GREEK MYTHOLOGY
APOLLO
The Source of Health and Healing
Apollo, a solar deity, was also the god of archery, music and healing. Apollo personifies the active, Yang path to healing through self betterment and physical culture. The solar principle he represents manifests in the body as the Vital Force - that which the Chinese call Qi and the Hindus call Prana.
Called The Bright One, Apollo is an eternal youth, and the bringer of enlightenment and higher consciousness to all mankind. Advocating order, balance, harmony, personal discretion and conscious living, Apollo's two basic health mottos are: Know thyself. and, Nothing in excess.
Apollo's bow symbolizes the concept of tone and the need for physical conditioning. Tone is the dynamic tension between opposite yet complementary forces within the human organism. The higher the level of tone, the greater this dynamic tension is, and the greater the capacity of the organism to respond with decisiveness, strength, and vigor. When we exercise, we're toning up our muscles; we also feel more vital and alive, responsive and energetic.
Stringing Apollo's bow means bringing these powerful opposing forces into the proper relationship or alignment. Until this happens, the system is non-functional, or dysfunctional, and unable to respond properly.
Apollo's lyre symbolizes the gift of music, which is the harmony of sounds. To have health and healing, there must be a harmonious ordering of all the vital forces within the organism; all the strings must be in tune. There's a deep therapeutic relationship between music and healing.
In Greek mythology, Apollo is acknowledged as the original source of health and healing. He is the first god addressed in the Hippocratic Oath. He was also the father of Asclepius, the god of medicine.
Acknowledgements:
Cassell's Dictionary of Classical Mythology by Jenny March
Copyright 1998 by Cassell and Co. in the UK
Entry on Apollo - pg. 110
