al patron of the arts and sciences. Apollo is himself
the heavenly musician among the Olympic gods, whose banquets are gladdened
by the wondrous strains which he produces from his favourite instrument,
the seven-stringed lyre. In the cultus of Apollo, music formed a
distinguishing feature. All sacred dances, and even the sacrifices in his
honour, were performed to the sound of musical instruments; and it is, in a
great measure, owing to the influence which the music in his worship
exercised on the Greek nation, that Apollo came to be regarded as the
leader of the nine Muses, the legitimate divinities of poetry and song. In
this character he is called Musagetes, and is always represented robed in a
long flowing garment; his lyre, to the tones of which he appears to be
singing, is suspended by a band across the chest; his head is encircled by
a wreath of laurel, and his long hair, streaming down over his shoulders,
gives him a somewhat effeminate appearance.

And now we must view the glorious god of light under {72} another, and (as
far as regards his influence over the Greek nation) a much more important
aspect; for, in historical times, all the other functions and attributes of
Apollo sink into comparative insignificance before the great power which he
exercised as god of prophecy. It is true that all Greek gods were endowed,
to a certain extent, with the faculty of foretelling future events; but
Apollo, as sun-god, was the concentration of all prophetic power, as it was
supposed that nothing escaped his all-seeing eye, which penetrated the most
hidden recesses, and laid bare the secrets which lay concealed behind the
dark veil of the future.

We have seen that when Apollo assumed his god-like form, he took his place
among the immortals; but he had not long enjoyed the rapturous delights of
Olympus, before he felt within him an ardent desire to fulfil his great
mission of interpreting to mankind the will of his mighty father. He
accordingly descended to earth, and travelled through many countries,
seeking a fitting site upon which to establish an oracle. At length he
reached the southern side of the rocky heights of Parnassus, beneath which
lay the harbour of Crissa. Here, under the overhanging cliff, he found a
secluded spot, where, from the most ancient times, there had existed an
oracle, in which Gaea herself had revealed the future to man, and which, in
Deucalion's time, she had resigned to Themis. It was guarded by