An Oracle was thought to be a medium (generally a person) that mortals used to seek advice from the gods or someone from whom they sought insightful council or prophetic predictions. It is considered to be a form of divination.
The word "Oracle" is derived from the Latin verb ōrāre, which means ''to speak'' and it alludes to the priest or priestess uttering the prophecy. The word oracle also refers to the site of the oracle and to the oracular statement, called khrēsmē in Greek.
There were 5 oracles spread across Greece. The most important and well known oracles were Pythia also known as Delphi (priestess to Apollo at Delphi), and the oracle of Dione and Zeus at Donoda at Epirus. They were commonly known as 'The Oracle of Delphi' and 'The Grove of Donoda' respectively. The other 3 oracles of Apollo were situated at Didyma and Mallus on the coast of Anatolia, at the islands of Delos and Ageina in the Aegan sea and at Corinth and Bassae in the Peloponnese.
There was also the Sybilline Oracles, which are a group of oracular sayings written in Greek hexameters ascribed to the Sibyls, prophetesses who delivered seraphic revelations in a frenetic state. In popular culture, J.K. Rowling paid tribute to the Sybilline Oracles in the famous Harry Potter series by naming the Divination teacher Sybill Trelawney.
The majority of oracles were shrines of / for Apollo, and he was the divine lord of prophecy. Whenever the mortals, more specifically half-bloods (also called demigods) needed any sort of advice or help regarding their quests, they would pray to him or Delphi to guide the way.
There have been more than 500 oracular statements which were found and are believed to all be from Delphi.
One of her most famous predictions was the answer she gave to an anonymous person, who asked her if he should join a military camp. The answer she gave him was ''Go, return not die in war.'' The man was vey confused as the phrase could have 2 different meanings. One being ''Go, return not, die in war.'', or it could mean ''Go, return, not die in war.'' The placement of the comma determined his fate, which we still do not know about till this day.
Another famous prophecy she made was around 630BC, when the Theran king brought her an offering on behalf of his native city. The oracle told him that he should found a city in Libya. The king thanked her and returned to his kingdom, but the problem was that he did not know where Libya was so he did nothing. A great drought on the island of Thera a few years later affected the Therans greatly. They again went to Delphi for advice, she told them to make a settlement in Cyrene in Libya and that if they did so things would go better for them. Following the oracle's guidance, the Therans asked the Cretans for their advice as to where Libya was and then established a colony at Platea. But alas, bad luck still followed them for the next 2 years, so they decided to visit Delphi a third time. She said ''Know you better than I, fair Libya abounding in fleeces? Better the stranger than who has trod it? Oh! Clever Therans!''. The Therans sought the local Libyans for enlightenment, who gave them a new site and the colony thrived.
I hope I have ignited a spark of curiosity in your mind for more information about the oracles. I can also predict that my upcoming blogs will be as interesting as this one!
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