APOLLO

(cla ical myth.), the god of pastures, of poetry and music, of oracles; the protector of youth. He was the son of Zeus and Leto, twin brother of Artemis, and was born on Mount Cynthus, in the island of Delos, whither his mother had fled to escape the wrath of Hera. He is generally confounded with the sun-god Helios, and thus becomes Phoebus-Apollo, the god of light, who illumines the world, warms the pastures, and brings forth the kindly fruits of the earth. He is also‘pre-eminently the god of prophecy, and the temple dedicated to his worship at Delphi, in Greece, was the most famous oracle of the ancient world. The most famous statue of the god is that known as the Apollo Belvedere, which originally stood on Mount Actium, and is now in the Vatican. famous writer of Attic comedy, who is aun to have produced upwards of forty plays.