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Alexander the Great visited the Delphic Oracle wishing to hear a prophecy that he would soon conquer the entire ancient world. To his surprise the oracle refused a direct comment and asked him to come later. Furious, Alexander dragged Pythia by the hair out of the chamber until she screamed "You are invincible, my son!"
The word oracle comes from the Latin verb ōrāre, "to speak" and properly refers to the priest or priestess uttering the prediction. In extended use, oracle may also refer to the site of the oracle, and the oracular utterances themselves, are called khrēsmoí (χρησμοί) in Greek.
During the main period of the oracle's popularity, as many as three women served as Pythia, another vestige of the triad, with two taking turns in giving prophecy and another kept in reserve. [39] Only one day of the month could the priestess be consulted.
The Sibylline Oracles in their existing form are a chaotic medley. They consist of 12 books (or 14) of various authorship, date, and religious conception. The final arrangement, thought to be due to an unknown editor of the 6th century AD (Alexandre), does not determine identity of authorship, time, or religious belief; many of the books are merely arbitrary groupings of unrelated fragments.
Delphi among the main Greek sanctuaries. Delphi (/ ˈ d ɛ l f aɪ, ˈ d ɛ l f i /; [1] Greek: Δελφοί), [a] in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), was an ancient sacred precinct and the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient classical world.
Greek divination is the divination practiced by ancient Greek culture as it is known from ancient Greek literature, supplemented by epigraphic and pictorial evidence.. Divination is a traditional set of methods of consulting divinity to obtain prophecies (theopropia) about specific circumstances defined be
The Delphic Sibyl was a woman who was a prophet associated with early religious practices in Ancient Greece and is said to have been venerated from before the Trojan Wars as an important oracle. At that time Delphi was a place of worship for Gaia , the mother goddess connected with fertility rituals that are thought to have existed throughout ...
While prophecy and the consultation of the oracle were major aspects of religious practice at Delphi, Apollo was likely also worshiped for his capacity as a healer. Inscriptions along the polygonal wall refer to a tax levied to pay for medical attendance for people coming to the temple for healing. [26]