Book contents
- The Names of the Gods in Ancient Mediterranean Religions
- Classical Scholarship in Translation
- The Names of the Gods in Ancient Mediterranean Religions
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Foreword
- Abbreviations
- Introduction In the Mirror of Vertumnus
- Chapter 1 ‘To the Immortals Everything Is Possible’
- Chapter 2 All Sides of the Moon
- Chapter 3 ‘May the Force Be With You!’
- Chapter 4 Dionysos in the Mirror of Poseidon
- Chapter 5 Lord of the Universe, the World and Eternity
- Chapter 6 This Is Not a Name
- Chapter 7 The Sword and the Patera
- Chapter 8 A Travelling Portrait
- Chapter 9 Pantheus, a ‘Total’ God in the Greek and Roman World
- Chapter 10 ‘I Will Be Who I Will Be’ (Exod. 3:14)
- Chapter 11 Golden Locks Among the Greeks, or the Hair Secrets of the Beautiful Apollo
- Chapter 12 Athena – Artemis
- Epilogue
- Bibliography
- Index
Chapter 11 - Golden Locks Among the Greeks, or the Hair Secrets of the Beautiful Apollo
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 February 2024
- The Names of the Gods in Ancient Mediterranean Religions
- Classical Scholarship in Translation
- The Names of the Gods in Ancient Mediterranean Religions
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Foreword
- Abbreviations
- Introduction In the Mirror of Vertumnus
- Chapter 1 ‘To the Immortals Everything Is Possible’
- Chapter 2 All Sides of the Moon
- Chapter 3 ‘May the Force Be With You!’
- Chapter 4 Dionysos in the Mirror of Poseidon
- Chapter 5 Lord of the Universe, the World and Eternity
- Chapter 6 This Is Not a Name
- Chapter 7 The Sword and the Patera
- Chapter 8 A Travelling Portrait
- Chapter 9 Pantheus, a ‘Total’ God in the Greek and Roman World
- Chapter 10 ‘I Will Be Who I Will Be’ (Exod. 3:14)
- Chapter 11 Golden Locks Among the Greeks, or the Hair Secrets of the Beautiful Apollo
- Chapter 12 Athena – Artemis
- Epilogue
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Like names, the ‘physiognomy’ attributed to the gods by the Greeks helps to differentiate divine entities from one another or, conversely, to link them together, making explicit the nature and the scope of their powers. This chapter addresses the meaning of the adjective khruskomas, ‘with golden hair’, frequently attributed to Apollo: does it mean that the Greeks had in mind a blond god? The analysis of texts and images shows that it is much more complicated. First, onomastic attributes and iconographic attributes do not necessarily coincide. Depending on the media, craftsmen may represent a dark-haired Apollo without this being seen as a contradiction with the images conveyed by the poets. Immortals, unlike humans, take on any appearance they want. Second, the colour of gold is not exactly equivalent to blondness (for example, that of Demeter xanthe): the brilliance of the incorruptible metal expresses the radiance that emanates from the young god, notably through his eternally young hair. Khrusokomas thus expresses one of the manifold facets of Phoibos by summoning the image of his delphic sanctuary, where opulence reigns. The chapter thus shows that the colour of Apollo’s hair deserves to be taken seriously.
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- The Names of the Gods in Ancient Mediterranean Religions , pp. 207 - 230Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2024