Responses were given in various ways. The most prestigious was “inspired” prophecy. A priest or more commonly a priestess would speak, probably in a state of trance in the voice of a God. With healing oracles the consultant slept a night at the temple (incubation) and the God in theory would appear in a dream. The oracle of Zeus at Olympia worked by “empyromancy” signs drawn from the flames on Zeus’ altar.
The Pythia was a woman who served for life and was the priestess who alone received messages supposedly from the God. She spoke in a garbled language which was interpreted by the prophetai. Who whether they made it up or not spoke her message into something understandable.
The oracular consultation at Delphi took place in the adytum (innermost sanctuary) in which stood the omphalos. A stone marking the centre of the world as determined by Zeus. Who sent two eagles; one from the east and one form the west which met at Delphi.
The enquirer had to pay a consultation tax called pelanos. A sacrifice always took place outside the temple if the signs were good they would be allowed in if not they wouldn’t.
The Pythia prepared herself for the consultation by purification at the Castilian spring. She would at the start of the consultation burn laurel leaves and barley meal on the altar. Crowned with laurel she would then sit on the tripod and become “possessed” by the God. Shaking a laurel branch she would prophesise under divine influence.
The Delphic oracle was probably one of the most famous oracles in ancient Greek history. She was the oracle of Apollo residing in a large temple at Delphi consulted by many including Alexander the Great.
Alexander the Great visited the Delphic oracle wishing to hear a prophecy that he would soon conquer the entire ancient world. To his surprise the oracle refused a direct comment and asked him to come later. Furious, Alexander dragged the Pythia by the hair out of the chamber until she screamed “let go of me, you’re unbeatable”. The moment he heard these words he dropped her saying “Now I have my answer”.
According to the archaeologist John Hale Delphi was so sacred because it had a methane gas leak and if you breathed in enough of this methane gas it would intoxicate you and you would say mysterious things.
It must be noted that oracles were never seen by the consultant only by the priest (prophetai) so what you were told could be a complete load of rubbish, depending on their mood or if you paid them a lot.
Of course oracles were not always right and many times they were deliberately ambiguous. Such an occasion occurred when Lydian king Croesus (Cro-seus) the richest man in the world asked an oracle about going to war with the mighty Persian Empire. He was told that “A great empire will fall” automatically assuming this would be the Persian’s he rushed to war only to discover that the “great empire” in question was his own.
But of course for every time they got it wrong the also got it right. For example in the myth of Oedipus it is for told that he will murder his father and marry his mother (see sheet),
so of course he does, in true Greek style, do just that.
Oracles may sound silly for you or me, to spend our weekly pocket money on. But it is no different from the horoscopes girls by in magazines nor those in the paper. Hundreds of people ring The Psychic hotline every day. In truth an oracle is better than all these things. Your trip would be like a day out; you would get to know the priests who worked there. Not to mention if you were going to ask a question like “am I at threat from murder?” that a person who planned to kill you had been before and asked if it was a good idea or of course if you were not they wouldn’t have been.
Oracles continued to answer questions up until 390AD the one at Delphi lasted for more than 1000 years. But towards the end, fewer and fewer people came. In the very end, the Roman emperor Theodosius decided that a Christian emperor shouldn’t let people worship Apollo at Delphi and he ordered the shrine to shut down. The doom of oracles had been decided.
Whether they were true or not, silly or not, oracles were a big part of ancient Greek culture and life, deciding and sealing the fate of many. The art of divination has survived to this very day.
THE END ~ DA DAR (said in a pirate accent)
