Apollon (known as Apollo in Rome) is justifiably one of the most popular deities in Hellenic polytheism, both historically and in its more modern recreations. His spiritual provinces are both broad and deep. Apollon is the doctor, the law giver, the prophet and the artist all in one.
On the simplest level, Apollon was part of the household cult. A cone shaped device placed near the street represented Apollon as a kind of apotropaic device, an averter of evil, for the god who brought plagues could also dispel them. While the household religion wasn't necessarily the level of religion most dear to the average Hellene, it did place Apollon in the daily lives of the people. Honoring Apollon as a defender of the home is, fortunately, easily replicated in modern times as well.
At the highest level, Apollon's cult center at Delphi was an internationally renowned oracle, for the son of Zeus made known his father's will to mortals. Many in the Hellenic world and beyond consulted its mysterious prophecies, which supposedly never erred. In the modern era, various individuals practice mystical arts in connection with Apollon to discern his advice on behalf of their communities.
Connected with prophecy was the art of healing, for ancients felt that disease was often the affliction of a god, and Apollon was the bringer of plagues. To remove the affliction, one had to consult the god for its origin and it remedy. In terms of physical afflictions, Apollon's supposed son Asclepius soon surpassed his father. These days we have doctors and psychiatrists. However, while 2000 years worth of medicine has taught us something about the body and brain, the soul is as mysterious as ever. Perhaps more so for the modern world of science and industrial consumerism often denies the soul. Entreating Apollon's advice to purify our souls and steer clear of divine wrath is as relevant now as it ever was.
Between these two ends lay the social world of man. Civilization, in so many words. Arts and law. Apollon is a civilizing god; without him, the higher points of civilization are unthinkable.
Apollon is the god of music, dance and poetry. He leads the muses in their eternal chorus of delights. He is the god of art and architecture, and no civilization produced finer works in these than the Greeks. The favorite son of Zeus is a god of athletics as well, for the finely tuned human body is itself a work of art and beauty.
Apollon promotes an ethical code of moderation and enlightened restraint. He asks that man know himself as man, not as animal or god. He lays the foundations of colonies. He asserts the rule of Nomos Arkhaios, ancestral custom. Law is his province and morality his concern.
Apollon was introduced into Rome as a healing deity, and there his cult resided in relative unimportance for some time until Augustus took him as a patron. By the end of the Republic, clownish Latium had become a world empire, and as such had outgrown its rustic origins. It was to be Hellenized. It was only a question of which Hellenism: the Greco-Orientalism of Antony and Cleopatra, or the more classical tones of Augustus. Augustus won, and Apollon became a symbol of the refined piece promoted by Rome's first emperor. Brick became marble and poetry flourished.
Among modern Hellenes and Romans, Apollon remains a very popular deity. The inspiration of a moral and healthy lifestyle, the cultivation of the arts, and the fountainhead of prophecy attracts many. The last two in particular are significant to modern Hellenes. As Apollon and Dionysus shared these realms, it is no surprise the same individual is often a devotee of both gods, the Nietzschean dichotomy between them notwithstanding.
With that as background, let me tell you how I personally relate to Apollon.
What interests me most about Apollon is what interests me most about Hellenism in general: the arts. One could and should extol the many achievements in Hellenism from its politicians, soldiers, historians, scientists and philosophers. However, to me what most endures from a civilization long after its collapse are the products of its artists and literati. I can think of no civilization more gifted in the arts than Hellas.
And I don't confine myself to Hellas, either. From the later Roman period to the modern world, I have become an enthusiastic student of the fine arts. Popular culture I find all too often boorish and useless. I better identify with the great intellectual epochs of Western Civilization, even if I don't happen to particularly like them or even agree with them. For example: modern art may not be your cup of tea, and it may not be mine, but it's at least an attempt to articulate something greater than, say, reality TV. The artist channels from within himself a divine vision that is more refined than the surrounding elements; this is art, and it is Apollon's doing. It's what makes a culture, any culture, worth remembering.
On another level, I agree with the ordered, rational, healthy and moderating world view the god promoted. Nothing in Excess and Know Thyself. Look at our culture, look at our times. Mass production. Mass consumption. Divorced from a higher spiritual goal, the average person seeks happiness in ingesting substances and purchasing worthless goods. Obesity is rampant, chemical addiction is ubiquitous, and the developed world has consumed itself into depression. The world chokes on the wastes of an ever growing population. Is anyone really happy? Is our culture healthy? No. We do not know ourselves, and we do everything to excess.
The arts, healing, prophecy, law - all are connected by the same spiritual ideal of making the most of men, and ordering them into a refined civilization. Apollon is a light for an all too often dark world.
