Apollo (was Re: [tied] Nostradamus and Dumezil)

Apollo is a very complex god with a complex origin, IMO. Comparisons
may be made in all sorts of directions with varying degrees of merit.
IMO his origin is traceable to Thrace and the Celts. Basically he is
a second generation god of higher culture. I see resemlances with the
Irish god Lugh and the Norse's Vali and Frey. Near Eastern parallels
are also intriguing. I also see some overlap with Mithra, though he
seems to have developed in the classical era before morphing further
into the Roman cult of Mithras. However, as I stated, his slaying of
the Python and his own being depicted as a serpent on his temple on
Delos, plus his attribute of the caduseus reminds me of the symbolism
of Ahriman the black snake, Ormazd as the white snake, and Zurvan as
the primordial seed god associated with the 'world egg' and 'world
tree'.

--- In cybalist@..., jdcroft@... wrote:
> MrCaws@... wrote:
>
> > I used to wonder how Apollo was depicted as a serpent on
> > > Delos, or even how he slew the Python at Delphi considering he
> was
> > in
> > > no way a thunder-god. Now I know. Delphi was the center of the
> > world
> > > in Greek tradition. Ormazd defeated Ahriman in the center of
the
> > > world before casting him into the abyss. Apollo continued this
> same
> > > myth in Greece. Even his birthplace on Delos makes sense: the
> > > heavenly paradise located in the center of the world, where is
> > > located in Persian myth the 'world mountain' as is found on
> Delos.
> >
> > I would argue that Apollo took on the role of serpent slayer
> because
> > he played the role of cultural hero. The thunder deity(Thor,
Perun
> > etc) often plays this role, but others do as well. Hercules for
> > example. Since Apollo was a big cheese cultural hero, esp. in the
> > Aegean and W. Anatolia, this slaying makes sense. There is also a
> > freudian hero element to the story, as one version of the story
has
> a
> > serpent molesting Leto, and Apollo then taking his vengeance.
This,
> > though, seems to be connected to a Canaanite story about Laton
> (Leto),
> > and Yamm as the serpent, interestingly enough.
> >
> > In addition, this story bolsters Apollo's claim to deity of
> prophecy
> > by defeating a demonized version of a predecessor.
>
> I find it ironic considering Apollo's origins as the Hurrian-Hattic
> god Aplu - the mouse god of the plague. It is interesting that
> Apollo, as a god of illness needed to be apeased in the diseases he
> caused. This promoted him to being God of Medicine. Travelling
> Westwards to the Aegean, it seems he there became associated with
the
> Mycenaeans God "Paean" - a God of song and music, with whom he
fused
> to become the God of Delos. It would appear that it was in this
> guise he first came to Delphi, not as slayer of the serpents, but
as
> a snake charmer! Eventually, through association with lunar
Artemis
> as his twin sister, with Lat/Leto recognised as his mother, Apollo
> became recognised as Phoebus Apollo - sun god who substituted or
> absorbed the earlier sun-god Helios. As Helios he could not just
> charm the serpents of Gaia, he was now forced to slay them. Here
we
> see the historic transformation of a God of Rodents, becoming a
> Killer of Serpents. The first case of a mouse killing a snake that
I
> have heard!
>
> Regards
>
> John