We talked about the "god of plague & health" before and I mentioned
the connection with rodents and squirrels. These tiny animals
may have been considered "tricksters" from early times in C.Asia
where myths were told of a squirrel/mouse/rat stealing fire from
the sky.
Apollo, of course, came to be associated with this fire
god and hence also with the mouse and plague. At the same time, he
is a sun god, representing the fire of the sky. Yet on top of this,
there is an added aspect given to him of seasonal fertility of the
land, hence his "beauty" (a tell-tale feature of this particular
aspect). I agree, Joao, Apollo is complex. He is a hodgepodge of
various ancient deities and so there is more than one origin for
this god.
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Glen Gordon
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