myth

Apollo

God of music, poetry, the arts

What is the duality with Apollo's associations?

- associated with both violence and cultural arts

Why is Apollo associated with healing?

- can send plagues

- can cure illness

- connected to the Muses

Asclepius

A god of healing, son of Apollo

Chiron

The wisest of the centaurs who becomes Asclepius' mentor

Epidaurus

a theater (that sits 15,000 people) and has perfect acoustics. its where the greatest of greek tragedies were performed

theatre is associated with Asclepius

Rod of Asclepius

Greek symbol associated with medicine and healing.

Many people often confuse hermes' caduceus to be associated with medicine (BIG MISTAKE)

Hygieia

- Asclepius' daughter

- associated with the hypocratic oath that doctor's take

- associated with hygiene

What are the other daughters of Apollo assoicated with

associated with ideas of healing and healing arts

Apollo: God of oracles and Prophecy

- Had access to Zeus' thoughts

- Has prophetic powers and is often associated as a counsel figure for Zeus

Apollo's prophetic powers in the Euminedes

He gave Orestes the directive to kill Clytemnestra, which came directly from Zeus' thoughts

Sanctuaries of Apollo

Delphi, Delos, Didyma

Delphi

An ancient city in central Greece, in Phocis: site of an oracle of Apollo

-home to the Oracle, who transmitted prophecies from Apollo himself

The Pythia

Oracle of Delphi

Python in Greek Mythology

- a huge serpent that was killed by Apollo at Delphi because it would not let him find his oracle or because python killed Leto

Laurel Branch

Represents prophetic powers Apollo's sacred tree

- daphne reject Apollo, but as Apollo was embracing her, she turned into a laurel tree

- to commemmorate his love for Daphne

Story of Daphne and Apollo

Daphne was a Naiad Nymph in Greek Mythology, and was the daughter of a river god. She was famous for being incredibly beautiful and for catching the eye of Apollo. ... In retaliation, Eros fired two arrows: a gold arrow that struck Apollo and made him fall in love with Daphne, and a lead arrow that made Daphne hate Apollo.

Apollo: god of music and poetry

- Hermes gives his invented lyre to Apollo

- in other myths, Apollo invents it

Hymenaeus

- Apollo's son

- represents wedding songs

Orpheus

(Greek mythology) a great musician

- some versions say that Apollo gave the lyre to his son, Orestes

- he travels to the underworld when his wife dies by a snakebite in the hopes of resurrecting her

- He convinces Hades and Persephone to let Eurydice go in the condition that she walk behind him

- Orpheus looked back and Eurydice died, classic myth style

Musgates

leader of the Muses

Muses

Nine goddesses who inspired artists

Marsyas and Apollo

Marsyas, a mortal (or satyr), challenged apollo to a music battle and claimed that his artistic skills were superior to a God (oof lip sync battle or rap battle)

He (obviously) lost and got tied and flayled alive by Apollo (classic Game of Thrones style)

The Hyacinthia

- The second most important Spartan festival. It remembered the death of Apollo at the hands of Zephyrus.

- 3 day festival that initiates boys

- Focuses on Apollo being represented as a young man

- can indicate youthfulness in one aspect of life

Death of Hyacinthus

- accidentally killed by playing discus with Apollo (wait, ultimate frisbee can kill you??!)

Delos

Greek island sacred to Apollo

- this is where Leto gave birth to the twins because Hera's jealously cursed Leto not to find a stable place for childbirth

How many days and nights was Leto unable to give birth?

9 days and 9 nights

- problem solved when Eilithiya stepped in

Typhoeus and Apollo

- although Hesiod's theogony shows that Zeus defeats Typhoeus, there are some sources that say Apollo killed Typhoeus by shooting an arrow at her

Dionysus

God of wine and fertility

Birth of Dionysus

- Youngest of the Olympians

Traditional account:

- son of Zeus and Semele

- Hera becomes jealously (when is she not) and befriends Semele in the form of a mortal

- emerges from Zeus' thigh

Other accounts:

Dismemberment

- hera encourages the titans to dismember the baby Dionysus

- Eventual rebirth of other olympians

Dionysus as a foreign god

- comes from the East and joining the greek Pantheon later on

- interest for outsiders which is not normal for Greek standards (ass. with dangerous things)

Who fosters Dionysus?

Silenus

Dionysus: God of vegetation

- focus on grapes and wine

- fertility of land and humans

- wine

- male fertility

- violence can come with too much drinking

Thyrsus

- the wand/staff of Dionysus that is entwined w/ivy and a pinecone at the top

- staff with ivy and leaves, sometimes ribbons

- can be held by Maenads

Anthesteria

- Athenian festival to god Dionysus to celebrate spring and wine maturation

- opening of wine caskets

3 days of the Anthesteria

1. Pithoigia

2. Choes

3. Chytroi

All 3 days are associated with a vessel that carries wine (eg. jars, jugs, pots)

Pithoigia

Jar opening

Choes

Wine jugs

- silent drinking contest

- Walk to Dionysus' temple

- Dionysus' temple is in a Limnaeus ( "of the marshes"

Chytroi

- pots

- sacred marriage of Ariadne; fertility

- recounts the introduction of wine to Icarius, Erigone

Icarius and Erigone

Icarius was an man from Attica who was friendly to the god Dionysus; as a reward Dionysus gave him the gift of wine, which Icarius tried to share with his people; the effects of their first encounter with wine terrified them, and thinking they had been poisoned, they kill Icarius; Erigone, his daughter, will hang herself in grief.

The symposium

- ass. with dionysus

- drinking party for elite males

- ass. with males and sexuality

- have discussions with wine

- female and male servants present

- Apotropaic drinking vessels]

-dangers of wine

Female Hetaerae

female servants present in the symposium

God of Theatre

- Dionysus is ass. with theatre and masks