Abstract
This paper questions the widespread view associating the Apollo’s epithet ἀρχηγέτης/ἀρχηγός with the Seleucid city foundations in the Greek East. Special attention is paid to the epigraphic and numismatic evidence coming from the poleis of Apameia in Syria and Hierapolis of Phrygia, where Apollo was honoured as divine ἀρχηγέτης in imperial times. A reassessment of the available sources does not substantiate the claim that the mention of Apollo Ἀρχηγέτης in the inscriptions from Apameia, Hierapolis and other cities of the Greek East automatically points to cults going back to the Seleucid period.