Aditya Kamath

Religion 195B

Classical Greek Oracles

Keywords

Oracles, divination, ancient, Greek, religion, inquirer, Delphi, Apollo, chresmologue, Pythia

Body of the Paper

I. Abstract

Oracles were very important in the lives of the people who lived in ancient Greece. They were used to predict future events and to direct sacrifices to the various Gods and Goddesses of ancient Greek religion. Hence, it can be said that “Divination and divine signs concerned incidents and aspects of life which lay beyond human knowledge and control” (Mikalson 42). They were often used by Greek city-states and helped direct both domestic and foreign policy. The process for accessing the oracle was an arduous one, and required the oracle and various other intermediaries between the people and God. The words of the oracle were treated as if they were God’s and were never doubted. Thus the oracles maintained a very high place in Greek society. This paper will discuss the oracles of ancient Greece in depth but will focus on the oracle of Delphi as a representative example of the tradition. The reason for this is that the oracle at Delphi was the most used and prestigious oracle in the Greek world. It was so important, in fact, that Delphi was considered the center of the known world.

II. Scope and Purpose of the System

The ancient Greeks required guidance in many facets of their daily lives. Divination was seen as a tool to eliminate disorder and to establish a consensus of opinion in favor of a particular solution to a difficult problem (Morgan 154). Unlike today’s world, there was no real organized and unified religion and thus there were no religious texts to consult when people had problems. It was the common, and accepted, way to consult an oracle when a particularly difficult problem was faced by the inquirer and one could not rationally find, or were unsure of, the answer. The main purpose of the oracle was to predict future events and guide the actions of people based of this knowledge as oracles were the highest form of divination available for use in ancient Greece. Oracles were also used to decide which of the Greek Gods sacrifices should be made to. Divination was valuable for its ability to oppose authority, and to serve as a resistance mechanism, hence ensuring that leaders were not seen as acting entirely on their own initiative (Morgan 153).

There were a variety of locations where these oracles could be found throughout Greece, the most famous of which was that at Delphi. This oracle became so important, in fact, that it was considered the centre of the Greek world. This demonstrates that people not only consulted the oracle but also took the oracle’s predictions seriously. The oracle of Apollo at Delphi, like others at the time, was very influential in running state affairs. Not only was the oracle consulted by Greek states but it also was consulted by foreign states. When asked about problems that the state faced, it might respond with the best course of action that the state should take. In addition, oracles were always consulted before Greeks planned to colonize other parts of the world. This was done not only to see if the state could conquer their chosen colony, but also to see whether God approved of them doing so and would allow for their worship to be endorsed in these other locations.

The oracle was usually a human intermediary between the Gods and Greek society; that is to say, they were the mouthpieces of the gods. Thus, the costs of using the services of an oracle were quite high and usually not affordable for frequent use by the lay people. It is believed that the sum that was required for the use of the oracle was equivalent to two days pay for an Athenian juryman (Parke & Wormell 32). However, the fee for a state was up to ten times as much as that of a common person. Common people did, however, use the oracles significantly when finances allowed. Another limitation on accessibility was that no women were allowed to enter the inner sanctuary of the temple except the Pythia (Parke & Wormell 33). This meant that women could not directly consult the oracle, though they could do it through intermediaries.

III. Authority Structure

a. Sources and Criteria of Valid Knowledge

In ancient Greek religion there were a myriad of Gods, each with different powers and purposes. “The Gods know all things in sacrifices, omens, voices, and dreams they give forewarnings to whomever they wish” (Xenophon in Mikalson 39). While the omniscience of the Gods was treated with skepticism, it was commonly accepted that the Gods gave men signs concerning the future. Since the Gods were considered very important in Greek culture, the words that they gave to humans were given a lot of respect and were believed. While there was a person who was considered the oracle and directly delivered the words of God, there was often a paid professional who was responsible for interpreting what the oracle said so that it was understandable by lay people. This person was called a Chresmologue (“speakers” or “collectors” of oracles) (Mikalson 40). Manteis also served a similar purpose; they combined inspiration from a God with technical knowledge of divination and could interpret oracles in this way. Everything that was said by the oracle was considered to be the truth as they were the words of God. Often times when things did not turn out as the oracle had predicted, the interpretation was blamed and not the oracle itself. It was believed that people could misinterpret the message of the Gods because they were not skilled in this area. Alternatively, the phrasing of the question may not have been correct and thus the answer did not contain the desired information. In time the Chresmologues and Manteis became increasingly accurate with their interpretations and were given much more authority. More than likely, the reason for this was that the same types of questions were asked repeatedly and hence these people were more likely to know the answers based on experience. It is also hypothesized that these interpreters of oracles shared their experience with one another so that they were better equipped to deal with questions. It was an accumulated record that these people kept compiling in order to serve their customers as well as they could, and ensure that their services would still be desired in the future. It is also believed that a desirable solution was formulated by community authorities before consultation took place. “Oracles therefore sanction decisions taken on the basis of the accumulated wisdom of community leaders” (Morgan 153)

b. Methods of Inquiry

The actual process of consulting the oracle was an arduous and time consuming one. For example, the oracle at Delphi performed only on certain days at certain times. There was a rigorous selection process to choose the Pythia (oracle) who was the intermediary between God and society. She was chosen from amongst fifty priestesses of Apollo and had to resign herself to a life of chastity and seclusion, this was done in order to keep her pureness. On the seventh of each month, she would usually give her oracles but before this she had to go through a purification process. She would bathe in the Castalia spring and then undergo purification through barley smoke and laurel leaves. After this, she would enter the temple of Apollo and sit on a tripod seat over the fissure of Pytho (a supposed intoxicating gas fissure that was naturally in the ground). While here, she would chew on laurel leaves and sink into a trance. She would then be approached by the inquirer. The inquirers had to sacrifice and go through a purification process themselves before they could approach the Pythia. The inquirer would ask the Pythia for a course of action based on his particular problem. Once the Pythia was in this trance, she would keep on uttering gibberish that would be recorded by the priests who then transformed it into a verse and recited it to the public. This verse would inform the inquirer of the course of action that they should take. The most common meter for the verse was hexameter because it was believed that Apollo invented hexameter at Delphi (Parke & Wormell 33). Since the oracle would only perform on certain days, her services were always in much demand and often there were huge masses of people who would wait for a chance to question the oracle. This crowd further amassed because the oracle could only do one divination at a time.

The process by which the state approached the oracle with an inquiry is a little different. Eleusis described the process by which the state enquired about the rental and cultivation of sacred lands. The process starts by the secretary writing the two possible solutions on separate plates of tin. These plates of tin were then rolled up and covered in wool. To begin with, both wool covered tin plates are put in one bronze pitcher. The overseer shakes the bonze pitcher and then puts one of the plates into a gold pitcher and one into a silver pitcher. These pitchers had already been presented by the “treasurers of the goddess”. The gold and silver pitchers are then sealed with the public seal by the overseer. The treasurers carry the pitchers up to the Acropolis. Three men then go to the oracle and ask the God which of the plates should be followed. Once the Gods decide through the oracle which one should be followed, the pitcher comes down and the inscription is read to the public and the advice is followed (Mikalson 44).

Certain individuals and members of a high status group are obliged to consult oracles over certain kinds of problems. “…divination is highly rule bound, and failure to consult on occasions when it is deemed to be obligatory may result in punishment” (Morgan 153). The application of human intelligence to the meaning of the oracle was very important in the process as well as oracles were not usually black or white. Thus, human decision making and intelligence were crucial in the success of the oracle. The system was validated based on the number of times the divination came out to be true. People would often boast about how the oracle had been right and thus their decisions had been right too. Ultimately, as long as the oracle’s predictions came out as true and the states kept consulting the oracle, the validity of the system remained intact. If predictions were wrong, however, it was blamed on the wrongful transcription of the oracle by the chresmologue or the incorrect application of human intelligence by the inquirer but never the oracle itself. “The Greeks, however, could not assume that Apollo was wrong; they had to reinterpret the oracle or find some other plan” (Easterling & Muir 151).

c. Institutions and Professional Structure

The cult of Apollo is the religious organization that the oracle at Delphi is most closely associated with. The worship of Apollo is the main priority of the people. Furthermore, Apollo is supposed to be the God capable of seeing into the future, so his oracle at Delphi gained even more power, as it was believed that Apollo was really telling the oracle the truth about the future. The structure of the system changed from time to time. “The organization of religious activity of all kinds in the Greek world was intimately related the particular socio-political ordering of society in which it was practiced” (Morgan 155). The people who interpreted the words of the oracle were responsible for giving the inquirer the answer to their questions. As time progressed, there was an accumulated bank of cases and these cases were said to be shared between different oracle localities. It is believed that knowledge of past cases was passed on from chresmologue to chresmologue as this was the most effective means by which new chresmologues could learn how to interpret the oracle correctly. It is ultimately the chresmologues that have the real power in the system as they are responsible for interpreting and explaining the gibberish that is indecipherable to the rest of society. Of course, they must be careful in their interpretations because if their predictions come out to be failures, their status in society would immediately drop. Thus, they are held to quite high standards and it is said that the majority of these people gave very ambiguous answers to the questions that were asked. Ambiguity was a tool that was used primarily to escape from possibly being wrong in a prediction as well as a tool that was used for the inquirers to think through the question themselves before they consulted an oracle. This would allow the inquirer to make the best decision as they know themselves and their situation better than any one else. “The verdict of an oracle such as that of Apollo at Delphi, directly related to the structure of the community cult, had the authority of the God coupled with that of the elite who sanctioned the consultation” (Morgan 154)

IV. History

There is no material evidence for the cult of Apollo existing at Delphi before 800 BC. The sanctuary that was built only emerged at around that time and thus the oracle only really came into existence at this time too. Though it is believed that the site was a place of religious worship since 1500 BC, the only difference being the methods of divination and the God that was worshiped (Parke & Wormell 10). It is believed that certain aspects of this previous religious tradition were adopted by the cult of Apollo when it emerged. Previously, the cult of the goddess Ge was prevalent in the area and it is believed that the participation of females in the divination is due to this. It is hypothesized that social instability is one of the major factors that led to the emergence of oracles in Greece. The eighth century saw at least temporary social instability in Greek society and this may be why oracles at Delphi and other locations emerged then. It is proposed that its claim to long pedigree is just an invention by those who ran it in order to give it more authority with comparison to other similar oracles in other parts of the country. Robert Parker suggests that divination was practiced to provide solutions or explanations for the kind of problems which occurred in every day life. That is, things such as crop failures, the weather and business transactions. Divination in ancient Greece was not practiced only through oracles but also many other forms. However, the establishment of the oracle at Delphi, made oracles emerge as the most prestigious form of divination in the Greek world. Other divination methods were no longer viewed as adequate for the solution of all community problems.

It is important to note that the prestige that the oracles were accredited with kept fluctuating based on numerous factors such as political reliance on the system, skepticism of the public and the occurrence of unfavorable wars. As the oracle grew in importance, so did the political rivalries between Greek states regarding the oracle’s ownership. There were wars between states to determine under whose territory the oracle would fall. Not only was the oracle considered important because it was the center of the Greek world but also the sheer number of visitors to the oracle presented the state with significant economic profits. Thus wars were even fought to maintain Delphi’s independence as a city. There are some wars that are worthy of mention. The first of these was between 601-590 BC Amphictyony declared war on the Phocians of Crisa, a neighboring town who had chosen to levy heavy taxes on visitors to the oracle at Delphi. After the Amphictoyony won they dedicated their victory to the Delphic deities. This war is often referred to as the First Sacred War. In 548 BC the temple of Apollo was burnt down accidentally and had to be rebuilt. At the time the oracle was in a phase of decline and this undoubtedly adversely affected the status of the oracle in Greek and foreign society.

The Second Sacred War was fought in 447 BC between the Amphictyony and the Phocians, who had taken over Delphi, to restore the independence of Delphi. Once again the Amphictyony were successful. It was not uncommon for both warring parties to consult the oracle and request a favorable result.

The sanctuary was also raided by multiple parties on various occasions and a lot of the wealth that was stored there was looted. Partially as a result of this, the prestige that was associated with the oracle and its importance in Greek life diminished drastically. As nation states started emerging, states relied less and less on the oracle and more on secular practices. Thus, the oracle was generally used for small local issues until it completely faded from Greek life. The last recorded use of the oracles was in 362 AD. Since the oracle at Delphi was the most used and important oracle, it is logical to conclude that the use of the other oracles ceased prior to this.

Other than the decrease in the states reliance on the oracle, other factors such as the emergence of, and large scale conversion to, Christianity contributed to a decrease in public use and support and ultimately the demise of oracle. There are no references to the oracle after 362 AD and it is assumed that it just ceased to function around this time.

V. Representative Examples of Argumentation

The value of the oracles was verified through empirical experiments. An example of this was recounted by Herodotus. It is said that Croesus tested 6 oracles. He sent envoys to these oracles and made these envoys ask the oracles what he (Croesus) was doing at the exact time of consultation. “Only Delphi, and the oracle of Amphiaraus, knew the truth, that Croesus had cut up a tortoise and a lamb and was boiling them together in a bronze cauldron with a bronze lid… Herodotus claims (8.77) oracles did contain truth and one should not attempt to discredit them when they were expressed with clarity” (Easterling and Muir 152). For the most part this was how Greeks lived. It is believed that the oracles were the mouthpieces of the Gods and their words were not doubted.

VI. Suggested Position in Comparative Scales

A. tradition (1) ---. experience (10): 7

The system relied on the experience and success of the oracle. However, the traditional authority(Apollo) was a significant reason why it maintained its prestige and authority.

B. centralized authority (1) --- decentralized authority (10): 6

Individual experience and participation plays a large role in the system. However the source of the knowledge that the individual is bestowed with comes directly from the Gods and in Delphi’s situation directly from the God Apollo himself.

C. Emphasis on the invisible realm (1) ---. visible realities (10): 9

The system is reliant on visible realities and occurrences on earth. Whether the oracle is fulfilled or not is something that is determined in the physical realm, though the predictions of these events is reliant on the invisible, intangible realm of the Gods.

D. Spiritual/moral goal (1) --- pragmatic objectives (10): 9

The goals of this system are almost completely pragmatic. That is they do not do anything to develop the spiritual or moral standing of the inquirer and are concerned mainly with those things that happen to the person in their material life.

E. Primarily divine power (1) --- individual power (10): 7

Most power is attributed to the Gods but at the same time the chresmologues had the power to interpret and write what the oracle was saying and the individuals had the power to interpret the words correctly or incorrectly. However, the credit was given completely to the Gods.

Works Cited

Primary Sources:

Easterling, P E., and J V. Muir. Greek Religion and Society. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1985.

This was an important source to see how skepticism was treated in the system. It also backed up other sources with regards to history and procedure.

Lipsey, Roger. Have You Been to Delphi? . New York: State University of New York P, 2001.

This contained primary sources regarding the use of the oracle. It also discussed the trance state that the Pythia was in.

Parks, H. W., and D.E. W. Wormell. The Delphic Oracle: The History. Vol. I. Oxford, Great Britain: Basil Blackwell, n.d.

This book was very helpful in describing the history of the oracle and the ways in which it was used through time. I was also informative with regards to procedure and general usage details of the oracle.

Secondary Sources:

Fontenrose, Joseph. The Delphic Oracle. Berkeley: University of California press, 1978.

This gave a good comparison to other oracles at the time. It was also descriptive in transmission methods.

Hyde, Walter W. Greek Religion. Boston: Marshall Jones Company, 1923.

This was a source I used scarcely due its relative old age and its lack of citation in other texts. It was, however, interesting to see the oracles predecessors and the survivors.

Mikalson, Jon D. Athenian Popular Religion . Chapel Hill : The University of North Carolina P, 1943.

This book put oracle usage in context of popular Greek religion. It described the procedure for both state and citizen enquiry.

Morgan, Catherine . Athletes and Oracles. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1990.

This was useful in explaining the purpose of the oracle and also why it was consulted.