The Influence of Apollo and the Other Greek Gods
When it comes to the richness in culture, Greece can be one of the
candidates for the top spot. The glorious Golden Age has been has
resulted to an overall
change in the concepts of civilization. In fact, many of today’s customs
and practices have distinctions that show clear evidence of Greek
origin. Even the fashion industry has several traces of influences from
the costumes of the ancient Greeks. Aside from the cultural progress,
you can also consider Greek mythology as one of the major contributor to
the advancement of thoughts of the ancient people.
Greek mythology is filled with a variety of deity characters and most
of them have resemblance to the properties of mortal beings. Although
they have the same form and emotion as humans, the Greek gods possess
several supernatural abilities and immortality. Some of the well-known
figures in Greek mythology include Zeus, Apollo and many other gods that
comprise the gods of Mount Olympus. The cultural influence of the Greek
gods can be clearly seen on the adaptations to the costumes as well as
the existence of deity statues all over Greece especially in Delphi.
There are even researches that testify the existence of the 40-foot
statue to honour the greatness of the King of Gods in Olympia. The
polytheistic view of Greeks on their religion has led to the worship of
multiple deities. Although the believers of Greek religion honour all
the gods and goddesses, the methods of worship depend on the preferences
of the individual. Almost every aspect of the Earth and its resources
has a corresponding deity that serves as protector. Instead of having a
single deity to guide all sorts of needs of the people, there are
specific gods for war, for fertility and even for manufacturing and
cleaning.
Among the Greek gods, Apollo can be considered as one of the prominent
authorities. Aside from being recognized as the sun god, he is also the
son of the king of gods Zeus. He was born from the mythical figure known
as Leto with Artemis as his twin. His sister is the goddess of hunting
and is considered as the deity of the moon. Apollo is one of the most
influential deities as clearly seen with the number of scriptures and
sculptures honouring his greatness. Apollo’s human form is portrayed as
a man in a Greek costume cloak to hide his nakedness. He is recognized
as the god of several life aspects such as poetry, music, medicine,
healing and even archery and plague. He is also the deity of migrants
and is the protector of the flocks and herds. The wide variety of
aspects involved with Apollo makes him one of the highly acclaimed Greek
gods in history. Apollo has different sects all across Greece but most
of his devoted followers can be found on Delos and Delphi. He even
became an oracle and was able to communicate with the mortals. Since
Apollo has the capability to predict future outcomes, he was hailed by
the Greeks as one of the most important gods in Olympus. |
