Odysseus and the Cult of Apollo at Delos

Odysseus and the Cult of Apollo at Delos

This paper explores literary representations of the cult of Apollo on Delos. This island is, to be sure, mentioned only occasionally in early Greek poetry, but details specific to the cult do appear. Thus, for example, Odysseus describes a palm tree he saw at an altar of Apollo on Delos (Od. 6.162-3...

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Título de la revista: Classica. Revista Brasileira de Estudos Clássicos
Autor: Jim Marks
Palabras clave traducidas:
Idioma: Inglés
Enlace del documento: https://revista.classica.org.br/classica/article/view/411
Tipo de recurso: Documento de revista
Fuente: Classica. Revista Brasileira de Estudos Clássicos; Vol 29, No 1 (Año 2016).
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.24277/classica.v29i1.411
Entidad editora: Sociedade Brasileira de Estudos Clássicos
Derechos de uso: Reconocimiento (by)
Materias: Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades --> Humanidades
Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades --> Clásicos
Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades --> Críticas Literarias
Resumen: This paper explores literary representations of the cult of Apollo on Delos. This island is, to be sure, mentioned only occasionally in early Greek poetry, but details specific to the cult do appear. Thus, for example, Odysseus describes a palm tree he saw at an altar of Apollo on Delos (Od. 6.162-3), and a third-century inscription from the island mentions just such a feature. References to a palm, altar, and temple at Delos in later classical authors, including Callimachus, Pliny, Cicero, and Plutarch, demonstrate that the Archaic period traditions represented by the Homeric passages continued to shape how successive generations of visitors understood Delos. The material record makes clear that the Greek epic tradition documents a time when Delos was already a well attended sanctuary, and that later constructions at the site attempted to remain consistent with the details preserved in the epics.