able to obtain in marriage Alceste the daughter of Pelias; and soon after, the Parcæ granted, at Apollo’s request, that Admetus might be redeemed from death, if another person laid down his life for him. He assisted Neptune in building the walls of Troy; and when he was refused the promised reward from Laomedon the king of the country, he destroyed the inhabitants by a pestilence. As soon as he was born, Apollo destroyed with arrows the serpent Python, whom Juno had sent to persecute Latona; hence he was called Pythius; and he afterwards vindicated the honour of his mother, by putting to death the children of the proud Niobe. _See:_ Niobe. He was not the inventor of the lyre, as some have imagined, but Mercury gave it him, and received as a reward the famous caduceus with which Apollo was wont to drive the flocks of Admetus. His contest with Pan and Marsyas, and the punishment inflicted upon Midas, are well known. He received the surnames of Phœbus, Delius, Cynthius, Pœan, Delphicus, Nomius, Lycius, Clarius, Ismenius, Vulturius, Smintheus, &c., for reasons which are explained under those words. Apollo is generally represented with long hair, and the Romans were fond of imitating his figure, and therefore in their youth they were remarkable for their fine heads of hair, which they cut short at the age of 17 or 18. He is always represented as a tall, beardless young man, with a handsome shape, holding in his hand a bow, and sometimes a lyre; his head is generally surrounded with beams of light. He was the deity who, according to the notions of the ancients, inflicted plagues, and in that moment he appeared surrounded with clouds. His worship and power were universally acknowledged: he had temples and statues in every country, particularly in Egypt, Greece, and Italy. His statue, which stood upon mount Actium, as a mark to mariners to avoid the dangerous coasts, was particularly famous, and it appeared to a great distance at sea. Augustus, before the battle of Actium, addressed himself to it for victory. The griffin, the cock, the grasshopper, the wolf, the crow, the swan, the hawk, the olive, the laurel, the palm tree, &c., were sacred to him; and in his sacrifices, wolves and hawks were offered, as they were the natural enemies of the flocks, over which he presided. Bullocks and lambs were also immolated to him. As he presided over poetry, he was often seen on mount Parnassus with the nine muses. His most famous oracles were at Delphi, Delos, Claros, Tenedos, Cyrrha, and Patara. His most splendid temple was at Delphi, where every nation and individual made considerable presents when they consulted the oracle. Augustus, after the battle of Actium, built him a temple on mount Palatine, which he enriched with a valuable library. He had a famous colossus in Rhodes, which was one of the seven wonders of the world. Apollo