Apollo ascribed to the god. However, while Apollo has a great number of appellations in Greek myth, only a few occur in Latin literature. Apollo's birthplace was Mount Cynthus on the island of Delos. Delphi and Actium were his primary places of worship. Apollo was worshipped throughout the Roman Empire. In the traditionally Celtic lands he was most often seen as a healing and sun god. He was often equated with Celtic gods of similar character. The cult centers of Apollo in Greece, Delphi and Delos, date from the 8th century BCE. The Delos sanctuary was primarily dedicated to Artemis, Apollo's
Apollo is a healer physician god. However the Indo-European component of Apollo does not explain his strong relation with omens, exorcisms, and with the oracular cult. It seems an oracular cult existed in Delphi from the Mycenaean age. In historical times, the priests of Delphi were called Lab(r)yadai, "the double-axe men", which indicates Minoan origin. The double-axe, labrys, was the holy symbol of the Cretan labyrinth. The Homeric hymn adds that Apollo appeared as a dolphin and carried Cretan priests to Delphi, where they evidently transferred their religious practices. "Apollo Delphinios" or "Delphidios" was a sea-god especially worshiped in Crete and