Illustration of a coin of Apollo Agyieus from
Ambracia, depicting the conical representation of the god.
Agyieus (
Ancient Greek: Ἀγυιεύς,
romanized: Aguieus means 'he of the street'[1]) was an
epithet of the
Greek godApollo describing him as the protector of the streets, public places, and the entrances to homes.[2] As such he was worshiped at
Acharnae,[3]Mycenae,[4] and at
Tegea.[5] The origin of the worship of Apollo Agyieus in the last of these places is related by
Pausanias.[6]
The cult of Apollo Agyieus was
aniconic, and this facet of Apollo was worshiped in the form of a pointed column or obelisk,[7] often kept by the front door of a private home,[8] or in the open country, rather than in a temple. This symbol is similar to a sign like an edged cone found on the gate of a temple in the
Hittitic city
Boğazkale; an inscription names the god Apulunas. He was the protector of the gate. Hrozny derives the name from the Babylonian word abullu which means "gate ". The Greeks named him Agyieus, as the protector God who draws off evil.[9] Some writers have held that the
omphalos of the
oracle at
Delphi was a modified pillar of Agyieus.[10] When standing before a house, the stone objects would be decorated with offerings of ribbon, or wreaths of myrtle or bay.
Notes
^Graves, Robert (2017). The Greek Myths - The Complete and Definitive Edition. Penguin Books Limited. pp. Index s.v. Agyieus.
ISBN9780241983386.