Roman and the Greek God Apollo Differences

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Table of Contents

Introduction
The Apollo God
Similarities
Differences
Leadership Styles and Philosophies
Conclusion
Reference List

Introduction

The Apollo god was both a Greek and a Roman god. Apollo was one of the twelve Olympian gods in Greek mythology and because the Romans had no equivalent Latin name of the Greek god, they referred to their god as Apollo. Apollo was a god with diverse talents such as music, prophecy, poetry, healing, sun, justice, plagues, and intelligence. The diversity of Apollo’s talents made him a common god of the Romans and the Greeks during ancient times. This essay examines the similarities and the differences between the Roman and the Greek god Apollo, and his importance in the leadership philosophies.

The Apollo God

In Greek and Roman mythology, Apollo was portrayed by a sculpture of a young man; beardless, holding diverse symbolic objects in his hand that includes lyre, arrow, bow, snake, hawk, mouse, and many more creatures that represented the beliefs and myths of the Greeks. Apollo was the son born to Zeus and Leto as a twin brother of the Artemis goddess. His mother Leto experienced trouble during his birth because the Hera goddess was against his birth, prompting his father, Zeus, to take and hide her on the island of Delos where Apollo was born. During the birth, the Artemis twin was born first and assistance was offered in the birth of his brother Apollo.

After his birth, Apollo portrayed an extraordinary ability by slaying a serpent that had troubled his mother for a long time. According to Gill (2008), “when Apollo was four days old he demanded a bow and arrows from Hephaestus and immediately went in pursuit of the serpent that Hera sent to torment his mother.” This serpent had troubled his mother during his pregnancy to prevent his birth and this angered Apollo so much that he risked killing it. He pursued it and managed to kill it at the shrine of the Mother of the Earth Oracle thus defiling the shrine. This called for the purification of the shrine and through an Oracle, Apollo learned many shrine lessons concerning prophecies that led him to become the god of prophecy.

Similarities

The Roman and the Greek Apollo had similar historical myths of the origin. Both showed that Apollo’s god was born by their respective Roman and Greek god and goddesses. These goddesses had difficulties in giving birth to Apollo because the goddesses were married to the same god, father to Apollo who had selfish interests against his birth. They sent the serpent to disturb the goddess during their pregnancy carrying Apollo. Four days after his birth, Apollo was set to fight the serpent, he took a bow and arrow to make the first conquest that made him a powerful god.

Another similarity of the Roman and Greek Apollo was the portrait. The Romans and the Greeks portrayed Apollo as a young beardless man holding several symbolic objects in his hands. Daly and Rengel (2009) describe Apollo posit that “a beardless youth with long flowing hair floating as it were in the wind, comely and graceful, crowned with laurel, his garments and sandals shining with gold.” This description fits both the Greek and the Roman.

The objects Apollo holds in his hand were similar in both Roman and Greek. Gill describes the objects as “in one hand he holds a bow and arrows, in the other a lyre, sometimes a shield and the graces. At other times he is inverted in along robe and carries a lyre and a cup of nectar” (2008). These objects that he held had similar symbolic meaning in Greek and Roman. A cup of nectar symbolized his divinity, a bow and arrow symbolized his conquest and authority, shield symbolized his protection of humankind while a lyre showed him as the god of poetry and music.

Differences

The differences between the Greek and the Roman Apollo occurred in terms of the Olympian gods. Since Romans adopted the Greek’s beliefs and their gods, there was not much difference between their gods and their beliefs too. Daly and Rengel (2009) observe that “by borrowing mythologies from Greek and using stories and beliefs for their purposes, the Romans brought personalities and vividness to their religion.” In this case, the Roman god Jupiter replaced the Greek god Zeus. Goddess Leto was replaced by the Roman goddess Latona while Apollo’s twin sister was Diana. The differences that appeared here were due to the naming of the gods and the goddesses but the mythologies remained the same.

The other difference between the Roman and Greek Apollo gods was how the portrait was depicted at different times, places, and shrines. The objects the portrait was holding were different depending on the seasons and the places of worship. Gill (2008) says that “Apollo was very differently represented in different countries and times, according to the character he assumed.” The different representations of Apollo showed different forms of worship and beliefs between Romans and Greeks.

Leadership Styles and Philosophies

The Greek Apollo was a great prophet who had his great shrine at the city of Delphi. “Delphi was believed to be the center of the universe, not just another holy site or shrine but the place where the physical world and the spiritual worlds met” (Daly & Rengel, 2009). The kings and leaders frequented the shrine at the Delphi seeking advice from the Apollo, an Oracle on whether to go to war or not. The city of Delphi became famous and independent of the Greek empire in that, “it was a separate entity with allegiance to no particular city-state, become a mediator in disputes between city-states and Greek colonies and shaped policies” (Daly & Rengel, 2009). The Apollo helped in the formation of leadership styles and philosophies that united the Greek empire.

Since the Roman Apollo was a god of justice, intelligence, and order, Roman leaders worshiped the god to gain leadership intelligence and develop philosophies that would enable them to rule their great empires with justice and order. Like the Greeks, the Roman Apollo was an Oracle whose consultation was inevitable before any war to predict whether the war would be won or not. The Roman Apollo god greatly influenced the leadership styles and philosophies because the leaders consulted his advice and prophecy.

Conclusion

Apollo was a powerful Greek god who was adopted by the Romans as Apollo since they did not have an equivalent Latin name. The Greek and the Roman Apollo were quite similar in terms of the mythological origin and the powers they had over the control of the natural forces and humanity. The portrait and symbolism in the Apollo showed further the existence of the similarity between the Greeks and the Romans. The only differences that existed were the naming of Olympian gods and their way of worship.

Reference List

Daly, K., & Rengel, M. (2009). Greek and Roman Mythology A to Z. New York: InfoBase Publishing.

Gill, N. (2008). Myths about the Roman God Apollo. Roman Colosseum. Web.

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