Kings Once Trusted This Greek Oracle To Predict The Future

Delphi sat on the slopes of Mount Parnassus and housed a sanctuary dedicated mostly to Apollo, the god of prophecy. Pilgrims journeyed there from throughout Greece. The site was associated with the omphalos, or “navel stone,” and represented the center of the world. According to Greek myth, Zeus proved this by sending two eagles in flight from the edges of the world to meet each other above Delphi.

In Greek mythology, Apollo is said to have seized control of Delphi by slaying the snake Python, which was already associated with the place. Both the title of the Pythia and the name of the ancient settlement Pytho were associated with the animal. There is a second legend that says Apollo changed himself into a dolphin and recruited Cretan sailors for his newly built temple. I’ll bet on the first one. At least that sounds realistic to me.

There are some recent articles on the internet claiming that the famous oracle was established around 1400 BCE. In support they quote archaeological finds at Delphi that date to 1500-1100 BCE, the period known as the Late Bronze Age. But this material doesn’t show that the Oracle of Apollo was yet in place in any recognizable form. It was centuries later that the sanctuary began to flourish.

It’s also often thought that the Pythia was a particular individual. It wasn’t. The name Pythia was a title, and successive women from the nearby town of Delphi (there’s no solid proof these women were from particularly high social standing or education) held the position over the life of the sanctuary. There could even be more than one in office at any given time during particularly busy periods.

The Pythia isn’t always portrayed as a young woman, although most of the imagery is of a young lady. According to one ancient account, young women filled the role at first, while later priestesses were women aged 50 or older. They dressed in robes normally worn by young girls. Another account says that they stopped using young women only after a man attacked a young Pythia; however, this is an ancient explanation rather than a confirmed historical event.

First came a series of rituals that might include purification at the nearby Castalian Spring, paying a fee or making an offering, and the testing of a sacrificial animal, often a goat, by priests or other officials to make sure it was auspicious before the consultation could proceed. Then the petitioner would be able to pose a question and get an answer, though we can’t be sure how that would have played out on any given day at Delphi.

Apollo was omniscient yet apparently kept regular office hours. According to one account, consultations were first held on Apollo’s birthday, the seventh of the month Bysios. At a later date, the consultation days may have included the seventh of several other months as well. It is thought that the oracle was closed for business in the winter, since this is when tradition claims that Apollo departed from Delphi.

The Pythia spoke her prophecies from a chamber within Apollo’s temple known as the adyton. This was a place associated with various sacred objects, namely the tripod, laurel branches, holy water, and the omphalos, although what it looked like and how it was used are still discussed by historians. Some sources even suggest there was a fissure in the floor of the room below the priestess. Again, that may be going a little too far, but you decide.

I like the idea that the Pythia went into a trance after inhaling fumes coming up from below the temple. Geologists eventually noticed fault lines and gas-producing geological features close by, and researchers suggested ethylene might have been responsible. But there wasn’t a huge open hole of the type seen in the paintings that came later.

While the Pythia is connected with laurel, and perhaps held it in her hands or wore it during her ritual, some late reports and modern reconstructions assert she even burned or chewed on the leaves, prompting suggestions that it functioned as a hallucinogen. Naturally. Yet there’s little evidence that normal laurel would have induced such a powerful intoxication as frequently discussed on the internet.

In other versions, the Pythia was said to utter incomprehensible noises that were interpreted by the priests as prophecies, while in others she was described as speaking clearly and answering questions explicitly, even in verse (although the question remains open). They may not have fabricated the prophecies, but might instead have organized the consultations, recorded the answers, or interpreted them for the seekers.

Part of Delphi’s fame was its association with obscure riddles, but there are only a couple of well-known stories in classical sources about the Delphic oracle being deliberately cryptic. The historian Herodotus reports that when Croesus, the wealthy king of Lydia, asked if he should attack Persia, the oracle answered that if he did, he would destroy a great empire. Croesus attacked, and destroyed his own.

There is little surviving evidence of what was actually said at Delphi. The majority of the ‘famous’ prophecies are recorded by authors who knew the outcome in advance. Successful prophecies might be repeated more often and therefore remembered better than others that failed or were less memorable. Some prophecies might have been rephrased or elaborated upon in retrospect to make them appear more significant.

Socrates, according to Plato’s account, had his friend Chaerephon ask the oracle if there was a man wiser than him, and she said no. Socrates did not believe he was wise, but he sought to disprove her, by asking politicians, poets, and craftsmen, among others, if they were in fact wise. In the end, he came to the conclusion that he was indeed wiser, in that he knew that he did not know.

Plutarch says Alexander went to Delphi on a day the oracle was closed. She wouldn’t talk to him, so he dragged her towards the temple by force. Then she said he was invincible and Alexander took it for the response he was looking for. However, the source of this story is a biography of Alexander by Plutarch, written a few hundred years later, so the historical accuracy is unclear, and it might even be embellished to further emphasize Alexander’s unstoppable aura.

Greeks frequently turned to Apollo in Delphi for advice on whether they should establish new colonies. Getting his blessing could help give a colony and its founder some legitimacy. Indeed, it is possible that some of these foundation myths were invented, or amended, once a colony had been successful, since a connection to Delphi made everything seem divinely approved. But the oracle did not plan colonial expansion as a unified project.

The Sacred Way was lined with treasuries built by other Greek cities to show off their wealth; victorious cities set up monuments; and foreign kings sent costly presents. It wasn’t just about worshipping Apollo; it was also about ensuring your rivals saw what a big shot you were. The sanctuary was so important that several Sacred Wars were fought in part for control of Delphi and its hinterland (although most historians don’t accept the story we have about the First Sacred War).

Delphi could well have been in possession of a great amount of information, since travelers, merchants, ambassadors, and rulers were always passing through and bringing news. Alliances with powerful cities and local political interests might have colored some answers. However, that doesn’t mean there was necessarily a covert spy ring run by the priests. Most people undoubtedly thought that Apollo was indeed speaking through the Pythia, even if political pressure or influence did sometimes sneak in.

The Pythia’s power over kings and cities would have made her one of the most influential women in history, if it were not impossible to prove such a thing. However, it would be safe to say that she held one of the most important religious positions a woman could hold during antiquity. After all, people believed Apollo spoke through her rather than her speaking entirely under her own authority.

Apollo’s Delphic temple became linked with brief phrases like “know thyself” and “nothing in excess,” but traditional accounts generally attributed those aphorisms to the Seven Sages, or to Greek wisdom in general, rather than to the Pythia. “Know thyself” likely had a deeper connotation than understanding your personality type. It was also probably a reminder to know your boundaries, remember that you are mortal, and don’t get too big for your boots.

Delphi was still significant long after the classical age of Greece ended. It was visited, patronized, looted, and restored by various Roman emperors over the centuries. The philosopher and priest Plutarch, who lived and worked at Delphi in the Roman period, discusses the practice of divination, implying that the oracle continued to function, although on a reduced scale compared to earlier times.

There’s a certain irony about Delphi though. It didn’t need to be a perfect oracle to wield its power. For some advisers it might have been an easy way to justify the hard call, or to absolve someone from having to bear the full weight of making a terrible decision by handing it off to the gods. We crave certainty, and it seems Delphi gave us a place to find it.

This content was created with the help of AI.