NOMI

Yeah, me too. Hard not to notice.

But let's take a closer look at his hair, more specifically at Apollo's iconic hairstyle - the "hair bow".

So, why has he been depicted that way and what's up with this hairstyle?

The "hair bow" has been one of the most recognisable features of Apollo.

A great example and probably the most well-known sculpture of this divinity depicted in such a way is the so-called Pythian Apollo, better known as Apollo Belvedere - a marble statue dated to around 2nd century A.D. and considered to be a copy of an original bronze statue of 330-320 B.C. by Leochares, one of the artists who worked on the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus.

The statue has always been greatly admired and even considered to be "the sublime expression of Greek art" by some.

Apollo is depicted as an archer. He moves forward gracefully and seems to have just released an arrow from the bow which he originally carried in his left hand. His quiver is suspended across his left shoulder. He is entirely nude except for his sandals and a chlamys (a type of robe) clasped at his right shoulder, turned up on his left arm, and thrown back.

Now, let's talk about Apollo's locks. His hair, lightly curled, flows in ringlets down his neck and rises gracefully to the summit of his head. We can see Apollo's hair be tied into this beautiful, elaborate hairstyle - the iconic "hair bow"... except it's not exactly a hair bow!

Apollo's hair is encircled with the strophium and it's not just to make it look pretty, there is a good reason for that!

Strophium was a type of band very characteristic and symbolic of people with high status, rulers, kings, and ultimately, gods, making it a perfect hairstyle to symbolise Apollo's status and divinity.

Head of Apollo, modelled on the Apollo Belvedere (marble Roman copy, ca. 120-140 AD)

Oh, here’s another:

It would appear that Asian scribes were also plagued by feline predations: