apollon-quotes

[apollon-quotes]

"You [Apollo] who know the appointed end of all things, and all the paths that lead to them? And how many leaves the earth puts forth in spring, and how many grains of sand in the sea and in rivers are dashed by the waves and the gusting winds; and that which will be, and from where it will come, all this you clearly see."

- Pindar, Pythian Ode 9

[apollon-quotes]

"Hië, Hië, Paeëon, we hear – since this refrain did the Delphian folk first invent, what time thou [Apollo] didst display the archery of they golden bow. As thou wert going down to Pytho, there met thee a beast unearthly, a dread snake. And him thou didst slay, shooting swift arrows one upon the other; and the folk cried “Hië, Hië, Paeëon, shoot an arrow!” A helper from the first thy mother bare thee, and ever since that is thy praise."

- Callimachus, Hymn to Apollo

[apollon-quotes]

Lord of many prayers, - thine altars wear flowers in spring, even all the pied flowers which the Hours lead forth when Zephyrus breathes dew, and in winter the sweet crocus. Undying evermore is thy fire, nor ever doth the ash feed about the coals of yester-even. Greatly, indeed, did Phoebus rejoice as the belted warriors of Enyo danced with the yellow-haired Libyan women, when the appointed season of the Carnean feast came round.

- Callimachus, Hymn to Apollo

[apollon-quotes]

"Four years of age was Phoebus when he framed his first foundations in fair Ortygia near the round lake. Artemis hunted and brought continually the heads of Cynthian goats and Phoebus plaited an altar. With horns builded he the foundations, and of horns framed he the altar, and of horns were the walls he built around. Thus did Phoebus learn to raise his first foundations."

- Callimachus, Hymn to Apollo

[apollon-quotes]

"None is so abundant in skill as Apollo. To him belongs the archer, to him the minstrel; for unto Apollo is given in keeping alike archery and song. His are the lots of the diviner and his the seers; and from Phoebus do leeches know the deferring of death. And Phoebus it is that men follow when they map out cities. For Phoebus himself does weave their foundations."

- Callimachus, Hymn to Apollo

[apollon-quotes]

"Be hushed, ye that hear, at the song to Apollo; yea, hushed is even the sea when the minstrels celebrate the lyre or the bow, the weapons of Lycoreian Phoebus. Neither doth Thetis his mother wail her dirge for Achilles, when she hears Hië Paeëon, Hië Paeëon."

- Callimachus, Hymn to Apollo

[apollon-quotes]

"Apollo will honour the choir, since it sings according to his heart; for Apollo has power, for that he sits on the right hand of Zeus. Nor will the choir sing of Phoebus for one day only. He is a copious theme of song; who would not readily sing of Phoebus?"

- Callimachus, Hymn to Apollo

[apollon-quotes]

"Golden is the tunic of Apollo and golden his mantle, his lyre and his Lyctian bow and his quiver: golden too are his sandals; for rich in gold is Apollo, rich also in possessions: by Pytho mightst thou guess. And ever beautiful is he and ever young: never on the girl cheeks of Apollo has come so much as the down of manhood."

- Callimachus, Hymn to Apollo

[apollon-quotes]

"Not unto everyone doth Apollo appear, but unto him that is good. Who so hath seen Apollo, he is great; who so hath not seen him, he is of low estate. We shall see you, O Archer, and we shall never be lowly. Let no youths keep silent lyre or noiseless step, when Apollo visits his shrine."

- Callimachus, Hymn to Apollo

[apollon-quotes]

"How the laurel branch of Apollo trembles! How trembles all the shrine! Away, away, he that is sinful! Now surely Phoebus knocketh at the door with his beautiful foot. See’st thou not? The Delian palm nods pleasantly of a sudden and the swan in the air sings sweetly. Of yourselves now ye bolts be pushed back, pushed back of yourselves, ye bars! The god is no longer far away. And ye, young men, prepare ye for song and for the dance."

- Callimachus, Hymn to Apollo

[apollon-quotes]

"It is Apollo who dispenses remedies to men and women for grievous diseases, and who bestowed on us the cithara, and gives the Muses' inspiration to whomever he will, bringing peaceful concord into the mind, and who possesses the oracular shrine."

- Pindar, Pythian Ode 5

[apollon-quotes]

"When they pour libations, they celebrate Dionysos with wine and drunkenness, but Apollo with tranquillity and good order"

- Philochorus (from Athenaeus, Deipnosophists)

[apollon-quotes]

"For once on a time this god Apollo dwelt in quite a humble habitation; and a little hut was constructed for him to which the bees are said to have contributed their honeycomb and wax, and the birds their feathers. For simplicity is the teacher of wisdom and the teacher of truth; and you must embrace it"

- Philostratus, Life of Apollonius of Tyana

[apollon-quotes]

"For the spell of Apollo's lyre is overwhelming, and in its delightfulness it outdoes every charm of Aphrodite."

- Himerius, Orations

[apollon-quotes]

“The Mousai are always dancing, and the goddesses love to busy themselves with songs and strings. But when they see Apollon beginning to lead the dance, they put their heart into their singing even more than before and send down from Helikon an all-harmonious sound.”

- Simonides, Fragment 578 (from Himerius, Orations)

[apollon-quotes]

"The Sun’s resplendent deity I sing, the beauteous offspring of almighty Zeus; who, through the vivifying solar fount concealed within his fabricative mind, formed a triad of splendid solar gods; from whence the world’s all-various forms emerged from mystic darkness into beauteous light, perfect, and full of intellectual goods.

Hail! Supermundane king of light divine, and fairest image of the unknown good: For, as the light proceeding from the one, the god of gods, and beauty’s matchless flower, intelligible, with deific rays, occult, illuminating; so from Apollo’s beams, exulting glorious through harmonic power, the mental world with elevating light is filled exuberant: and the apparent Sun largely diffuses through the world of sense, light, all-prolific, beautiful, divine."

- Emperor Julian, To Apollo-Helios

[apollon-quotes]

"First, in this prayer of mine, I give the place of highest honor among the gods to the first prophet, Earth; and after her to Themis, for she was the second to take this oracular seat of her mother, as legend tells.

And in the third allotment, with Themis’ consent and not by force, another Titan, child of Earth, Phoebe, took her seat here. She gave it as a birthday gift to Phoebus, who has his name from Phoebe.

Leaving the lakeband ridge of Delos, he landed on Pallas’ ship-frequented shores, and came to this region and the dwelling places on Parnassus. The children of Hephaistos, road-builders taming the wildness of the untamed land, escorted him with mighty reverence.

And at his arrival, the people and Delphus, helmsman and lord of this land, made a great celebration for him. Zeus inspired his heart with prophetic skill and established him as the fourth prophet on this throne; but Loxias is the spokesman of Zeus, his father.”

- Aeschylus, Oresteia