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 THE GREEK GODS 41 representative of purification and expiation (A. Katliar- sios). In this capacity his attribute is the laurel branch (Sdvrj) with which one needing pardon is dismissed; but the symbol of the wolf, which has been interpreted as an emblem of the fugitive murderer, is probably only the result of a confusion between the words AVKOS (< wolf ') and AVKCIOS (' the bright one'). 52. In later times all other phases of Apollo's nature were subordinate to his special character as god of ora- cles. The most important place of prophecy in all Greece was his oracle at Delphi, which is mentioned as early as the Iliad; but he gave oracular responses also at Didymoi near Miletus, Claros near Colophon, and Abai in Phocis. At these places a priestess, who by drinking from a sacred spring had brought herself into an inspired state, uttered significant words, which were then interpreted by a priest standing beside her, and thus became a response. At Delphi the priestess, who was called Pythia (< the understanding one/ cf. lirvOonrjv), sat on a tripod over a fissure in the ground while giving the oracle. Furthermore, since the oracular re- sponses of Apollo were usually composed in verse, Apollo was considered the protector and friend of poetry, song, and its customary accompaniment, namely, playing on the lyre. So he became leader of the Muses, and received as an additional emblem the lyre invented by Hermes. 53. In art Apollo is represented by the ideal form of a perfectly-developed, slender youth, beardless, except in archaic art, and with long hair falling in ringlets. Usually he is nude, or with only a little cloak (clilamys) thrown over his shoulder or his left arm. As his dis-