Anoracle is a person or thing considered to provide insight, wise counsel orpropheticpredictions, most notably includingprecognition of the future, inspired bydeities. If done throughoccultic means, it is a form ofdivination.
The wordoracle comes from theLatin verbōrāre, "to speak" and properly refers to the priest or priestess uttering the prediction. In extended use,oracle may also refer to thesite of the oracle, and the oracular utterances themselves, are calledkhrēsmoí (χρησμοί) in Greek.
Oracles were thought to be portals through which the gods spoke directly to people. In this sense, they were different from seers (manteis, μάντεις) who interpreted signs sent by the gods through bird signs,animal entrails, and other various methods.[1]
The most important oracles of Greek antiquity werePythia (priestess toApollo atDelphi), and the oracle ofDione andZeus atDodona inEpirus. Other oracles of Apollo were located atDidyma andMallus on the coast ofAnatolia, atCorinth andBassae in thePeloponnese, and at the islands ofDelos andAegina in the Aegean Sea.
TheSibylline Oracles are a collection of oracular utterances written in Greekhexameters, ascribed to theSibyls, prophetesses who uttered divine revelations in frenzied states.
Walter Burkert observes that "Frenzied women from whose lips the God speaks" are recorded in theNear East as inMari in the second millennium BC and in Assyria in the first millennium BC.[2] In Egypt, the goddessWadjet (eye of the moon) was depicted as a snake-headed woman or a woman with two snake-heads. Her oracle was in the renowned temple inPer-Wadjet (Greek nameButo). The oracle of Wadjet may have been the source for the oracular tradition which spread from Egypt to Greece.[3] Evans linked Wadjet with the "Minoan Snake Goddess".[4]
At the oracle ofDodona, she is calledDiōnē (the feminine form ofDiós,genitive ofZeus; or ofdīos, "godly", literally "heavenly"), who represents the earth-fertile soil, probably the chief female goddess of theproto-Indo-European pantheon[citation needed].Python, daughter (or son) ofGaia was the earth dragon ofDelphi represented as aserpent and became the chthonic deity, enemy ofApollo, who slew her and possessed the oracle.[5]
When the Prytanies' seat shines white in the island of Siphnos,
White-browed all the forum—need then of a true seer's wisdom—
Danger will threat from a wooden boat, and a herald in scarlet.
ThePythia was the mouthpiece of the oracles of the godApollo, and was also known as the Oracle of Delphi.[7]
The Delphic Oracle exerted considerable influence throughout Hellenic culture. Distinctively, this woman was essentially the highest authority both civilly and religiously in male-dominatedancient Greece. She responded to the questions of citizens, foreigners, kings, and philosophers on issues of political impact, war, duty, crime, family, laws—even personal issues.[8] The semi-Hellenic countries around the Greek world, such asLydia,Caria, and evenEgypt also respected her and came to Delphi assupplicants.
Croesus, king of Lydia beginning in 560 BC, tested the oracles of the world to discover which gave the most accurate prophecies. He sent out emissaries to seven sites who were all to ask the oracles on the same day what the king was doing at that very moment. Croesus proclaimed the oracle at Delphi to be the most accurate, who correctly reported that the king was making a lamb-and-tortoise stew, and so he graced her with a magnitude of precious gifts.[9] He then consulted Delphi before attackingPersia, and according to Herodotus was advised: "If you cross the river, a great empire will be destroyed". Believing the response favourable, Croesus attacked, but it was his own empire that ultimately was destroyed by the Persians.
She allegedly also proclaimed that there was no man wiser thanSocrates, to which Socrates said that, if so, this was because he alone was aware of his own ignorance. After this confrontation, Socrates dedicated his life to a search for knowledge that was one of the founding events of westernphilosophy. He claimed that she was "an essential guide to personal and state development."[10] This oracle's last recorded response was given in 362 AD, toJulian the Apostate.[11]
The oracle's powers were highly sought after and never doubted. Any inconsistencies between prophecies and events were dismissed as failure to correctly interpret the responses, not an error of the oracle.[12] Very often prophecies were worded ambiguously, so as to cover all contingencies – especially soex post facto. One famous such response to a query about participation in a military campaign was "You will go you will return never in war will you perish". This gives the recipient liberty to place a comma before or after the word "never", thus covering both possible outcomes. Another was the response to the Athenians when the vast army of kingXerxes I was approaching Athens with the intent of razing the city to the ground. "Only the wooden palisades may save you"[citation needed], answered the oracle, probably aware that there was sentiment for sailing to the safety of southern Italy and re-establishing Athens there. Some thought that it was a recommendation to fortify theAcropolis with a wooden fence and make a stand there. Others,Themistocles among them, said the oracle was clearly for fighting at sea, the metaphor intended to mean war ships. Others still insisted that their case was so hopeless that they should board every ship available and flee toItaly, where they would be safe beyond any doubt. In the event, variations of all three interpretations were attempted: some barricaded the Acropolis, the civilian population was evacuated over sea to nearbySalamis Island and toTroizen, and the war fleetfought victoriously at Salamis Bay. Should utter destruction have happened, it could always be claimed that the oracle had called for fleeing to Italy after all.
Cumae was the first Greek colony on the mainland of Italy, nearNaples, dating back to the 8th century BC. Thesibylla or prophetess at Cumae became famous because of her proximity toRome and theSibylline Books acquired and consulted in emergencies by Rome wherein her prophecies were transcribed. The Cumaean Sibyl was called "Herophile" byPausanias andLactantius, "Deiphobe, daughter of Glaucus" byVirgil, as well as "Amaltheia", "Demophile", or "Taraxandra" by others. Sibyl's prophecies became popular withChristians as they were thought to predict the birth ofJesus Christ.
Didyma near Ionia in Asia Minor in the domain of the famous city ofMiletus.
Dodona in northwestern Greece was another oracle devoted to theMother Goddess identified at other sites withRhea orGaia, but here calledDione. The shrine of Dodona, set in a grove of oak trees, was the oldest Hellenic oracle, according to the fifth-century historian Herodotus, and dated from pre-Hellenic times, perhaps as early as the second millennium BC, when the tradition may have spread from Egypt. By the time of Herodotus,Zeus had displaced the Mother Goddess, who had been assimilated toAphrodite, and the worship of the deified heroHeracles had been added. Dodona became the second most important oracle in ancient Greece, afterDelphi. At Dodona, Zeus was worshipped as Zeus Naios or Naos (god of springsNaiads, from a spring under the oaks), or as Zeus Bouleos (chancellor). Priestesses and priests interpreted the rustling of the leaves of the oak tree that stood on this spot as Zeus' sanctuary to determine the correct actions to be taken.[13]
The oracle ofAbae was one of the most important oracles. It was almost completely destroyed by the Persians during theSecond Persian invasion of Greece.[14]
Erythrae near Ionia in Asia Minor was home to a prophetess.
Trophonius was an oracle atLebadea ofBoeotia devoted to the chthonian Zeus Trophonius. Trophonius was a Greek hero nursed byEuropa.[15]
Near the Menestheus's port orMenesthei Portus (Greek:Μενεσθέως λιμήν), modernEl Puerto de Santa María,Spain, was the Oracle of Menestheus (Greek:Μαντεῖον τοῦ Μενεσθέως), to whom also the inhabitants ofGades offered sacrifices.[16][17]
At theIkaros island in thePersian Gulf (modernFailaka Island inKuwait), there was an oracle ofArtemis Tauropolus.[18]
AtClaros, there was the oracle ofApollo Clarius.[19]
AtPtoion, there was an oracle of Ptoios and later ofApollo.[20]
AtGryneium, there was a sanctuary of Apollo with an ancient oracle.[21][22][23]
AtLivadeia, there was the oracle ofTrophonius.[24]
The oracle ofZeus Ammon atSiwa Oasis was so famous thatAlexander the Great visited it when he conquered Egypt.
There was also another oracle of Zeus Ammon atAphytis inChalkidiki.[25]
The oracle of Zeus atOlympia.[26]
In the city ofAnariace (Ἀναριάκη) at theCaspian Sea, there was an oracle for sleepers. Persons should sleep in the temple in order to learn the divine will.[27][28][29]
The oracle of Apollo atEutresis[30] and the oracle of Apollo atTegyra.[31]
Oracle ofAphrodite atPaphos.[32]
There were many "oracles of the dead", such as inArgolis,Cumae,Herakleia in Pontos, in the Temple ofPoseidon inTaenaron, but the most important was theNecromanteion of Acheron.
The term "oracle" is also applied in modern English to parallel institutions of divination in other cultures. Specifically, it is used in the context ofChristianity for the concept ofdivine revelation, and in the context ofJudaism for theUrim and Thummim breastplate, and in general any utterance consideredprophetic.[33]
InCeltic polytheism, divination was performed by the priestly caste, either thedruids or thevates. This is reflected in the role of "seers" inDark Age Wales (dryw) andIreland (fáith).
In China,oracle bones were used for divination in the lateShang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC). Diviners applied heat to these bones, usually ox scapulae or tortoise plastrons, and interpreted the resulting cracks.
A different divining method, using the stalks of theyarrow plant, was practiced in the subsequentZhou dynasty (1046–256 BC). Around the late 9th century BC, the divination system was recorded in theI Ching, or "Book of Changes", a collection of linear signs used as oracles. In addition to its oracular power, theI Ching has had a major influence on the philosophy, literature and statecraft of China since the Zhou period.
According to theAncient Egyptian religion, some ancient Egyptian gods (and rarely deified humans), acted as intermediaries between humans and the divine. This was exemplified by theAncient Egyptian title "Reporter/Herald" (wḥmw), whom in the religious context, reports requests and petitions to the local gods.[34]
InHawaii, oracles were found at certainheiau, Hawaiian temples. These oracles were found in towers covered in whitekapa cloth made from plant fibres. In here, priests received the will of gods. These towers were called 'Anu'u. An example of this can be found at Ahu'ena heiau inKona.[35]
In ancientIndia, the oracle was known asākāśavānī ("voice/speech from the sky/aether") oraśarīravānī ("a disembodied voice (or voice of the unseen)") (asariri in Tamil), and was related to the message of a god. Oracles played key roles in many of the major incidents of the epicsMahabharata andRamayana. An example is thatKamsa (or Kansa), the evil uncle ofKrishna, was informed by an oracle that the eighth son of his sisterDevaki would kill him. The opening verse of theTiruvalluva Maalai, a medieval Tamil anthology usually dated by modern scholars to between c. 7th and 10th centuries CE, is attributed to anasariri or oracle.[36]: 58–59 [37]: 16 [38] However, there are no references in any Indian literature of the oracle being a specific person.
Contemporarily,Theyyam or "theiyam" inMalayalam - a south Indian language - the process by which a Priest invites aHindu god or goddess to use his or her body as a medium or channel and answer other devotees' questions, still happens.[39] The same is called "arulvaakku" or "arulvaak" inTamil, another south Indian language -Adhiparasakthi Siddhar Peetam is famous for arulvakku inTamil Nadu.[40] The people in and aroundMangalore inKarnataka call the same,Buta Kola, "paathri" or "darshin"; in other parts of Karnataka, it is known by various names such as, "prashnaavali", "vaagdaana", "asei", "aashirvachana" and so on.[41][42][43][44][45] InNepal it is known as, "Devta ka dhaamee" or "jhaakri".[46]
TheIgbo people of southeasternNigeria inAfrica have a long tradition of using oracles. In Igbo villages, oracles were usually femalepriestesses to a particular deity, usually dwelling in a cave or other secluded location away from urban areas, and, much as the oracles of ancient Greece, would deliver prophecies in an ecstatic state to visitors seeking advice. Two of their ancient oracles became especially famous during the pre-colonial period: the Agbala oracle atAwka and the Chukwu oracle atArochukwu.[47] Although the vast majority of Igbos today areChristian, many of them still use oracles.
Among the relatedYoruba peoples of the same country, theBabalawos (and their female counterparts, the Iyanifas) serve collectively as the principal aspects of the tribe's world-famousIfa divination system. Due to this, they customarily officiate at a great many of its traditional and religious ceremonies.
InNorse mythology,Odin took the severed head of the godMimir toAsgard for consultation as an oracle. TheHavamal and other sources relate thesacrifice of Odin for the oracularrunes whereby he lost an eye (external sight) and won wisdom (internal sight;insight).
In the migration myth of the Mexitin, i.e., the earlyAztecs, amummy-bundle (perhaps aneffigy) carried by four priests directed the trek away from the cave of origins by giving oracles. An oracle led to the foundation ofMexico-Tenochtitlan. TheYucatec Mayas knew oracle priests orchilanes, literally 'mouthpieces' of the deity. Their written repositories oftraditional knowledge, the Books ofChilam Balam, were all ascribed to one famous oracle priest who had correctly predicted the coming of the Spaniards and its associated disasters.[citation needed]
InTibet, oracles (Tib. སྐུ་རྟེན་, ku ten, Wyl. sku rten) have played, and continue to play, an important part in religion and government. The word "oracle" is used by Tibetans to refer to the spirit that enters those men and women who act asmediums between the natural and the spiritual realms. The media are, therefore, known askuten, which literally means, "the physical basis".
TheDalai Lama, who lives in exile in northern India, still consults an oracle known as theNechung Oracle, which is considered the official state oracle of the government of Tibet. The Dalai Lama has, according to centuries-old custom, consulted the Nechung Oracle during the new year festivities ofLosar.[48] Nechung and Gadhong are the primary oracles currently consulted; former oracles such as Karmashar and Darpoling are no longer active in exile. The Gadhong oracle has died leaving Nechung to be the only primary oracle. Another oracle the Dalai Lama consults is theTenma Oracle, for which a young Tibetan woman by the name of Khandro La is the medium for the mountain goddesses Tseringma along with the other 11 goddesses. The Dalai Lama gives a complete description of the process oftrance andspirit possession in his bookFreedom in Exile.[49]
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