Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1913-06-06


THE !
D~ELPHfORACLES :
Although the Delphi Oracles have
inquired in literature for man. ages and
attempts have been made to describe
The workings OF this custom Of the
Ancient Greeks. little is known today
as to how these oracles operated. The
most famous of all the oracles was
that at Delphi, but the manner in
which It was consulted is somewhat
cradle variation at different periods.
The tale of a hole from which in
~tox1cattng "mephitfc" vapor arose has
no early authority, nor Is it scienti-
hcaly probable. The question had to
be given in writing, and the responses
were uttered by the Pythian priestess,
In early times a maiden. later a won.
an more than so attired as a maiden.
After chewing the sacred. hay and
drinking of the spring Cassotis. which
q conducted into the temple by ar
tificial channels, h ook her seat on
the sacred tripod in the inner shrine.
and edited by the prophets and the
'holy men,"
Wherever the worship of Apollo had
hxed Its roots, there were sibyls and
prophets; for Apollo is nowhere con-
cetvable without the beneficient light
or prophecy streaming out from his
abode. The reason why the fame Of
all the other celebrated seats of Apollo
was obscured by that of Delphi lies
IN a series of exceptional and extraor-
binary circumstances by which this
vas qualified to become a center,
nor nnIv nf tho 1or6c ;n tee &n~ -
neighborhood, like the other o~racles,
out of the whole nation.
The sites selected for these oracles
generally were marked by some ply
steal property. which lifted them to
De Inc scenes of such miraculous mani
region, where gas escaping from a ifs
sure in the earth might be inhaled,
and the consequent exhilaration or
ecstacy. prrtly real and partly imag-
mary, was IL divine inspiration.
At the Pythian oracle in Delphi there
was thought to be such an exhalation.
Others supposed that the priests pos
sessed h secret Of manufacturing an
e~xhilarating gas. The seat of this or
acle of Delphi was on the southwestern
spur of P%arnassus, in a valley of
Phocis.
According to the Homeric hymn to
the Pythian Apollo. the god took forci-
BILE possession of the oracle soon after
his birth. Staying with his earliest bow
shot the serpent Pytho. the son of
Gaea. who guarded the spot. To atone
for this murder. Apollo was forced to
ny and pass eight years in menial
service before he could return forgiven.
A festival, the Septeria. was held
every year, at which the whole story
was represented: the Staying of the
serpent, and the flight, atonement and
return OF the god.
The oracle proper was a cleft in the
ground in h innermost sanctuary.
had the power of inducing ecstacy.
Over the cleft stood a lofty gi!aea
tripod Of wood. On this was "A or
cular slab. upon which the seat Of
the prophecies was placed. In tie
prosperous times of the oracle twn
to assist them. In the earliest tia.
the Pythfa assembled the tripod ca.
once a year, on the birthday -.
Apollo: but in later years she pro
phesied every day. If the day itself ard
the sacrihces We're not unfa vorab.e.
supplicants adorned with laurel crowns
and fillets of WOOL. The responses os
tho priests often were obscure and
entgmatical. and couched in ambigraus
and metaphorical expressions, viii y.
needed explanation. The order in
"AANSA LAC @PPiASolSS etPpIOcCHGQ lst
oracle was determined by lot. but GER
tain cities, as Sparta, had the light q:
priority.
The reputation of the oracle stood
high throughout Greece until the ti.ae
OF the Persian wars. especially among
he Dorian tribes, and among them
pre-eminently the Spartans. who had
stood from of old in intimate relation
with it. On all important occasions.
as the sending out Of colonies. the
framing of internal legislation or re-
ltgious ordinances, the God Of Delphi
was consulted. and hat not only by
Greeks, but by foreigners, especially
the people of Asia n Italy. After
these wars the influence declined. but
1t never fell completely into discredit
and from time to time its position rose
again. In the last half of the second
century. A. D., 1t had a revival. the
result OF the newly awakened interest
In the old region. 1t finally was abol-
1shed by TheOdosius the Great, at the
n of h Fourth century.
In spite OF the reference that is made
to these oracles, and the familiarity
that generally is apparent little au-
thentic information ever has been
learned regarding them or their prac-
tices.
\ THE NINE 8
DAYS QUEEN q