Apollo

Gods and Heroes of the Ancient World

by Fritz Graf

Fritz Graf here presents a survey of a god once thought of as the most powerful of gods, and capable of great wrath should he be Apollo the sun god.From his first attestations in Homer, through the complex question of pre-Homeric Apollo, to the opposition between Apollo and Dionysos in nineteenth and twentieth-century thinking, Graf examines Greek religion and myth to provide a full account of Apollo in the ancient world.For students of Greek religion and culture, of myth and legend, and in the fields of art and literature, Apollo will provide an informative and enlightening introduction to this powerful figure from the past.

Genres: Mythology, Nonfiction, History, Religion, Greece, Ancient History

190 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[☾ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es un buen libro informativo, reúne toda la información sobre Apolo de forma bastante ordenada y fácil de digerir. Sin embargo esperaba algo más de profundidad en la explicación de sus rituales.

[Kev Watson]

I will need to revisit this book. I feel like I'm not smart enough to grasp what's going on at any point in time.

[Thea · Rating 1 out of 5]

The author is a well know professor in the field so I'm shocked about the superficiality and, worst, the mistakes in this work. The book has same correct general information for those who know nothing about Apollo, but also unjustifiable errors as well as a clear bias that seems to be homophobic. The author makes basic unacceptable errors: he says that the Pythia had to be a virgin when this only occurred in the early years of the oracle of Delphi (later they were older women in celibacy), he says that the seer Helenus only heard when in the Iliad he sees Athena's eyes, etc. He, by the way, decided to talk about the Trojan seer twins Helenus and Cassandra, but he writes less than a page and in a very confusing way if not incorrect.He also talk about Claros but do not mention Manto the founder. And when talking, for example, about Apollo's loves he buys into the idea that 'they were always unhappy' and mentions only 4 cases (one of which was Cyrene was happy), forgetting dozens of other love affairs of the god with mortals or goddesses that worked out. And how can we talk about Apollo's loves without mentioning his male lovers? Only an atrocious conservatism or an unconscious homophobia can justify someone in the 21st century talking about the love life of the most bisexual of the gods without mentioning his male lovers. He only talks, almost ashamed of Hyacinthus and Branchus because he couldn't help but talk about them, but he curiously excludes these relationships when talking about the god's love life as if they didn't exist. And this is just one of the many flaws in a book that disappoints those who want correct information. And the form of the book is confuse starting with literary sources and not, as expected, with the gods origins. Very disappointing!
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[Nicholas Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pleasantly surprised, and I will very likely read more from this series in the future.

[Nani Chen · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favourite portion was the discussion on Neoplatonism and hermeneutics!

[Angharad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Apollo is the strangest, most complex, multifaceted, multicultural, and perhaps one of the most influential of all the Olympians on the landscapes of history and culture. He's also the one that's dearest to my heart, and that I'll never be able to read enough about. Over the past few years, I've read about 6000 pages of pdfs about the Leader of the Golden Muses, where he could have come from, and how his worship is critical to truly being able to understand so many different branches of religion, occultism, alchemy, and art.

I disagree academically with some of Fritz Graf's takes about Apollo, I just take that as is. My own research into the god has pointed me in opposite directions than where Graf would point me. I don't disagree with everything, however, and what sat right with me stayed with me. I think this book is a fine jumping off point into study of Apollo, specifically, and your own conclusions should be met with diverse research beyond just one book or one paper. Still, this is a fine one to read.

[Jay Fisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although a little light on the reception of Apollo after antiquity, this book is a rich and suggestive discussion of a complex Greek god by one of my old teachers.

[elara · Rating 5 out of 5]

love this series.