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| Copy of the Apollo Belvedere (2nd century CE) |
Apollo’s
cult in Rome
In both the Roman and Hellenic pantheons
Apollo is the God of healing (and illness), light, music, poetry and prophecy. The
ancients often identified Apollo with the sun itself and thereby twinned with the
moon, thus Diana. In this guise he may be known as Sol, Phoebus or Helios. Popular
mythology designates him as the son of Jupiter and Latona, though Cicero
records that in ancient times there were multiple myths in relation to the Gods
– some with which we are no longer familiar.
For example, by one tradition Minerva is the mother of Apollo and by
another his father is Vulcan. Despite conflicting mythologies, ancient authors
agree on his fundamental attributes. Foremost, at least in the Roman pantheon,
he is a God associated with healing, good health and protection from disease
(Beard et al; Turcan; Warrior). The earliest evidence we have of his worship in
Rome dates to the 5th century BCE, when an appeal to heal a
pestilence and a vow to honour him with a temple was made – though we know he
was worshipped in Pompeii since at least the 6th century BCE. By the
3rd century BCE Ennius listed Apollo as one of the Dii Consentes, ie, one the major Gods of Rome, and coinage bearing
his image was minted. His cult became even more celebrated during the reign of
Augustus, who especially promoted Apollo, inter alia, by dedicating a magnificent
new temple to him on the Palatine Hill where the Sibylline books came to be
kept. More than this, Augustus specifically identified himself with Apollo in
various ways. When he was a young man he famously dressed as Apollo at a lavish
party. In his war with Mark Antony he credited Apollo’s favour as the reason
for his victory. A myth even arose that he was the son of the God, as recorded
by Suetonius:
“Atia [Augustus’ mother], with certain married women friends, once attended a solemn midnight service at the temple of Apollo, where she had her litter set down and presently fell asleep, as the others also did. Suddenly a serpent crept in to her and after a while glided away again. On awakening, she purified herself as if after sleeping with her husband. An irremovable coloured mark in the shape of a serpent, which then appeared on her body, made her ashamed to visit public baths any more, and the fact that Augustus was born nine months later suggested he was the son of Apollo. Before she gave birth … Augustus’ father [ie, Atia’s husband] Octavius dreamed that the sun rose from her womb [Suetonius, Divus Augustus].”