The Oracle at Delphi
Gift of Prophecy
The Pythia, commonly known as the Oracle of Delphi, was the priestess at the
Temple of Apollo at Delphi, located on the slopes of Mount Parnassus, beneath
the Castalian Spring. The Pythia was widely credited for her prophecies inspired
by Apollo. The Delphic oracle was established in the 8th century BC, although it
may have been present in some form in Late Mycenaean times, from 1400 BC and was
abandoned, and there is evidence that Apollo took over the shrine from an
earlier dedication to Gaia. The last recorded response was given about 395 A.D.
to Emperor Theodosius I, after he had ordered pagan temples to cease operation.
During this period the Delphic Oracle was the most prestigious and authoritative
oracle among the Greeks. The oracle is one of the best-documented religious
institutions of the classical Greeks. Authors who mention the oracle include
Aeschylus, Aristotle, Clement of Alexandria, Diodorus, Diogenes, Euripides,
Herodotus, Julian, Justin, Livy, Lucan, Ovid, Pausanias, Pindar, Plato,
Plutarch, Sophocles, Strabo, Thucydides, and Xenophon.
The name "Pythia" derived from Pytho, which in myth was the original
name of Delphi. The Greeks derived this place name from the verb, pythein (πύθειν,
"to rot"), which refers to the decomposition of the body of the
monstrous Python after she was slain by Apollo. The usual theory has been that
the Pythia delivered oracles in a frenzied state induced by vapors rising from a
chasm in the rock, and that she spoke gibberish which priests interpreted as the
enigmatic prophecies preserved in Greek literature
Recent geological investigations have shown that gas emissions from a geologic
chasm in the earth could have inspired the Delphic Oracle to "connect with
the divine." Some researchers suggest the possibility that ethylene gas
caused the Pythia's state of inspiration. However, Lehoux argues that ethylene
is "impossible" and benzene is "crucially underdetermined."
Others argue instead that methane might have been the gas emitted from the
chasm, or CO2 and H2S, arguing that the chasm itself might have been a seismic
The idea that the Pythia spoke gibberish which was
interpreted by the priests and turned into poetic iambic pentameter has been
challenged by scholars such as Joseph Fontenrose and Lisa Maurizio, who argue
that the ancient sources uniformly represent the Pythia speaking intelligibly,
and giving prophecies in her own voice.
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