adapted from Admetus and the Shepherd: A Greek Myth

Question

by Josephine Preston Peabody

Apollo did not live always free of care, though he was the most glorious of the gods. One day, in anger with the Cyclopes who work at the forges of Vulcan, he sent his arrows after them, to the wrath of all the gods, but especially of Zeus. Even the divine archer could not go unpunished, and as a penalty he was sent to serve some mortal for a year.
Now there was a certain king in Thessaly, Admetus, and there came to him one day a stranger, who asked leave to serve about the palace. None knew his name, but he was very comely, and moreover, when they questioned him he said that he had come from a position of high trust. So without further delay they made him chief shepherd of the royal flocks.
Every day thereafter, he drove his sheep to the banks of the river Amphrysus, and there he sat to watch them. The country folk that passed drew near to wonder at him. He would pipe for hours in the sun. A simple-spoken man he was, yet he seemed to know much more than he would say, and he smiled with a kindly mirth when the people wished him sunny weather.
Indeed, as days went by, it seemed as if summer had come to stay, and, like the shepherd, found the place friendly. Nowhere else were the flocks so white and fair to see, like clouds loitering along a bright sky; sometimes, when he chose, their keeper sang to them. Then the grasshoppers drew near and the swans sailed close to the river banks, and the countrymen gathered about to hear wonderful tales of the slaying of the monster Python and of a lovely maiden, Daphne, who grew into a laurel tree. In time, the rumor of these things drew the king himself to listen; Admetus, who had been to see the world, knew at once that this was no earthly shepherd, but a god. From that day, like a true king, he treated his guest with reverence and friendliness, asking no questions; and the god was well pleased.

2
This painting by Charles Lorrain is called Landscape with Apollo Guarding the Herds of Admetus (1645).

A painting of a man playing the guitar and a man grazing his cows near a river.

How does the representation of Apollo as a shepherd in the painting differ from the passage?

A.
The painting shows how carefully he looks after the flocks in contrast to the passage.
B.
The painting shows a more cultivated world than what is presented in the passage.
C.
The painting makes the shepherd seem more solitary than the passage does.
D.
The painting makes the natural world seem less enticing than the passage does.

Answer 1

In comparing the representation of Apollo as a shepherd in the painting with the description in the passage, the most relevant choice is:

B. The painting shows a more cultivated world than what is presented in the passage.

This choice reflects how the painting may depict an idyllic and manicured landscape, suggesting a more refined, cultivated environment, whereas the passage emphasizes the natural beauty and simplicity of the setting where Apollo, in disguise, watches over the flocks by the river. The passage captures a harmony with nature and a sense of wonder among the rural folk, which might not be as pronounced in a more structured artistic representation.