“The responses were often obscure and enigmatical, and couched in ambiguous and metaphorical expressions, which themselves needed an explanation,” wrote Oskar Seyffert in A Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, Mythology, Religion, Literature & Art. The Oracle of Delphi entered a trance that resulted in delirium or frenzy during prophecies. The Greeks dedicated the place with an omphalos, which means navel, in the form of a big rock carved in decorative motifs. After flying for a long time, the eagles crossed paths at Delphi. Their mythology tells us that long before Apollo came along, the beloved and all-powerful Zeus, the Father God of the ancient Greeks, released two eagles from the edge of the world to find the middle. The oracles at Delphi specifically channeled the god Apollo.Īs the center of the world, the Delphi sanctuary was also integral to Greek religion. Based on Greek religion, the bodies of the oracles served as vessels that gods could possess to give humans advice or relay the outcome of a war or someone’s fate. Oracles were important to the Greeks because of their belief that the gods communicated with people directly through mediums. Through her, they heard the will of the gods on essential matters, such as military campaigns or auspicious places to found a new colony. CC2.0 Charles Nadeau.Īlthough anyone could see the Pythia at Delphi for a price - usually an animal sacrifice or valuable votive offering - wealthy people and heads of state paid the oracle well for preferential treatment. The Temple of Apollo, Delphi, was the seat of the Pythia, who gave prophecies for a fee. Daphnis breathed in what the writer on ancient Greek myth and religion Robert Graves called “the fumes of prophecy.” Others say she inhaled methane, the odor of rot from a cadaver, or burning laurel leaves. Gaia appointed the nymph Daphnis as her prophetess - the first Oracle of Delphi. As a primordial goddess, Gaia was the Mother Earth who gave birth to the gods.īased on the Greek story, it was Gaia who first inhabited Delphi, and her son, Pytho (or Python), a mighty serpent or dragon, guarded the site.
Many experts agree that between 1700 BCE-1400 BCE, the sanctuary, previously called Pytho, began as a place of the worship of Gaia (Hoyle).
In the first century CE, Plutarch wrote about the Delphic sanctuary as having a “three thousand years’ old reputation.” However, the evidence does not support this. Located about 100 miles northeast of Athens, Delphi was the very navel or center of the world to the Greeks. For the sake of clarity, in this article, the word oracle will usually refer to the priestess, seer, prophetess, medium, or Sibyl. It can also be the place where such prophecies are given, or it can be the prophecy itself. What Does Oracle Mean?īy definition, an oracle can be a priestess or priest who serves as a medium to provide prophecies or advice. After a Pythia or prophetess died, the priests would select another to become the new Oracle of Delphi.
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