Oracles

Frances Huang & Brittany Mullen

Prophecies from oracles were always vague

and obscure. How were these oracles derived and what caused people to trust them?

Research Question

An oracle can describe either a prophet or a

prophecy The oracles provided a way for the Gods to

communicate with people through a medium Those prophecies were used to predict and/or

advise about the future

Note: Prophesying wasn’t exclusively from the gods. People were able to consult spirits of the dead about the future, known as “necromanteion” (oracle of the dead). They were believed to be located by the ‘entrances of the underworld.’ i.e. Epirus by the river of Acheron

What are Oracles?

Oral Divination

Communication with the Gods through an Oracle

Cleromancy (the casting of lots) Interpreting various signs from tossing a die

or examining bones Interpreting Nature

Celestial phenomena The flight pattern and behavior instincts of

birds Sacred oak

Methods of Divination

Kings and pilgrims would travel far distances

to the oracles They would ask questions about anything

i.e. love, marriage, war, victory These rituals may have incuded some sort of

sacrifice, abstinence or fasting.

Consultants

Location of the oracle of

Apollo The temple is by Mount

Parnassus It was established

around 8th century B.C. Pythia, the priestess of

Apollo, would use Oral Divination for the oracles The first priestess was

named Pythia, the priestesses that followed were all called Pythia

Delphi

Pythia’s prophecies would

come from Apollo possessing her, causing her to go into a trance. As her voice changed she would speak with rhymes and riddles to forsake the future.

The Delphic oracle dealt with everything but consultants would ask primarily about war, colonization, leaders, and offerings to gods

The Delphic oracle was the most popular oracle It received the most

travelers and money It was known as the

omphalos, or “navel of the world.”

Delphi cont.

King Croesus of Lydia came to Delphi to ask

the oracle whether or not he should go to war with a neighboring kingdom.

The oracle vaguely responded: if he went to war, a great kingdom would fall.

Croesus interpreted the oracle as his enemy’s kingdom, instead it was his own.

A King came to temple of Delphi and asked if he would win the battle.

Apollo's Oracle at Delphi

Skepticism with Delphi Oracle

The Pythia resided in the inner sanctum, abaton or adyton (meaning not accessible or “not to be entered”).

Consultants would address the Pythia outside the abaton.

The Pythia was only able to prophesize while on the tripod situated at the abaton. It was considered where she derived her

powers from. Since the sanctuary is near Mount Parnassus, it

was believed that Pythia received her prophecies by inhaling large amounts of carbon dioxides and other gases, causing hallucinations and voice change.

Strabo (c. 64 B.C.–25 A.D.), for example, “the seat of the oracle is a cavern hollowed down in the depths … from which arises pneuma [breath, vapor, gas] that inspires a divine state of possession” (Geography 9.3.5)

The oracle of Asclepius

was located near Argolis and began 6th century B.C.

Asclepius is the son of Apollo and Coronis. He is the god of

medicine. He was taught the art of

healing by his father and Chiron.

Epidaurus

Epidaurus cont.

The oracle dealt with healing, medicine, and disease.

Consultants hoped they would be miraculously cured.

The consultants/patients were required or induced to sleep and dream in the underground hall of the abaton. They believed they would be visited by dream and wake up cured.

Ambrosia, a women from Athens who was blind in

one eye came to visit the oracle at Epidaurus. She was skeptical and did not believe people could

be cured simply by experiencing a dream. She went along with the oracles, fell asleep and

woke up cured. She describes in he dream how a god appeared

and told her he would cure her if she sacrificed a silver pig (for being a non believer) the god then made an incision in her eye and poured in medicine.

Skeptical Woman

Skepticism with Epidaurus Oracle

At the Epidaurus oracle, it was believed the consultants were induced to sleep by soporific drugs.

While they were asleep, there might have been ongoing surgeries.

Dodona was the oracle of Zeus. It was located in Epeiros, north-west

of Greece and began 20th century B.C. It wasn’t until the 13th and 14th centuries B.C. until the sanctuary was

established. The origins of the oracle revolve around the myth of how Zeus and his

wife, Dione, lived in the branches of the “holy beech tree” or oak tree. The priestesses of Dodona thought Zeus’ voice could be heard

through the sounds of the wind, the sound of pots hanging in the trees, the rustling of the leaves, and the sound of doves and other sounds of nature.

They translated these sounds into a prophecy from Zeus. Later three elderly priestesses named Peleiades (“Doves”) were

appointed to be the voice of the oracle. Dodona’s consultants would write their questions on small lead tablets, some tablets still survive today.

Dodona

Lead Tablets from Dodona displayed in a museum

To prevent this he ordered his

son to be killed but he was left on Mt. Cithaeron to die but was found by a peasant couple and lived.

Oedipus traveled to the oracle to find out who his parents were but she refused to say .

On the way to Thebes he killed a man and a carriage driver. The man was his father.

Oedipus answered a riddle of the sphinx and became King and asked him to marry the widow of the vanished King. This widow was his mother.

The prophecy did come true in the end.

Oedipus King Laius visited the Oracle at Delphi and told him his new born

son would kill his father and marry his mother.

Meleager

7 days after his birth, the three Moirai appeared and said he would die once one of the sticks in the fireplace burned completely

He will be brave and noble but he will live as long as the stick remains unconsumed 

Althaea (mother) pulled the stick out of the fire and placed it into a chest 

Years later the stick got set on fire and Meleager died. But how? 

Hektor arrives at Skaian Gates to see his wife

and son. Andromache says she predicts he will be killed in

battle, so he shouldn’t fight. He says if he is killed then that means it was fated and no one can escape the fates.

- Was predicting a source of the oracles?

Iliad

The Oracle of Gaea (Zeus'

Grandma) gave this prophecy She predicted Zeus and Metis'

second born child will be wiser and stronger than Zeus himself, King of all Gods

He tried changing this by swallowing Metis

Athena was born and she was the wisest of them all and of all men

Again this prophecy could not be prevented

Zeus

In Ancient Greece, mythology was considered

religion. These miracles and prophecies were believed in as strongly as the people believed in the gods. Although the oracles seemed fictitious, it allowed people to feel a sense of closeness to god.

Conclusion

"Ancient Prophecy: Oracles and the Gods." History Extra. N.p., n.d.

Web. 03 Apr. 2014. <http://www.historyextra.com/blog/ancient-prophecy- oracles-and-gods>.

De Bour, Jelle Z., and John R. Hales. "The Oracle of Delphi—Was She Really Stoned?" Biblical Archaeology Society. N.p., 30 May 2013. Web. 3 Apr. 2014. <http%3A%2F%2Fwww.biblicalarchaeology.org%2Fdaily%2Fancient-cultures%2Fdaily-life-and-practice%2Fthe-oracle-of- delphi%25E2%2580%2594was-she-really-stoned%2F>.

"DIONE : Greek Titan Goddess of the Oracle of Dodona ; Mythology." DIONE : Greek Titan Goddess of the Oracle of Dodona ; Mythology. Theoi Project, n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2014. <http://www.theoi.com/Titan/TitanisDione.html>.

George, Alexandra L. "Oracles." Kings College. Prof. Pavlac's Women's History Site, 18 Dec. 2005. Web. 03 Apr. 2014. <http://departments.kings.edu/womens_history/ancoracles.html>.

Leadbetter, Ron. "Dodona." Dodona. MMIX Encyclopedia Mythica, 5 Apr. 1999. Web. 03 Apr. 2014. <http://www.pantheon.org/articles/d/dodona.html>.

Works Cited

Works Cited cont.

Sophocles, and R. D. Dawe. Oedipus Rex. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1982. Print.

"ORACLE OF ZEUS AT DODONA : Ancient Greek Sanctuary & Oracle." ORACLE OF ZEUS AT DODONA : Ancient Greek Sanctuary &

Oracle. Theoi Project, n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2014. <http://www.theoi.com/Cult/ZeusDodonaiosCult.html>.

"Oracle." Oracle. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2014. <http://www.pantheon.org/articles/o/oracle.html>.

"Oracles in the Ancient World." The Ancient Oracles (The Classics Pages). N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2014. <http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~loxias/oracles.htm>.

"Oracles." Oracles. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2014. <http://www.ozmore.com/greek/oracles.html>.

"The Unsurpassed Healer - The Asklepion of Epidaurus." The Unsurpassed Healer - The Asklepion of Epidaurus. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2014. <http://romeartlover.tripod.com/Epidauro.html>.