The Delphic Oracle ~ The ancient prophecies known as the Sibylline Oracles or Sibyllae are attributed to divinely inspired seeresses who lived in the Greek colonies in the 8th century BC. The earliest reference to a Sibyl was by the philosopher Heraclitus (ca. 500 BC): The Sibyl with frenzied lips, uttering words mirthless, unembellished, unperfumed, penetrates through the centuries by the powers of the gods. The Sibylline Oracles were well respected by the Jewish and early Christian Fathers, who quoted them frequently and even published their own revised editions containing Judaeo-Christian prophecies and teachings for dissemination amongst the pagans. The Sibylline Oracles (1:381-388) include this prediction of the birth of Christ: And then the child of the great God to men Shall come incarnate, being fashioned like The mortals on the earth. And he shall bear Four vowels, and the consonants in Him Are twice told; and the whole sum I name: For eight ones, and as many tens to these, And yet eight hundred will the name reveal To men who are given up to unbelief. The utterances of the Greek Oracles of Dodona and of Apollo at Delphi were gospel in their time, and guided the course of Greek and Roman history for several centuries. The Delphic Oracle was located on Mount Parnassus. There the virgin priestesses, called Pythia, uttered ecstatic prophecies during an elaborate ritual that included chewing the leaf of a sacred bay tree and drinking from the holy fountain Kassotis that flowed from Omphalos, the navel of the the earth. The Pythia sat on a tripod over a fissure in the cavern Adyton, and breathed the vapors arising from the abyss. The fumes induced a trance in them, and they proceeded to pronounce (or more often mumble incoherently) messages that were interpreted by attendant priests, who conveyed their translations to the supplicants. Socrates declared: Such prophecy is akin to madness, but it is a madness which is the special gift of heaven, and the source of the chiefest blessings among men. For prophecy is a madness, and the prophetess at Delphi and the priestesses of Dodona, when out of their senses have conferred great benefits to Hellas, both in public and private life, but when their senses were few or none.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Nov 2014 22:14:57 +0000
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