|
New
Apollwn
|
![]() |
|
The specific font used on these pages
is SPIonic, and may be downloaded here
|
|

The Temple of Apollon at Delphi
Apollon's Teachings (a.k.a. Rules to Live By):
These two were considered the most important, and were carved over the entrance to the temple at Delphi.
Notes
on Apollon's temples, and worship details:
(The following
information is courtesy of Abaris (John Hodgson) from the PhoebusApollon
email list)
Apollon's temples were generally sited in remote and difficult to reach places, often with a labyrinthine approach. Since the temple was the house of the god, the altar stood outside. The building was oriented so that the doors would face the rising sun on the day on which the temple was dedicated. The building, and the surrounding area, were typically designed to stand below the horizon on a double-horned hill or mountain facing the lower of the two horn of the hill. The boundary of the sacred space would be marked by stones, often inscribed, and would have one entrance with a basin of water nearby for purification. Wooded groves would invariably (if possible) contain a laurel tree on which offerings would be hung, and a spring or well of pure water. In some temples there would also be a circular pool.
Apollon's grove at Gryneion had numerous cultivated fruit trees along with every sort of wild tree that was either pleasing to look at, or to smell. Another of his groves was exclusively of ash trees.
Temples of Apollon were cleaned by being swept with a laurel broom. The altar was usually made of stone or white-washed brick. They were decked with bay, with scented flowers in the springtime, and with crocuses in the winter. The priest (called an Archon) would purify the altar by going around it sunwise, sprinkling it with barley-meal and lustral water.
Purification was with consecrated water from a bowl. The water, which had salt added, was freshly taken from a spring or river, and consecrated by putting into it a branch of bay-laurel which was then used to sprinkle worshippers. The bowl could only be touched by washed hands. A fire was lit and an offering of white meal was made at sunrise.
The eternal flame in his temples was fueled exclusively by pine. Incense was myrrh at Delphi, but the Orphics preferred to use frankincense. When prophesying, the Sibyl used an incense made of laurel leaves and barley meal.
The Delphic sacrifice, made before asking the oracle a question, was oil and honey. Elsewhere it was honey and bread. Apollon forbade animal sacrifices at some of his temples. Individuals prayed by facing the sun or the statue of the god, arms held high, palms facing forward. They started and ended by kissing the back of the right hand and blowing the kiss to the god. The normal greeting to the god was "Ie, Ie Paean!" which means "Hail, Hail Healer!"
Festival music was presented by choruses of boys and girls, with competitions for voice and lyre, voice and flute, and solo flute, plus athletics for which the prize was a laurel wreath. If the god himself attended, his arrival was heralded by a rushing wind, or the ground shaking. This indicated the presence of the god.
It was customary to offer hair clippings to Apollon at decisive moments in life such as initiation into manhood (at age nine or ten in the ancient world).