What's the deal with conductors?

I like classical music. I like to listen to it. I like to play it on the piano.

What I don’t really understand is all the adulation heaped on conductors. I mean, what exactly is their scope of duties and why are they so highly regarded. Are some of them really the geniuses that symphony aficionados would have you believe? How exactly? Is there so much latitude and variation in how they can interpret and steer their orchestras, that “genius” is really appropriate? Would their orchestras just run amok if they weren’t guiding them along? Is it possible that the praise they get is as much about the toiling they do in rehearsals, pulling awesome performances out of professional musicians that would otherwise be improvising and goofin off? I mean, I’m not saying they’re glorified disc jockeys, just turning on and off the orchestras, but what’s with all the hype?