Archegetes () is a Greek word that meant, effectively, "leader" or "founder". It could refer to a number of different things in

classical antiquity Classical antiquity, also known as the classical era, classical period, classical age, or simply antiquity, is the period of cultural History of Europe, European history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD comprising the inter ...

General

Primarily, it was a title for Greek gods and heroes that typically indicated one who was an originator or ancestor, especially of new colonies or settlements. This could be seen most commonly with

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

, but sometimes also with

Heracles Heracles ( ; ), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a Divinity, divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of ZeusApollodorus1.9.16/ref> and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive descent through ...

and the heroes of the

deme In Ancient Greece, a deme or (, plural: ''demoi'', δήμοι) was a suburb or a subdivision of Classical Athens, Athens and other city-states. Demes as simple subdivisions of land in the countryside existed in the 6th century BC and earlier, bu ...

s of

Attica Attica (, ''Attikḗ'' (Ancient Greek) or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the entire Athens metropolitan area, which consists of the city of Athens, the capital city, capital of Greece and the core cit ...

, and the Thracian horseman.

Apollo

Archegetes was notably an

epithet An epithet (, ), also a byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) commonly accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a real or fictitious person, place, or thing. It is usually literally descriptive, as in Alfred the Great, Suleima ...

of the Greek god

, under which he was worshipped in several places, as at

Naxos Naxos (; , ) is a Greek island belonging to the Cyclades island group. It is the largest island in the group. It was an important centre during the Bronze Age Cycladic Culture and in the Ancient Greek Archaic Period. The island is famous as ...

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

, where Archegetes was the most popular cult of Apollo, and at

Megara Megara (; , ) is a historic town and a municipality in West Attica, Greece. It lies in the northern section of the Isthmus of Corinth opposite the island of Salamis Island, Salamis, which belonged to Megara in archaic times, before being taken ...

. The name has reference either to Apollo as the leader and protector of colonies, or as the founder of towns in general, in which case the import of the name is nearly the same as Δεὸς πατρῷος. The altar of Apollo Archegetes at Naxos had particular importance as Naxos was the first Greek colony, founded in 734 BC. Though the altar was initially likely set up due to the maritime aspects of Apollo – most importantly the God of Happy Landing, έκβάσιος – the aspect of foundation, Archegetes, grew more important over time. As Archegetes was the aspect of Apollo relating to foundations and hence colonisation, the altar became a symbolic foundation and center of Sicilian Greek identity. Due to this symbolically central role, Greeks leaving Sicily would often visit the altar – Malkin describes it as a "ritualistic point of departure". Equally, it was a "symbol of arrival common to them all" when they came to Sicily. The pan-Sikeliote nature of Apollo Archegetes is also evident in Timoleon's use of the god as the symbol of his ''symmachia'', or alliance. The Apollo Archegetes at Naxos was Pythian, rather than Delian, with regard to its identity – it was connected to the similarly pan-Hellenic Delphic oracle. Archegetes was also an

of the Greek god

Asclepius Asclepius (; ''Asklēpiós'' ; ) is a hero and god of medicine in ancient Religion in ancient Greece, Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology. He is the son of Apollo and Coronis (lover of Apollo), Coronis, or Arsinoe (Greek myth), Ars ...

, under which he was worshipped at Tithorea in

Phocis Phocis (; ; ) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Central Greece. It stretches from the western mountainsides of Parnassus on the east to the mountain range of Vardousia on the west, upon the Gu ...

. Pausanias, ''Description of Greece'' 10.32.8

Notes

{{DGRBM, author=LS, title=Archegetes , volume=1, page=260, url=http://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/moa/acl3129.0001.001/275 Epithets of Apollo Epithets of Asclepius