Aidonian's blog

the epithets of Alexikakos and Apotropaios are next to Soter/Soteira interesting because like Soter/Soteira it seem to suggest that the God or Goddess who has such a epithet can drive away evil spirits. 

From a monotheistic point of view it can look that way, but its more than that. The “averted of evil” can also imply not just spirits, but diseases, thoughts, deeds, etc… That’s my take on it.

Notably the God Apollon has such epithets. In this case it can more imply that He averts evil in the sense of diseases, not so much as spirits although some diseases were personified as spirits. 

The Athenians worshipped Zeus and Apollon as Alexikakos because it was believed to have stopped the plague which raged at Athens in the time of the Peloponnesian War. It was also applied to Heracles.

There is a statue of Apollo in the Museo delle Terme in Rome, a Roman copy of a Greek original, that is thought to be a copy of the statue of Apollo Alexicacus by Calamis that stood in the Ceramicus of Athens. 

Here is also the thing. Apollon is the healer, but he can also bring diseases. When his sister Artemis was denied a sacrifice, He came to her aid and brought down a plague to the Greek camp. While He could protect people from diseases, He could easily send them. Not because He’s evil or anything like that. There are no “evil” Gods in Hellenic polytheism. 

The ancient Greeks understood that diseases are part of nature as we understand it today. It is actually a good thing if someone gets sick, because that strengthens a person’s immune system. 

But those epithets can also be used in other Gods like Hekate, Persephone, Aidoneos as Aidoneos & Persephone are Rulers of the Underworld like Hekate, they can rule over the dead and daimones.

So far I have had two experiences where I was visited by a spirit who did not show me their appearance. I could only see a humanlike appearance, but other than that, I could not make up anything. So I use the epithets Alexikakos and Apoptropaios regularly because of it. Honestly, those experiences freaked me out to no end.