17. The simple Cippus of Apollo Agyieus did not represent any particular attribute, but was merely intended as a memorial of the presence of the protecting god.[1489] In endeavouring more fully to express his character, the symbols of power would naturally come next. His attributes of vengeance doubtless preceded those of mercy, although both, in fact, harmonized together: it must, however, have been long, before the surpassing beauty of the god (celebrated even in the Theogony of Hesiod) could be the subject of sculpture. The attribute, then, of strength, as also that of omniscience, the ancient Lacedæmonians wished to represent by the Apollo with four hands and four ears at Amyclæ.[1490] But the chief statue on the above spot was an image, which, besides the bow, bore a helmet and lance: of the same nature was also the statue on mount Thornax, the face of which had been gilded by the Lacedæmonians.[1491] The Megarians also consecrated at Delphi a statue of Apollo bearing a lance;[1492] and at Tenedos he was armed with the double hatchet,[1493] like [pg 364] the Labrandenian Zeus of the Carians.[1494] In a very ancient bas-relief, discovered by Dodwell on the mouth of a well at Corinth, and which we shall hereafter examine further, Apollo holds the cithara in his hand;[1495] his whole form too, as in all the ancient sculptures, is stouter and more manly than usual.

18. On inquiring concerning the artists of the most ancient symbolical statues of Apollo, we find that the Cretans were the first sculptors, as well as musicians, of that worship. From Crete, an ancient wooden statue of Apollo, of the rudest style of workmanship, was brought to Delphi:[1496] from hence, too (about Olymp. 50, 580 B.C.), there came Dipœnus and Scyllis the Dædalidæ, who made for the Sicyonians statues of Apollo, Artemis, Hercules, and Athene, of which we will speak hereafter. The Pythian oracle greatly interested itself in the labours of these artists; for when the envy of the native artists had driven them from Sicyon, it compelled the inhabitants to recall them. The managers of the temple of Delphi appear indeed to have been, from very early times, great [pg 365] patrons of the art of sculpture, particularly in brass. The subterranean temple at Pytho (the existence of which has been doubted, but, in my opinion, without sufficient grounds) was covered with brass, as were several treasuries of the ancient princes of Greece. The temples and courts were fitted with numerous tripods; caldrons, goblets, and arms of brass were there arranged promiscuously, from periods of the highest antiquity. There was also a knife used in sacrifice called the Delphian knife,[1497] nor do the singing golden Κηληδόνες, which Pindar represents as suspended from the roof of the brazen temple, seem to be a mere poetical fiction.

But the Cretan school of sculpture produced Tectæus and Angelion, who erected the celebrated, and probably colossal statue of Apollo at Delos, which (as was before mentioned) held the Graces in one hand and a bow in the other. With the same school also, though in a more distant degree, was connected Canachus of Sicyon, who, about the seventy-third Olympiad, made a famous bronze statue for the Didymæum,[1498] and one of wood for the Ismenium. From the accounts and various imitations of this work of art we are enabled to form some idea of its character. The god was represented with a manly form, his breast broad and prominent, the trunk square, the legs almost like pillars, and in a firm position, the left leg being a little advanced. The hair, encircled with a fillet, lay in [pg 366] slender twisted curls over the forehead; over each shoulder were three platted tresses, and behind the hair fell in a broad cluster down the back. The countenance nearly resembled those in the marbles of Ægina. In the right hand, which was stretched straight forward, was a fawn (an obscure symbol which we shall not here attempt to explain); the left, not quite so much elevated, grasped a bow. The whole must have had an awful and imposing appearance, conveying the idea of sublimity and dignity far more than of grace or loveliness.[1499] We cannot suppose the style of the colossal statue of Apollo to have been very different which, several Olympiads later, was modelled in brass by Calamis for Apollonia on the Pontus, and which was afterwards brought to Rome by Lucullus:[1500] nor that of Apollo Alexicacus, erected at Athens by the same artist at the beginning of the Peloponnesian war.[1501] The Apollo which Onatas of Ægina, the contemporary of Calamis, executed for the inhabitants of Pergamus, was a colossal statue displaying great beauty of form, and, as it appears, of a more youthful appearance than was common for statues of Apollo at that time.[1502] In this, Apollo was represented [pg 367] as καλλίτεκνος, as the beautiful son of Latona; under which name he was worshipped at Pergamus.[1503] It is not improbable that the union of strength and beauty so conspicuously exhibited in the ideal forms of the two children of Latona was suggested by the peculiar character of the Doric education; and that the artist represented the god as an Ephebus, whose skill in the chorus and on the field of battle was exactly equal.

But the figure which we are accustomed to consider as properly belonging to Apollo did not originate even in the school of Polycletus and Myron,[1504] but was the creation of a later period; since both the coins of a date prior to the time of Alexander,[1505] and single heads, which must be referred to the same period,[1506] do not indeed preserve the features ascribed to the work of Canachus, but still are quite different from the most celebrated of the statues now extant, having broader cheeks, a shorter and thicker nose; in a word, the proportions are what the ancients termed quadrate, or square. It was not till the times of Scopas, Leochares, Praxiteles, and Timarchides, that the Apollo appeared whom we may call the twin-brother of Venus, so similar are the forms of both deities. The expression of inspiration and ecstasy, which several of the best statues exhibit, may also be shown to have first originated in the school of Scopas, since the earlier artists aimed rather at producing the appearance of tranquillity and composure [pg 368] than of transient excitement; and the exquisite taste with which these sculptors were able to express inspiration without extravagance, deserves the highest praise. Without detailing the particular productions of these and later artists, we shall only show how they may be best classified. The Apollo Callinicus of Belvedere stands by itself, swelling with the pride of victory:[1507] next comes the Apollo resting from the fight, with the right arm bent over the head, the left leaning on a pillar, holding the bow, which has evidently been used, or a cithara: being evidently a statue of the resting Apollo (Ἀπόλλων ἀναπαυόμενος); but from the circumstance that a statue of this kind stood in the Lyceum at Athens[1508] it is usually called the “Apollo of the Lyceum:” then follows the Apollo Citharœdus (playing on the harp), either naked, in different positions, or covered with the Pythian stola, and in an almost theatrical attitude.[1509] It would be foreign to our [pg 369] subject to enter into details respecting this class of statues, and those derived from them, as the Sauroctonus, Nomius, &c.

19. Finally, we would endeavour to trace the influence of the worship of Apollo on the policy and philosophy of Greece, if the question did not embrace so wide a field, lying, as it does in great measure, beyond the confines of history. We may, however, select, from what has been already said, as proofs of the influence of this worship on political concerns, the armistice connected with the festivals of Apollo, the truce observed in the sacred places and roads, the soothing influence of the purifications for homicide, together with the idea of the punishing and avenging god, and the great influence of the oracles in the regulation of public affairs.[1510] It has, moreover, been frequently remarked how by its sanctity, by the dignified and severe character of its music, by all its symbols and rites, this worship endeavoured to lull the minds of individuals into a state of composure and security, consistently, however, with an occasional elevation to a state of ecstatic delight.

20. Lastly, the worship of Apollo was so nearly connected with a branch of Grecian philosophy that the one frequently established and explained scientifically that which the other left merely to the feeling; I mean the Pythagorean system. Pythagoras possessed hereditary rites of Apollo; he dwelt at Croton, where that god received such various honours;[1511] he lived mostly among Dorians, who were everywhere [pg 370] partial to that worship; and a Delphian priestess, by name Aristocleia, is mentioned among his followers.[1512] Thus it is not without reason that the Pythagorean philosophy has in modern times been considered as Doric: in its political doctrines it followed Doric principles, and with the Doric religion it was united both externally and internally: besides which, the attempt to realize and disseminate national ideas and opinions may perhaps illustrate the rapid growth of the power of the Pythagorean league. The recondite principle of this philosophy always is, that the essence of things lies in their due measure and proportion, their system and regularity; that everything exists by harmony and symmetry alone; and that the world itself is an union of all these proportions (κόσμος, or order). The same abstraction from materiality also belonged to the religion of Apollo; for this too suggests the idea of order, harmony, and regularity, and in these it makes the nature and actions of the Deity to consist. Hence, too, music was one chief ingredient of the Pythagorean philosophy, as well as a necessary element of the worship of Apollo, as best expressing the harmony on which both were founded. In both the soothing and appeasing of the passions was aimed at and effected, that the mind might be quieted and strengthened at the same time.[1513] But we must leave the full investigation [pg 371] of this subject to those who have acquired a profounder knowledge of the philosophy of Pythagoras.

Chapter IX.

§ 1. Worship of Artemis. § 2. The Artemis connected with Apollo distinct from the other goddesses of that name. Her attributes. § 3. The Arcadian Artemis. § 4. Fable of Alpheus and Arethusa. The Peloponnesian Artemis. § 5. The Attic Artemis. § 6. Artemis Orthia, or Iphigenia. § 7. Rites of the worship of Artemis Tauria. § 8. The Artemis of Asia Minor. § 9. Her connexion with the Amazons.

1. We now proceed to consider the worship of Artemis; a subject which need not be so fully examined as that of Apollo, as it does not, like the worship of that god, everywhere present the same fundamental notions, and therefore cannot, in all its first beginnings, be derived from the religion of the Dorians. But as in general the Grecian mythology adopted the most various and inconsistent religious views and ideas, so in the name of the single goddess Artemis were united almost opposite branches of ancient worship, which we must attempt to separate. Lest, however, it should be supposed that we are unable to trace the association of ideas, which saw a simple character in the “various forms of that great goddess, who, having her origin in the interior of [pg 372] Asia, passed from thence into Greece, and was worshipped as the moon, the goddess of the woods, the huntress, the nurse of children, and a nurse of the universe, as well by the choruses of the virgins of Caryæ, as in the dances of the temples;”[1514] we will endeavour to ascertain some historical criterion, which may distinguish the worship of Artemis from that of any other deity, and which must not be one of the ideas or symbols of the worship itself, since it is concerning the possibility or impossibility of their connexion that we are to inquire.