Description
This is a hand-sculptured and cast stoned with antique finish reproduction of the bust of the god Apollo now known as Belvedere Apollo after the marble statue 2.24 m (7 ft) high from an original from the 5th century BC now in Pio Clementino Museum, Vatican. Apollo is a god in Greek and Roman mythology, the son of Zeus and Leto, and the twin of Artemis (goddess of the hunt). In later times he became in part confused or equated with Helios, god of the sun, and his sister similarly equated with Selene, goddess of the moon in religious contexts. Apollo is considered to have dominion over the plague, light, healing, colonists, medicine, archery, poetry, prophecy, dance, reason, intellectualism and as the patron defender of herds and flocks. Apollo is known as the leader of the Muses and director of their choir. His attributes include: swans, wolves, dolphins, bows and arrows, a laurel crown, the cithara (or lyre) and plectrum. Apollo popularly (e.g., in literary criticism) represents harmony, order, and reason – characteristics contrasted by those of Dionysus, god of wine, who popularly represents emotion and chaos. The contrast between the roles of these gods is reflected in the adjectives Apollonian and Dionysian. In art, Apollo is usually depicted as a handsome young man, almost always beardless, and often with a lyre or bow in hand.
