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 with the noun "apellai" and suggested a Pre-Greek proto-form *"Apalun". Several instances of popular etymology are attested from ancient authors. Thus, the Greeks most often associated Apollo's name with the Greek verb ("apollymi"), "to destroy". Plato in "Cratylus" connects the name with ("apolysis"), "redemption", with ("apolousis"), "purification", and with ("[h]aploun"), "simple", in particular in reference to the Thessalian form of the name, , and finally with ("aeiballon"), "ever-shooting". Hesychius connects the name Apollo with the Doric ("apella"), which means "assembly", so that Apollo would be the god of political life, and he also gives the explanation ("sekos"), "fold", in which