This session is dedicated to Apollo, one of the most striking figures of the Ancient Greek pantheon. Apollo is not only the god of light and the sun, but also the bearer of music, poetry, prophecy, purification, and order. He inspires with the sound of the lyre and speaks the future through the voice of prophecy. In this session, Apollo’s multilayered nature will be examined through mythological narratives, cult centers, and iconographic representations.

• The birth of Apollo: Leto’s exile, the sanctification of Delos
• His twinship with Artemis and the nature/culture duality
• Qualities of Apollo: mousikē, logos, katharsis
• The Delphic Oracle and the Pythia cult
• The language of Apollo’s prophecy: ambiguity and polysemy
• Music and the lyre: the Orpheus connection, relations with the Muses
• Apollo and love: the stories of Daphne, Cassandra, Hyacinthus
• The punishments of Apollo: the Marsyas myth
• The cult of Apollo: examples from Delos, Delphi, and Claros
• Apollo in vase imagery:
  • The god playing the lyre: unity of performance and music
  • Prophetic scenes with Cassandra
  • Apollo’s cold gaze: iconographic interpretations
• Apollo’s identity as a “god of order” and his contrast–connection with Dionysos