Oracle of Delphi Baylee Duarte
According to Legend.. The hill was guarded by a giant serpent called Python, who was a follower of the cult of Gaia (mother Earth), for hundreds of years. After killing Python, Apollo claimed Delphi as his own sanctuary. Delphi was settled by worshipers of Mother Earth during the Mycenaean period (14 th-11th centuries B.C.). The worship of Apollo was established between the 9th-11th century BC By the 8th century B.C., Delphi was already renowned internationally for the prophetic powers of the Pythia. Yet, it was only in the following century that the Oracle became a Panhellenic institution, when Apollo s advice was sought by the Greek cities on important matters of state. According to Plutarch, who was once a priest at Delphi, the Pythia first enters the inner chamber of the temple ( Adyton). Then, she sits on a tripod and inhales the light hydrocarbon gasses that escape from a chasm on the porous earth. This observation can be confirmed by modern geologists. After falling into a trance, she mutters words incomprehensible to mere mortals. These words are then interpreted by the priests of the sanctuary in a common language and delivered to those who had requested them. Nevertheless, the oracles were always open to interpretation and often signified dual and opposing meanings. This can clearly be seen in the case of Croesus. Yet, there are many other instances where the prophecies of the Pythia were ambiguous as well.
Where? Temple of Apollo sanctuary was called Pytho after the snake which Apollo was believed to have killed there Delphi - Mount Parnassus near the gulf of Corinth Southwestern slope overlooking the valley of Phocis Origin: First settled in Mycenaean times in the late Bronze Age (1500-1100 BCE) Gained religious significance later (800 BCE)
Delphi Theater overlooking the Temple
Temple of Apollo at Delphi
Model of Delphi in ancient times found in the Delphi museum.
Who? High Priestess of the Temple of Apollo Pythia - Pytho The oracle was female because she originally served Gaia Any type of woman with an aptitude to speak for the god could be chosen to be an oracle. Married women - give up all family duties while stationed as the oracle Woman over fifty years of age, lived apart from her husband, and dressed in a maiden s clothes.
Fresco of Pythia titled King Lycurgus Consults the Pythia by Eugene Delacroix Kylix - Kodros Painter depicts Aegeus consulting the Oracle of Delphi for advice 440-430 BCE
When? Stationed in Delphi from 1400 B.C. to 381 A.D. Inquiries could only be made of Apollo once a year on the seventh day of the Greek month of Bysios-Apollo s birthday. Plutarch in a passage from Quaestiones Graecae changed to the seventh day of each month except the winter months when Apollo did not reside in Delphi. The change was made no later than 480 B.C.
The Truth Behind the Myth The trance the Pythia would enter was caused by inhalation of large amounts of carbon dioxide which produced hallucinations. Due to the volcanic faults that ran underneath the temple at Delphi. Oracles gave false information on occasions, but they were still a central part of the Greek and Roman religions.
The Truth Continued.. The history of an oracle at Delphi existed long before Apollo came there. According to Diodorus Siculus the first oracle appeared to a shepherd. The shepherd approached a chasm and as he neared he noticed his goats acting strangely. When he got close to the chasm he was affected with divine frenzy and began to tell of future events. Word spread and others began to visit the oracle of the Earth to divine their own futures. Unfortunately, too many people fell into the chasm and it was decided that only one person would be the prophet. It would be a woman and she would sit upon a tripod so as to not fall into the chasm.
Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/pythia https://www.ancient.eu/delphi/ http://oraclesofrome.weebly.com/art.html http://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends/pythia-oracle-delphi-001641 http://departments.kings.edu/womens_history/ancoracles.html http://ancient-greece.org/architecture/delphi-theater.html