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UniversiW M icronlm i International 300 N. Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, Ml 48106 8300279 Johnson, Julie Ann THE FUNCTION OF DELPHIC RESPONSES IN GREEK TRAGEDY The Ohio Slate University Ph.D. 1982 University Microfilms Intern atio n el 300 N. zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48106 Copyright 1982 by Johnson, Julie Ann All Rights Reserved IHE FUNCTION OF DELPHIC RESPONSES IN GREEK TRAGEDY DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Julie Ann Johnson, B.A., M.A. ****** The Ohio State University 1982 Reading Committee: Approved by; Professor Jane M. Snyder Professor Robert J. Lenardon Professor Charles L. Babcock A/. — Adviser [ Department of Classics ACKNOWLEDGMENTS For the faith, encouragement, and criticisms to which this work owes a great debt, I wish to thank Jane Snyder, Robert Lenardon, and Charles Babcock. J.A.J. VITA 1972.................... B.A., University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska 1973-1975............... Teaching Assistant, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska 1975.................... M.A., University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska 1975-197 6............... Teaching Associate, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1976-197 7............... Research Associate, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1977-197 8 ............... Teaching Associate, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1978-197 9............... Graduate Fellowship, The Ohio State University, New Hall College, Cambridge University 1979-198 0............... Teaching Associate, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1980-198 1............... Instructor of Greek and English, Wittenberg University, Springfield, Ohio 1981-198 2 ............... Teaching Associate, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................... il VITA ............................................. iii INTRODUCTION ...................................... 1 CHAPTER I. THE CONCEPTUAL STATUS OF DELPHIC RESPONSES . 9 II. RESPONSES OF THE THEBAN C Y C L E ............. 29 III. RESPONSES OF THE MYCENAEAN C Y C L E ........... 73 IV. NON-CYCLIC RESPONSES ...................... 110 SUI-IMARY............................................ 131 BIBLIOGRAPHY ...................................... 139 iv INTRODUCTION According to legend, Zeus wished to locate the world's center and so he released two eagles at opposite edges of the earth. These eagles flew towards one another and met at Delphi, at a spot marked thereafter by the Omphalos or navel stone. To the ancient Greeks, then, Delphi represented the center of the geographical world, a position that reflected the prominence of Delphi in the political, religious, and social life of the ancient world. Delphi was estab­ lished as an oracular center well before it reached its apex in the sixth century B.C. and it continued to operate as such up to the fourth century A.D. In its longevity, as well as in its wealth and influence, Delphi was unique among ancient oracular centers and, indeed, among ancient institutions. It may be precisely because Delphi was so much a part of their daily lives that ancient authors discuss it so little.^ Perhaps the rituals were so well known to so many that they felt no need to ex­ pound in detail upon them. Yet although the Greeks have little to say about the workings of the oracular institution, they have a great many occasions to cite oracular responses, and these citations occur in nearly every area of Greek literature— poetry, drama, history, philosophy, and even inscriptions. Delphic pronouncements are cited by Greeks and by Romans, by pagans and by Christians, by lexico­ graphers and by scholiasts. References to Apollo's utterances are 1 ubiquitous in classical writings. In the last century there has been a considerable increase of interest in the Delphic sanctuary and its ritual. The French have excavated the site of the oracular center, and studies have examined the archaeological evidence in order to recreate, as far as possible, 2 the rituals involved in consulting the god. Works have come forth on the history of the institution and on its influence over Greek 3 politics, Greek religion, and Greek morality. Along with studies of the institution have come studies of the oracular pronouncements themselves. In 1956 Parke and Wormell published a list of all the known Delphic responses and citations, culled from every area of ancient writing. In addition to the list of responses, which were organized chronologically, Parke and Wormell discussed briefly the 4 style and meter of the responses. Fontenrose in 1978 published a study of the pronouncements in which he classified the responses by their modes and topics.^ Fontenrose set out to establish the histor­ icity of pronouncements whose authenticity was in question by compiling statistics on the characteristics of responses judged to be historic and on responses judged to be merely legendary. He then analyzed each questionable response to see whether it possessed those qualities dominant among the historic or among the legendary groups. In this way Fontenrose argued for the verification or elimination of every uncertain response. Although Fontenrose was interested primarily in establishing whether or not a body of dubious pronouncements can be accepted as genuine, by his effort to make modal distinctions he began to analyze oracular pronouncements as acts of speech. Fontenrose, however, stopped short of applying his categories as conceptual distinctions, using them primarily as statistical divisions. He finds, for example, that 13.6 percent of all legendary responses are conditioned commands, but none of the historical responses are. Thus a dubious response, if it is a conditioned command, is more likely to be legendary than historical. In these distinctions, nonetheless, are the bases for logical analysis of all oracular responses. Parke, Wormell, and Fontenrose have laid the groundwork needed for further studies on the conceptual nature of Delphic pronouncements. This is a topic on which there has been as yet little organized and concentrated study. By "conceptual nature" I mean how the Greeks thought about the responses. Did they regard them as sacred or as secular texts? Did the Greeks expect Apollo to announce what must happen or what could happen? Did they believe that the god controlled events or only dispensed information? Why did one go to Delphi? What did one expect to get out of the trip and the fees for consultation? Did men visit Delphi in order to put their lives in someone else's hands— as one scholar has suggested— or did they only seek assistance?^ Not every consultation at Delphi turned out well for the inquirer. Croesus, king of Lydia, gave magnificent gifts to Delphi’s treasuries and he seems to have expected some consideration from Apollo in return. Nonetheless, as Herodotus (1. 49-91) tells the story, the Pythia replied ambiguously when Croesus inquired whether he should fight the Persians, predicting the fall of a great empire. Croesus, interpreting the response as favorable, fought the Persians— and lost. His warm relations with Delphi did him no good. Yet such stories did not seem to discourage inquirers from making their way to Parnassus. It is not unusual to find some stories of Delphic corruption as well among the Greek writers. Herodotus (6. 66) also tells a story of a Pythia's being suborned and a priest bribed by a Spartan king during a political struggle in Sparta. Croesus, once again, was arro­ gant enough to test the accuracy of Delphi and several other oracular centers (Hdt. 1. 46-50). Croesus hoped to find out which centers provided true prophecies. Delphi passed the test, so Apollo must not have considered such upstart challenges beneath his dignity. It is clear that false prophecy, whatever the cause, was conceivable. Not only was false prophecy possible from Delphi— Plutarch presents an argument suggesting that true prophecy might be impossible (De Pyth. or. 398Fff.). In Plutarch's dialogue a young man argues that, given an infinite amount of time and the infinite play of chance, anything that is said will eventually occur.