The document discusses ancient Greek oracles and methods of divination. It describes several major oracles including Delphi (associated with Apollo), Dodona (associated with Zeus), and Epidaurus (associated with Asclepius the god of healing). The oracle priests and priestesses would use various techniques like inhaling vapors, dreaming, or interpreting natural phenomena to transmit prophecies. While oracles' messages were often vague, they were widely trusted and consulted about important matters like war, marriage, and medicine. Famous myths and figures like Oedipus and Croesus illustrate oracles' predictions coming true.

1. Frances Huang & Brittany Mullen

2. 
 Prophecies from oracles were always vague and
obscure. How were these oracles derived and what
caused people to trust them?
Research Question

3. 
 An oracle can describe either a prophet or a
prophecy
 The oracles provided a way for the Gods to
communicate with people through a medium
 Those prophecies were used to predict and/or
advise about the future
 Note: Prophesying wasn‘t exclusively from the gods. People were able to
consult spirits of the dead about the future, known as ―necromanteion‖ (oracle
of the dead). They were believed to be located by the ‗entrances of the
underworld.‘ i.e. Epirus by the river of Acheron
What are Oracles?

4. 
 Oral Divination
Communication with the Gods through an Oracle
 Cleromancy (the casting of lots)
Interpreting various signs from tossing a die or
examining bones
 Interpreting Nature
Celestial phenomena
The flight pattern and behavior instincts of birds
Sacred oak
Methods of Divination

5. 
 Kings and pilgrims would travel far distances to the
oracles
 They would ask questions about anything
 i.e. love, marriage, war, victory
 These rituals may have incuded some sort of
sacrifice, abstinence or fasting.
Consultants

6. 

7. 
 Location of the oracle of
Apollo
 The temple is by Mount
Parnassus
 It was established around 8th
century B.C.
 Pythia, the priestess of
Apollo, would use Oral
Divination for the oracles
The first priestess was
named Pythia, the
priestesses that followed
were all called Pythia
Delphi

8. 
 Pythia‘s prophecies would come
from Apollo possessing her,
causing her to go into a trance. As
her voice changed she would speak
with rhymes and riddles to forsake
the future.
 The Delphic oracle dealt with
everything but consultants would
ask primarily about war,
colonization, leaders, and offerings
to gods
 The Delphic oracle was the most
popular oracle
 It received the most travelers
and money
 It was known as the omphalos,
or ―navel of the world.‖
Delphi cont.

9. 
 King Croesus of Lydia came to Delphi to ask the
oracle whether or not he should go to war with a
neighboring kingdom.
 The oracle vaguely responded: if he went to war, a
great kingdom would fall.
 Croesus interpreted the oracle as his enemy‘s
kingdom, instead it was his own.
 A King came to temple of Delphi and asked if he
would win the battle.
Apollo's Oracle at Delphi

10. 
Skepticism with Delphi Oracle
 The Pythia resided in the inner sanctum, abaton or adyton
(meaning not accessible or ―not to be entered‖).
 Consultants would address the Pythia outside the abaton.
 The Pythia was only able to prophesize while on the
tripod situated at the abaton.
 It was considered where she derived her powers from.
 Since the sanctuary is near Mount Parnassus, it was
believed that Pythia received her prophecies by inhaling
large amounts of carbon dioxides and other gases,
causing hallucinations and voice change.

11. 
 Strabo (c. 64 B.C.–25 A.D.), for example, ―the seat of the oracle is
a cavern hollowed down in the depths … from which arises
pneuma [breath, vapor, gas] that inspires a divine state of
possession‖ (Geography 9.3.5)

12. 
 The oracle of Asclepius was
located near Argolis and
began 6th century B.C.
 Asclepius is the son of
Apollo and Coronis.
He is the god of medicine.
He was taught the art of
healing by his father and
Chiron.
Epidaurus

13. 
Epidaurus cont.
 The oracle dealt with
healing, medicine, and disease.
 Consultants hoped they would
be miraculously cured.
 The consultants/patients were
required or induced to sleep and
dream in the underground hall of
the abaton. They believed they
would be visited by dream and
wake up cured.

14. 
 Ambrosia, a women from Athens who was blind in one
eye came to visit the oracle at Epidaurus.
 She was skeptical and did not believe people could be
cured simply by experiencing a dream.
 She went along with the oracles, fell asleep and woke up
cured.
 She describes in he dream how a god appeared and told
her he would cure her if she sacrificed a silver pig (for
being a non believer) the god then made an incision in her
eye and poured in medicine.
Skeptical Woman

15. 
Skepticism with Epidaurus Oracle
 At the Epidaurus oracle, it was believed the
consultants were induced to sleep by soporific drugs.
 While they were asleep, there might have been
ongoing surgeries.

16. 
 Dodona was the oracle of Zeus. It was located in Epeiros, north-west of Greece
and began 20th century B.C.
 It wasn‘t until the 13th and 14th centuries B.C. until the sanctuary was
established.
 The origins of the oracle revolve around the myth of how Zeus and his wife,
Dione, lived in the branches of the ―holy beech tree‖ or oak tree.
 The priestesses of Dodona thought Zeus‘ voice could be heard through the
sounds of the wind, the sound of pots hanging in the trees, the rustling of the
leaves, and the sound of doves and other sounds of nature.
 They translated these sounds into a prophecy from Zeus.
 Later three elderly priestesses named Peleiades (―Doves‖) were appointed to be
the voice of the oracle.
 Dodona‘s consultants
would write their
questions on small
lead tablets, some
tablets still
survive today.
Dodona

17. 
Lead Tablets from Dodona displayed in a museum

18. 
 To prevent this he ordered his son to
be killed but he was left on Mt.
Cithaeron to die but was found by a
peasant couple and lived.
 Oedipus traveled to the oracle to find
out who his parents were but she
refused to say .
 On the way to Thebes he killed a man
and a carriage driver. The man was
his father.
 Oedipus answered a riddle of the
sphinx and became King and asked
him to marry the widow of the
vanished King. This widow was his
mother.
 The prophecy did come true in the
end.
Oedipus
 King Laius visited the Oracle at Delphi and told him his new born son
would kill his father
and marry his mother.

19. 
Meleager
 7 days after his birth, the three Moirai
appeared and said he would die once
one of the sticks in the fireplace burned
completely
 He will be brave and noble but he will
live as long as the stick remains
unconsumed
 Althaea (mother) pulled the stick out of
the fire and placed it into a chest
 Years later the stick got set on fire and
Meleager died. But how?

20. 
 Hektor arrives at Skaian Gates to see his wife and son.
 Andromache says she predicts he will be killed in
battle, so he shouldn‘t fight. He says if he is killed then
that means it was fated and no one can escape the fates.
 - Was predicting a source of the oracles?
Iliad

21. 
 The Oracle of Gaea (Zeus' Grandma)
gave this prophecy
 She predicted Zeus and Metis' second
born child will be wiser and stronger
than Zeus himself, King of all Gods
 He tried changing this by swallowing
Metis
 Athena was born and she was the
wisest of them all and of all men
 Again this prophecy could not be
prevented
Zeus

22. 
 In Ancient Greece, mythology was considered
religion. These miracles and prophecies were
believed in as strongly as the people believed in the
gods. Although the oracles seemed fictitious, it
allowed people to feel a sense of closeness to god.
Conclusion

23. 
 "Ancient Prophecy: Oracles and the Gods." History Extra. N.p., n.d. Web. 03
Apr. 2014. <http://www.historyextra.com/blog/ancient-prophecy-
oracles-and-gods>.
 De Bour, Jelle Z., and John R. Hales. "The Oracle of Delphi—Was She Really
Stoned?" Biblical Archaeology Society. N.p., 30 May 2013. Web. 3 Apr. 2014.
<http%3A%2F%2Fwww.biblicalarchaeology.org%2Fdaily%2Fancient-
cultures%2Fdaily-life-and-practice%2Fthe-oracle-of-
delphi%25E2%2580%2594was-she-really-stoned%2F>.
 "DIONE : Greek Titan Goddess of the Oracle of Dodona ; Mythology." DIONE :
Greek Titan Goddess of the Oracle of Dodona ; Mythology. Theoi Project, n.d.
Web. 03 Apr. 2014. <http://www.theoi.com/Titan/TitanisDione.html>.
 George, Alexandra L. "Oracles." Kings College. Prof. Pavlac's Women's History
Site, 18 Dec. 2005. Web. 03 Apr. 2014.
<http://departments.kings.edu/womens_history/ancoracles.html>.
 Leadbetter, Ron. "Dodona." Dodona. MMIX Encyclopedia Mythica, 5 Apr. 1999.
Web. 03 Apr. 2014.
<http://www.pantheon.org/articles/d/dodona.html>.
Works Cited

24. 
Works Cited cont.
 Sophocles, and R. D. Dawe. Oedipus Rex. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1982.
Print.
 "ORACLE OF ZEUS AT DODONA : Ancient Greek Sanctuary &
Oracle." ORACLE OF ZEUS AT DODONA : Ancient Greek Sanctuary &
Oracle. Theoi Project, n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2014.
<http://www.theoi.com/Cult/ZeusDodonaiosCult.html>.
 "Oracle." Oracle. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2014.
<http://www.pantheon.org/articles/o/oracle.html>.
 "Oracles in the Ancient World." The Ancient Oracles (The Classics Pages). N.p.,
n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2014.
<http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~loxias/oracles.htm>.
 "Oracles." Oracles. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2014.
<http://www.ozmore.com/greek/oracles.html>.
 "The Unsurpassed Healer - The Asklepion of Epidaurus." The Unsurpassed
Healer - The Asklepion of Epidaurus. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2014.
<http://romeartlover.tripod.com/Epidauro.html>.