses often accompanied him on his travels about Greece, especially at Parnassus. It was here at this great mountain that a magical spring came forth which became sacred to the Muses, due to its waters providing poetic and musical inspiration. This magical fountain was regarded as "the source of the River Styx and was used in purification rites in Apollo's temple at Delphi" (Hurwitt, 267).

Much like Apollo himself, the mythology linked to Artemis is also highly-descriptive and fascinating and provides glimpses into the life of Apollo that are not usually available in most sources on Greek mythology. As one of the great divinities of the Greeks, Artemis, at least according to Homer and Hesiod, "was the daughter of Zeus and Leto" and was the sister of Apollo, born with him at the same time in the island of Delos." However, other Greek writers have pointed out that Artemis was "a daughter of Demeter and not of Leto" or was the daughter of Dionysus and Isis, the Egyptian goddess of the dead" and that Leto was merely her nurse" ("Encyclopedia: Greek Gods," Internet).

Artemis, according to legend, was born one day before her brother Apollo and shared many of his traits. She also accompanied him on his expedition against the serpent Python and during his exile to Thessaly. But unlike her brother, Artemis chose the rugged regions of Arcadia as her favorite place of abode and exile. At this "savage and mountainous region where torrents tumbled down the woody slopes and plunged through narrow gorges," Artemis, accompanied by a number of Oceanids and nymphs, discovered her joy connected with "the pleasure of the hunt" (Fantham, 256). As legend has it, Artemis, not long after her birth, sought out her father Zeus and upon finding him, "climbed upon his knees and begged him for a short tunic, hunting boots, a bow and quiver full of arrows" (Harvey, 345).

And also unlike her sexually-charged brother, Artemis was not very inclined toward love, due to the fact that she was a virgin huntress. She made her own chastity a strict law which she also imposed on her companions, both male and female. However, there was one incident that tempted the chaste heart of Artemis. One day, Orion, the hunter god and a strong swimmer, was bathing in the sea and had floated far beyond the shores. When Apollo saw this, he challenged his sister to "hit with an arrow the scarcely perceptible body of Orion." Artemis, not knowing that this figure was Orion, accepted the challenge and shot an arrow which pierced the temple of Orion (Hornblower, 256). Exactly what happened after this incident is not clear, but some Greek writers have suggested that Artemis, due to being in love with Orion, allowed him to ravish her on his own altar at Delos.

Artemis has also been described as possessing a dark and vindictive character quite out of line with her brother. For example, Artemis killed Chione whom her brother loved with all his heart; she also punished Niobe, the daughter of Tantalus, when she bragged openly about her ability to have many children (six sons and six daughters) and the inability of Leto to do the same. To punish this insolence, Artemis "struck down all twelve of Niobe's children with her arrows and Niobe, broken-hearted, persuaded Zeus to turn her into a rock" (Kerenyi, 312). Also, Artemis was a very vain goddess and constantly thrived on adoration and worship. Admetus, who had failed to offer sacrifice to Artemis upon his marriage, found the bridal chamber full of snakes; Oeneus, the ruler of Aetolia, forgot to consecrate the first fruits of his harvest to Artemis which resulted in "his territory being ravaged by a huge boar" and in the course of attempting to rid his land of this monster sent by Artemis, "his whole family perished" (Knox, 412).

An even more outrageous situation is linked to the Tauric Chersonese who worshipped a divinity later… READ MORE

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