Apollo Apollo is said to have built a foundation and an altar on Delos using the horns of the goats that his sister Artemis hunted. Since he learnt the art of building when young, he later became "Archegetes", the founder of towns and god who guided men to build new cities. In his young years when Zeus had ignored him, Apollo spent his time herding cows. There, he was reared by Thriae, the bee nymphs, who trained him and enhanced his prophetic skills. During this time, Apollo also invented the lyre, and along with Artemis, the art of archery. He then
Apollo on the two sides of the Borghese Vase. Apollo is often associated with the Golden Mean. This is the Greek ideal of moderation and a virtue that opposes gluttony. Apollo is a common theme in Greek and Roman art and also in the art of the Renaissance. The earliest Greek word for a statue is "delight" (, "agalma"), and the sculptors tried to create forms which would inspire such guiding vision. Greek art puts into Apollo the highest degree of power and beauty that can be imagined. The sculptors derived this from observations on human beings, but they also embodied