Greece: Oracle of Delphi

An oracle is a priest or priestess through which a deity (god) speaks. The term also describes the location from which the person offers their predictions.

The Oracle of Delphi, also known as Pithia, was the Priestess at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi, Greece. Women of the town of Delphi were selected for this honor. The predictions exposited by the Priestess were said to come directly from the god Apollo.

Apollo and his twin sister Artemis, were the children of the Greek god Zeus. They are believed to have been born on the small island of Delos, which is located near the island of Mýkonos in the Cycladic archipelago.

Delphi is a town in central Greece with a popluation of approximately 1500 residents. It is located in the Phocis valley at the southwest base of Mount Parnassus. The mountain is believed in Greek mythology to have been sacred to the god Apollo. It is also said to have been the home of the Nine Muses, goddesses who inspired music, singing, and dance.

My boyfriend and I vacationed in Greece several years ago, We spent a few days on Mýkonos and also took a day trip to Delos.

We took a ferry from the port at Mýkonos Town to Piraeus on the mainland. From the port of Piraeus, we took a train the Athens. While in Athens, we hired a car and driver to take us to the town of Delphi and the ancient Oracle of Delphi.

There was an oracle at the base of Mount Parnassus long before pilgrimages to the Pithia began. A shepherd was herding his goats one day and noticed a fissure (a crack) in the ground. His goats, standing beside this crack in the ground, were acting in an unusual manner.

Accounts differ at this point. The shepherd either fell into the fissure and saw a goddess at the bottom of the chasm, or he merely leaned over and looked down. At any rate, the shepherd breathed in the fumes that were being emitted from the fissure. He began dancing in a crazy manner and was then able to predict future events.

Word of the shepherd who became an oracle soon spread. Many pilgrims traveled to Delphi. Some pilgrims fell into the chasm. Many people suddenly became oracles and were predicting. the future.

It was decided, somewhere around 1400 BC, that there should only be one Oracle of Delphi. A woman in the town was selected for this honor. A three-legged stool was constructed for the woman to sit on. The painting at the beginning of this article shows the woman sitting on the stool, breathing in the fumes being emitted from the fissure.

The god Apollo conquered the area of Delphi, slaying a serpent named Python which was owned by the Earth Mother Gaia. In honor of slaying Python, the Priestess of Delphi was renamed Pythia. A temple was built in Apollo's honor at the site.

A Priestess of Delphi or Pythia—an Oracle of Delphi—speaking the words of Apollo, predicted the future at the Temple of Apollo until approximately 381 AD.

History tells us that fumes were being emitted from the fissure, the crack in the earth. Scientists have discovered that two earthquake faults intersect directly below the place where the Oracle of Delphi was seated. When eathquake faults intersect, the ground becomes porous, and water and gases can seep in.

Hallucinogenic gases from a nearby spring became trapped in the porous rock. The gases rose to the surface. This is what the shepherd and the early pilgrims breathed. It's what the women who were the Oracle of Delphi for nearly 1800 years breathed. The shepherd, the pilgrims, and the Oracle of Delphi was all high.