Author Description

Apollo is a comprehensive study of the Greek god in all his aspects, from the first attestations of his myth and worship to his reception in modern European and American culture. Fritz Graf uses literary texts, inscriptions, and archaeological finds to develop the complex image of a young god who was central to Greek culture, both in the way the Greeks themselves perceived him and as later ages looked at the Greeks. Apollo was the god of what the Greeks called mousikē, a combination of song, lyre music, and dance. He was the god of divination: as Zeus' favorite son, he had direct access to the mind of Zeus and was willing to reveal this knowledge to humans. He was the god of healing: as a healer he arrived in Rome and from there in the Western provinces of the Roman Empire. He was the god of the young male citizen and through them the protector of all citizens of a Greek city-state. He has ties to the Ancient Near East, but he is no Eastern god brought to Greece; he became important in Etruria, Italy, and the Roman West. -- back cover.