Secrets of the Oracle: Where the Greeks and Romans Went for Advice By Julia Kindt, The Conversation, adapted by Newsela staff on 08.28.17 Word Count 967 Level 960L
Temple of Apollo located on the slopes of Mount Parnassus near Delphi, Greece, the original location of the Delphic Oracle. Photo by: Adam L. Clevenger/Wikimedia
When facing a tough decision, you might wish you had a crystal ball to see into the future. If you knew what was going to happen, you could always choose the best path.
In the ancient world, people used to visit oracles for just this purpose. Oracles were places where people could receive prophecies. Prophecies were predictions about what would happen, sent down from the gods.
The most famous oracle was called the Oracle at Delphi, which promised to reveal the past, present and future.
Yet oracles rarely provided simple answers. Just ask King Croesus of Lydia, who asked at Delphi whether he should attack the Persians. He was told that, if he did, he would destroy a great empire. Taking this as a prediction of success, he attacked.
This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. The prophecy came true. He did end up destroying an empire, but the empire he destroyed turned out to be his own.
Ancient people went to oracles for answers. It was up to them, however, to decide what the oracle's answers actually meant.
A voice of authority
The Oracle at Delphi was the most important oracle in the ancient world, and was located in Greece on the side of a mountain called Mount Parnassus. It was open for business once a month, except during winter.
At its center was a temple dedicated to Apollo, the Greek god of prophecy, who was believed to know everything, past and future. Inside the temple was a priestess called the Pythia, through whom Apollo spoke, and who answered people's questions.
People asked the Pythia about anything and everything, from politics and warfare, to religion, health, family, and even heartbreak. The Pythia listened as she sat on a tripod, or three-legged stool.
The questions people asked oracles revealed a lot about them, and the way they interpreted the prophecies often revealed even more.
How did it work?
How did the Pythia come up with their prophecies? One modern theory is that there were natural gases coming out of the ground at Mount Parnassus, which could have given the priestesses their visions.
That theory remains unproven. One thing is clear, however. The prophecies that were recorded were part of a long storytelling tradition.
We have found written records of about 600 questions and answers from Delphi. Many of the answers are beautiful and complicated, like poetry. Furthermore, like fables and stories, the unexpected way a prophecy comes true often teaches a lesson.
Phalanthus of Sparta, for example, once asked the oracle if he would be able to conquer a city in battle. He was told that he could "when rain falls from cloudless sky." At first, he though that this meant he would never be successful in battle, since it is impossible for rain to fall from a clear sky.
Feeling hopeless, he laid his head in his wife's lap, and she felt so sorry for him that she started to cry. Her name was Aethra (ancient Greek for "clear sky"), and her tears fell like drops of rain, so in a sense, rain was falling from a clear sky in that moment.
That night, Phalanthus conquered the city of Tarentum in southern Italy.
The real and the imaginary
It is hard to believe that some of the stories of oracles' prophecies, and the way they came true, really happened. Take, for example, the story of Arcesilaus, who had been king of the city Cyrene, but who'd been thrown from power and sent away from the kingdom. He asked the Pythia at Delphi if he could return and was told that his family would, in fact, take back the throne.
This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. However, the priestess warned him: "As for yourself, when you return to your country, be gentle. If you find the oven full of jars, do not bake them but send them off with the wind."
Arcesilaus returned to Cyrene and defeated his enemies. Wanting revenge, he chased a group of them into a tower, had wood stacked around it, and set it on fire.
It was already too late by the time he remembered the prophecy. He had "baked" an "oven full of jars," and he died soon after.
Evidence suggests that most people who actually visited oracles asked simple questions, so it is likely that stories like this one were made up. Thus, the stories of oracles do not just make up part of the history of the ancient world. They also make up part of its literature.
Delphi's modern legacy
The Roman emperor Theodosius I closed down the Delphic Oracle more than 1,600 years ago, and it is now a popular tourist destination.
Today, there are no more Pythias, but we still have a natural desire to ask what is beyond the here and now. It is part of our constant efforts to control what comes next. Economic experts predict how businesses and markets will change, acting like modern-day oracles. Google is oracle-like, too: ask it a question, and it will give you an answer (or a thousand).
Oracles, new and old, offer knowledge, but what kind of knowledge is the most important?
Both Croesus of Lydia and Chilon of Sparta asked this very question at Delphi. They were both told that to "know themselves" (gnōthi seauton) was best.
"Know yourself" was written as a motto above the temple of Apollo at Delphi, clearly visible to everyone entering. It is also the lesson of many stories of prophecies gone wrong. Often, it is people's own flaws and arrogance that lead them to misunderstand the answers they get from oracles. What they really need is not knowledge of the future, but a greater understanding of themselves.
Julia Kindt is an associate professor and chair of the Department of Classics and Ancient History, University of Sydney, Australia.
This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. Quiz
1 Read the section "A voice of authority."
Which paragraph BEST supports the idea that people who asked questions at the Oracle at Delphi did NOT receive clear answers?
2 Read the section "How did it work?"
Which sentence BEST supports the idea that the prophecies made by the Pythia were an important part of the ancient Greek culture?
(A) One modern theory is that there were natural gases coming out of the ground at Mount Parnassus, which could have given the priestesses their visions.
(B) The prophecies that were recorded were part of a long storytelling tradition.
(C) We have found written records of about 600 questions and answers from Delphi.
(D) Furthermore, like fables and stories, the unexpected way a prophecy comes true often teaches a lesson.
3 Read the selection from the section "Delphi's modern legacy."
Today, there are no more Pythias, but we still have a natural desire to ask what is beyond the here and now. It is part of our constant efforts to control what comes next.
Which word, if it replaced "constant" in the second sentence above, would CHANGE the meaning of the sentence?
(A) continual
(B) unceasing
(C) occasional
(D) regular
4 Read the sentence from the section "Know thyself."
Often, it is people's own flaws and arrogance that lead them to misunderstand the answers they get from oracles.
HOW does using the word "flaws" affect the TONE of the sentence above?
(A) It suggests a negative tone.
(B) It suggests a positive tone.
(C) It suggests a neutral tone.
(D) It suggests a biased tone.
This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.