Arpan K. Banerjee
Solihull, England

In Place Masséna, a historic square named after Napoleon’s greatest general, near the old town area of Nice, France, there is a grand fountain in the Baroque style named the Fontaine du Soleil, or the “Sun Fountain.” In the center of the fountain stands a marble sculpture depicting the god Apollo surrounded by five bronze statues in the basin representing Saturn, Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Earth. The seven-meter high Apollo was sculpted by Alfred Auguste Janniot, who finished the sculpture in 1956. He had started work on the project before World War II broke out.

Apollo, the sun god in Greek mythology, was believed to pull the sun across the sky each day with his chariot and four horses. Apollo was also the god of archery, music, poetry, dance, learning, and prophecy. He was also believed to having a role in healing and the plague.

He was the lover of the princess Coronis and had a son, Asclepius, who was the ancient god of medicine. Apollo killed his unfaithful lover, Coronis, while she was pregnant, and myth has it that Asclepius was ripped out of her womb and partially raised by Apollo. Asclepius was taught the art of healing by the centaur Chiron. He was struck dead by lightning from Zeus, the king of the gods, because Zeus thought Asclepius was such a good healer that he would soon be raising people from the dead.