Ἀπόλλων

See also: Απόλλων

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• Ἀπείλων (Apeílōn) — Arcadocypriot
• Ἀπέλλων (Apéllōn) — Doric
• Ἄπλουν (Áploun) — Thessalian
• Ἀπέλον (Apélon) — Pamphylian

Etymology

Uncertain. Possibly from , or from an older, obsolete verb meaning "to drive away," as in evil (via Klein from Usener). Socrates in Cratylus connects it, probably incorrectly, to ἀπόλλυμι (apóllumi, “to destroy”), ἀπολούων (apoloúōn, “washing”), ἀπολύων (apolúōn, “delivering”), ἁπλοῦν (haploûn, “simple”), and ἀειβάλλων (aeibállōn, “always shooting”). Plotinus notes that Pythagoreans derived it from ἀ- (a-) and πολῠ́ς (polús) to render Απόλλων, literally "without having parts."

Sometimes said to derive from *Apeljōn to synchronize the Arcadocypriot and Doric variations with the Hittite deity Apaliunas, Hittite 𒀀𒀊𒉺𒇷𒌋𒈾𒀸 (A-ap-pa-li-u-na-aš).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /a.pól.lɔːn/ → /aˈpol.lon/ → /aˈpo.lon/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /a.pól.lɔːn/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /aˈpol.lon/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /aˈpol.lon/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /aˈpol.lon/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /aˈpo.lon/

Proper noun

Ᾰ̓πόλλων • (Apóllōn) m (genitive Ᾰ̓πόλλωνος); third declension

1. (Greek mythology) Apollo

Inflection

Third declension of ὁ Ἀπόλλων; τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος (Attic)

Case / #	Singular
Nominative	ὁ Ἀπόλλων ho Apóllōn
Genitive	τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος toû Apóllōnos
Dative	τῷ Ἀπόλλωνῐ tôi Apóllōni
Accusative	τὸν Ἀπόλλω / Ἀπόλλωνᾰ tòn Apóllō / Apóllōna
Vocative	Ἄπολλον Ápollon
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• Ἀπολλόδοτος (Apollódotos)
• Ἀπολλόδωρος (Apollódōros)
• Ἀπολλωνία (Apollōnía)
• Ἀπολλώνιον (Apollṓnion)

 

Descendants

• → Coptic: ⲁⲡⲟⲗⲗⲱⲛ (apollōn)
• Greek: Απόλλων (Apóllon); Απόλλωνας (Apóllonas)
• → Latin: Apollo
• → Russian: Аполло́н (Apollón)

Further reading

• “Ἀπόλλων”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “Ἀπόλλων”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “Ἀπόλλων”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• Ἀπόλλων in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2024)
• “Ἀπόλλων”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited, page 1,001