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The Sun King

Louis XIV chose the sun as his emblem. The sun was associated with Apollo, god of peace and arts, and was also the heavenly body which gave life to all things, regulating everything as it rose and set.

Like Apollo, the warrior-king Louis XIV brought peace, was a patron of the arts, and dispensed his bounty. The regularity of his work habits and his ritual risings and retirings (levee and couchee) were another point of solar comparison. Throughout Versailles, decoration combines images and attributes of Apollo (laurel, lyre, tripod) with the king's portraits and emblems (the double LL, the royal crown, the sceptre and hand of justice).
The Apollo Salon is the main room of the Grand Apartment because it was originally the monarch's state chamber.

The path of the sun is also traced in the layout of the gardens.Young Louis XIV liked to dance and to play in different court performances.

Young Louis XIV liked to dance and to play in different court performances. Once he had to play SUN in the Ballet de la Nuit. After that performance he decided to choose SUN as his symbol.



   
 
 






© Elena Steingrad     www.louis-xiv.de     2000 -

the image of Louis XIV in the menu is taken from PC-Game "Versailles II" created by Cryo Interactive Entertainment. See the description of that game under "Software" for more information.