Apollo, son of Zeus and Leto and twin brother of
Artemis, was the god of light, music and the arts, as
well as of prophecy, healing, measure and harmony. He
was born on the island of Delos, at the centre of the
Cyclades, where the Delia festivals were held in his
honour. After slaying the serpent Python, he founded
the famous oracle in Delphi, where the Pythian Games
were celebrated. Other important sanctuaries of
Apollo existed in Amyclae (near Sparta), Bassae in
Arcadia (Temple of Apollo Epikourios) and Didyma
(Asia Minor). Apollo was traditionally portrayed as a
beardless, ideal youth, holding a lyre and sometimes
a bow, as he was not without his dark side, being the
god of plague and a punisher of hubris. Some of his
other epithets were Phoebus, loxias (in reference to his
ambiguous oracles) and musagetes (leader of the Muses).
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