on the god apollo and the changes inflicted upon him by augustus and ovid
TRANSCRIPT
on the god Apollo and the changes inflicted upon him by Augustus and Ovid
Augustus, Ovid, and the
Apollonian Dichotomy
Who is Apollo?
In contemporary understanding, Apollo is most commonly understood as the Greek god of light, healing, archers, poetry, prophecy, and music
He is associated with Delphi and the Delphic Oracle
He appears frequently in the works of Homer, and consequently appears in poetry (and, to a lesser extent, verse) from the time of the ancient Greeks until modern day
He is mostly represented as a kouros, or long-haired adolescent
The Apollo of Homer and the Greeks
Each polis had a different understanding of each deity, and Apollo was no exception
Different versions of gods would have their own epithets; Apollo Pythius, for example, is the Apollo who defeated Python
Homer popularized a warlike version of Apollo, or Apollo Far-Shooter, in his Iliad; he is connected with plague, healing, and the archery of the warrior
Homer’s Hymn to Apollo shows two cultic understandings of Apollo—Apollo Pythius and Apollo Delius (from Delus, his supposed place of birth)
The Hymn stresses his connections with music, the Muses, and prophecy
The Apollo of Pre-Augustan Rome
Before Augustus, Rome had only one temple to Apollo, the Temple of Apollo Medicus, also called the Apollinar
In Rome, Apollo was seen primarily as healer, though also somewhat as a provider of victory
Ludi Apollinares held yearly from 208 BCE until Rome’s adoption of Christianity
Apollo was a minor god in Rome, not a major one, and his characteristics were not as well-known as those of Venus or Mars or Jupiter
Augustus and Apollo Augustus fashioned Apollo into his personal
patron deity Adopted the Sphinx, which was associated
with Apollo, as his seal Began to wear laurel wreaths, culled from
Apollo’s sacred tree, with frequency Shortly after Caesar’s death, attended an
Olympian-themed party dressed as Apollo
Apollo had an already-existing sanctuary near Actium Augustus co-opts the Actian Apollo, naming
him the reason for his victory against Antony
Temple of Apollo Palatinus
Vowed by Augustus in 36 BCE after his defeat of Sextus Pompey Site struck by thunderbolt soon after;
construction viewed as being under the auspices of the god
Marble temple in Corinthian style
Highlighted Augustus’s connection with Apollo Temple was connected to Augustus’s house Gilded copies of Sybylline books were under
Augustus’s care in the Palatine Library Statue of Augustus as Apollo in Palatine
Library
Ovid and Apollo
Ovid frequently subverted Augustus’s values on marriage, sex, etc., and his representations of Apollo were no less offensive to the princeps
In Ars Amatoria, the portico of the Danaids at the Temple of Apollo is recommended as a site for picking up girls
Apollo in the Metamorphoses is a childish, almost subhuman character, self-important and utterly controlled by his own whims
“Apollo and Daphne”
You don't know who it is you run away from,That must be why you run. I am Lord of DelphiAnd Tenedos and Claros and Patara.Jove is my father. I am the revealerOf present, past and future; through my powerThe lyre and song make harmony; my arrowIs sure in aim—there is only one arrow surer,The one that wounds my heart. The power of healingIs my discovery; I am called the HealerThrough all the world; all herbs are subject to me.
Ov. Met. 1.514-523.
Conclusions
Apollo’s relatively empty personality in Rome before the Augustan era allowed for his visage and name to be co-opted
Augustus used Apollo for his own purposes by highlighting his own connection to Apollo as his protector and showcasing the god’s reason, moral uprightness, and association with victory
Ovid subverted Augustus’s Apollo by presenting the capricious and weak nature of Apollo and by demystifying his behaviors
Sources Augustus of Prima Porta. C. 20 BCE. Marble. Vatican, Rome.
http://www.skidmore.edu/classics/courses/2009fall/hi363r/primaporta2.jpg
De Isaac, Jasper. Portrait of Ovid. 17th C. CE. Engraving. Bibliotèque Nationale, Paris, France. http://www.scholarsresource.com/browse/work/2144595532
Hercules and Apollo struggling for the Delphic tripod. 28 BCE. Terracotta. Antiquario del Palatino, Rome. http://www.mcah.columbia.edu/roman/htm/lecture/kampen_l6_50.htm
Ovid. Metamorphoses. Trans. Rolfe Humphries. Bloomington: Indiana, 1955.
Schiavone, Andrea. Archer. 16th C. CE. National Gallery of Scotland. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/media_collection/6/D%201764.jpg
Waterhouse, J. W. Apollo and Daphne. 1908. Oil on canvas. Private collection. http://www.johnwaterhouse.com/view.cfm?recordid=93