oracles
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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>.
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