Meaning of the word Pythia. Delphic oracle and ancient Greek soothsayer Pythia
PYTHIA or Pythoness. (Greek) Modern dictionaries explain that this term means the one who made predictions in the Delphic temple, as well as “any woman who is considered to have the gift of prediction is a witch” (Webster). This is neither true, nor fair, nor right. Pythia, according to the authoritative statements of Iamblichus, Plutarch and others, was a priestess chosen among the sensitives of the poorest strata and placed in the temple, where her prophetic abilities developed. There she had a room secluded from all except the supreme Hierophant and Seer, and, once received, was, like a nun, lost to the world. She sat on a tripod of yellow copper over a cleft in the soil through which intoxicating vapors rose; these underground vapors, penetrating her entire body, caused prophetic mania, and in this abnormal state she uttered predictions. Aristophanes in Vaestas, I, reg. 28, calls Pythia ventrilogus vatas, or "ventriloquist seer", because of her ventriloquism. The ancients believed that the soul of a person (lower Manas), or his personal self-consciousness, was located in the navel. In the fourth verse of the second hymn "Nabhanedishta" of the Brahmins we read: "Listen, O sons of the gods, to him who speaks through his navel (nabha), for he welcomes you to your dwellings!" This is a somnambulistic phenomenon of modern times. In ancient times, the navel was considered the “circle of the sun,” the seat of the divine inner light. Therefore the oracle of Apollo was located at Delphi, the city of Delphus, which means womb or belly - while the place where the temple was located was called omphelos, the navel. Many hypnotized subjects are known to be able to read, hear, touch and see through this area of their body. In India to this day there is a belief (and also among the Parsis) that in the navels of adepts there is a flame that illuminates all the darkness for them and reveals the spiritual world. The Zoroastrians call this the lamp of the Deshtur or "high priest"; and the Hindus by the light or radiation of Dikshit (initiate).
Source: Blavatskaya E.P. - Theosophical Dictionary
PYTHIA or PYTHONESES- Webster's Dictionary gets rid of this word very briefly, reporting that this was the name for those who uttered predictions, served as oracles in the Delphic temple, as well as “any woman in whom the gift of a fortuneteller is supposed - witch" which is neither flattering, nor accurate, nor fair. Pythia, according to the authoritative words of Plutarch, Iamblichus, Lamprias and others, was a nervous sensitive; she was chosen among the poorest classes, young and pure. Attached to the temple, within which she had a room remote from all others and into which no one except a clergyman or seer was allowed, she led a more strict and ascetic life than a Catholic nun. She sat on a tripod of yellow copper over a gap in the soil through which intoxicating vapors rose; These underground vapors, penetrating her body, produced prophetic mania. In this abnormal state, she uttered oracular sayings. Sometimes she was called ventriloqua vates, ventriloquist prophetess.
The ancients believed that a person's astral soul, ψυχη, or his self-consciousness was located in the navel. The Brahmins shared this belief along with Plato and other philosophers. We also find in the fourth verse of the second hymn of Nabhanedishta the following words:
“Listen, O sons of the gods (spirits), to the man who speaks through his navel (nabha) for he welcomes you to your abodes!”
Many of the Sanskrit scholars agree that this belief is one of the most ancient in India. Modern fakirs, just like the ancient gymnosophists, unite with their Atman and deity, becoming motionless in contemplation and in concentrating all their thoughts on their navel. As in modern somnambulistic phenomena, the navel is seen as the “circle of the sun,” the seat of the inner divine light. Should the fact that many modern somnambulists have the ability to read letters, hear, smell and see through this part of the body - should this fact again be considered as a mere "coincidence", or should we assume that the ancient sages knew something? then more about physiological and psychological secrets than our modern academics? In modern Persia, when in cases of theft and other difficult cases they turn to a magician (often simply a mesmerizer) for advice, the latter performs his manipulations over the navel of his abdomen, thereby bringing himself into a state of clairvoyance. Among modern Parsis, says the translator of the Rig Veda, the belief has been maintained to this day that their adepts have a flame in their navels, which illuminates all darkness for them and reveals the spiritual world in the same way as everything invisible or at long distances. They call it a lamp Deshtura, or high priest; it is also called the lamp of Dikshit (the initiate) and many other names.
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Cult
The Delphic Oracle was founded in the 8th century BC. e. and lasted until 393 AD. e., when Emperor Theodosius I ordered the destruction of pagan temples. Throughout his existence, he was the most authoritative, and people from all over Greece came to ask for prophecies, among them was the great Alexander the Great.
According to ancient descriptions, at the Delphic sanctuary in ancient times, when they turned to the oracle, apparently only once a year, there were two Pythia and one of their substitutes. Subsequently, with more frequent questioning of the oracle, there was only one Pythia. Pythia was a priestess, chosen among sensitives from the lower strata and placed in a temple, where, detached from worldly life, her prophetic abilities were developed. She prepared for divination by fasting for three days and bathing in. Before divination, she put on luxurious clothes, placed a laurel wreath on her head, drank the water of the Kassotis spring and chewed a leaf of the sacred laurel. Then she sat on a colossal tripod (made of yellow copper, according to another varnish in gold) standing over the chasm, and, falling into ecstasy from the stupefying vapors, she prophesied. These fumes were harmful. There is one known case when a Pythia, having jumped off a tripod, fell unconscious and died. According to the description explanatory dictionary L.P. Krysina, “seated above a crevice in the rock, from where intoxicating fumes rose, and under their influence uttered incoherent speeches, which were interpreted by the priests as divinations and prophecies.”
Many modern scientists were skeptical of such descriptions [[K:Wikipedia:Articles without sources (country: Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#property" was not found. Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#property" was not found. )]][[K:Wikipedia:Articles without sources (country: Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#property" was not found. )]] .
The Pythia most often uttered incoherent words, which were clothed by the Delphic priests in the form of the prophecies of Apollo, or in poetic form, rearranged and interpreted by the priests and then conveyed in unclear, vague or ambiguous expressions to those inquiring of the oracle. This is where the expression (obsolete) “speaks like a Pythia” comes from - meaning. speak darkly, ambiguously (Dictionary of F. Pavlenkov, 1907).
Her prophecies to various heroes are repeatedly mentioned in myths.
According to one myth, she refused to give an answer to Hercules, but then agreed.
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See also
- Cassandra, oracle, Sibyl.
- Phemonoia - the first Pythia at Delphi.
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Notes
Literature
- Shchukarev A. N. Pythia // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.
Excerpt characterizing Pythias
- Mom, where are you?! – the little girl suddenly screamed. - Mom-ah!She looked about four years old, no more. Thin blonde braids, with huge pink bows woven into them, and funny “pretzels” puffed up on both sides, making her look like a kind faun. Wide open big gray eyes they looked in confusion at the world that was so familiar and familiar to her, which suddenly for some reason became incomprehensible, alien and cold... She was very scared, and she did not hide it at all.
The boy was eight or nine years old. He was thin and fragile, but his round “professor” glasses made him look a little older, and he seemed very businesslike and serious in them. But in at the moment all his seriousness suddenly evaporated somewhere, giving way to absolute confusion.
A sobbing, sympathetic crowd had already gathered around the cars, and a few minutes later the police appeared, escorting ambulance. Our town was still not large at that time, so city services could respond to any “emergency” incident in a fairly organized and quick manner.
The emergency doctors, having quickly consulted about something, began to carefully remove the mutilated bodies one by one. The first was the body of a boy, whose essence stood in a stupor next to me, unable to say or think anything.
The poor thing was shaking wildly, apparently it was too hard for his childish overexcited brain. He just looked with wide eyes at what had just been “him” and could not get out of the protracted “tetanus”.
– Mommy, Mom!!! – the girl screamed again. – Vidas, Vidas, why doesn’t she hear me?!
Or rather, she screamed only mentally, because at that moment, unfortunately, she was already physically dead... just like her little brother.
And her poor mother, whose physical body was still tenaciously holding on to her fragile life that was barely glimmering in it, could not hear her in any way, since at that moment they were already in different worlds, inaccessible to each other...
The kids were getting more and more lost and I felt that just a little more and the girl would go into real nervous shock (if you can call it that, speaking of a disembodied entity?).
– Why are we lying there?!.. Why doesn’t mom answer us?! – the girl was still screaming, tugging at her brother’s sleeve.
“Probably because we are dead...” the boy said, chattering his teeth finely.
- And mom? – the little girl whispered in horror.
“Mom is alive,” my brother answered not very confidently.
- What about us? Well, tell them that we are here, that they cannot leave without us! Tell them!!! – the girl still couldn’t calm down.
“I can’t, they don’t hear us... You see, they don’t hear us,” the brother tried to somehow explain to the girl.
But she was still too little to understand that her mother could no longer hear her or speak to her. She could not understand all this horror and did not want to accept it... Smearing the large tears pouring down her pale cheeks with her small fists, she saw only her mother, who for some reason did not want to answer her and did not want to get up.
- Mommy, get up! – she screamed again. - Well, get up, mom!!!
The doctors began to transfer the bodies to the ambulance and then the girl was completely at a loss...
– Vidas, Vidas, they are taking us all away!!! What about us? Why are we here?.. – she did not let up.
The boy stood in a quiet stupor, without uttering a word, for a short moment forgetting even about his little sister.
“What should we do now?..” the little girl was already completely panicked. - Let's go, well, let's go!!!
“Where to?” the boy asked quietly. - We have nowhere to go now...
I couldn’t stand it any longer and decided to talk to this unfortunate, clinging to each other, frightened pair of children, whom fate suddenly, for no reason, for nothing, threw into some alien world that was completely incomprehensible to them. And I could only try to imagine how scary and wild all this must have been, especially for this little baby who still had no idea what death was...
I came closer to them and quietly, so as not to scare them, said:
- Let's talk, I can hear you.
– Oh, Vidas, see, she hears us!!! – the little girl squealed. - Who are you? Are you good? Can you tell mom that we're scared?..
Words flowed in a continuous stream from her mouth, apparently she was very afraid that I would suddenly disappear and she would not have time to say everything. And then she looked at the ambulance again and saw that the doctors’ activity had doubled.
- Look, look, they’re going to take us all away - but what about us?! – the little girl babbled in horror, completely not understanding what was happening.
I felt completely at a dead end, since for the first time I encountered children who had just died and had no idea how to explain all this to them. The boy seemed to already understand something, but his sister was so terribly frightened by what was happening that her little heart did not want to understand anything at all...
Soothsayer and Oracle
painting by Roger Payne
Ancient people believed that human life is determined by fate and destiny. Even the gods were largely subject to the dictates of fate, although the duties of Zeus, the head Greek pantheon, was to ensure that their lives followed the predestined path. People believed that it was possible to lift the veil of the future, and if necessary, they turned to advice from various kinds to the oracles. The most famous was the oracle of the god of predictions Apollo, located near Delphi. Priests-soothsayers helped to find out fate by interpreting the will of the deity, or signs, for example, thrown dice. A special kind fortune telling was auspices - observations of the flight and cry of birds, extremely popular in Ancient Rome. The future, its inhabitants believed, could be determined by lot or the type of sacrifices burned. Another type of prophecy was dreams sent by the gods, sometimes, however, only to confuse people. For predictions, it was customary to turn to oracles, both living and dead. The Romans also often cast lots to try to determine their fate, but very rarely resorted to prophecy in matters of politics.
Oracle (lat. oraculum) - in ancient times one of the means by which a person tried to enter into direct communication with a deity. The utterances of the oracle were considered revelations of the deity; they were obtained by asking in a certain place, through well-known intermediaries, most of them the priests of a given deity, who were also interpreters of the revelation received. All oracles can be summed up under three categories: predictions were received either in the form of maxims, or in the form of symbols, or in the form of dreams. In the most famous oracle of all - the Delphic - the intoxicating vapors emerging from a cleft in the rock brought the prophetess into a state of clairvoyance; in Dodona, the will of the deity was judged by the movements of the leaves on the sacred oak tree, by the sounds emanating from metal vessels, by the murmur of a sacred spring; in Delos, they followed the rustle of the laurel. In the oracle of Zeus of Ammon in Libya - behind the famous phenomena in the image of the deity, composed of precious stones; in Rome, by order of the Senate and in the presence of the magistrate, the Sibylline books were opened.
It is difficult to judge how convinced the priests themselves were of the truth of the revelations; in any case, to see in the oracles only a conscious deception on the part of the priests would be a one-sided judgment and devoid of historical perspective. Even the vague form of answers, especially characteristic of the Delphic oracle, does not in itself indicate deliberate deception, although it cannot be denied that the priests often ensured their infallibility by ambiguity in answers suitable for any occasion. The appearance of the oracle in this place was due either to a beneficent source, with which Greek thought usually associated the proximity of the deity, or to a natural phenomenon (steam from a hot spring, etc.), which caused a state of exaltation. Oracles also arose in areas where the remains of some famous clairvoyant were buried. In the latter case, the inquirers were usually personally exposed to the spiritualizing action of the deity; for example, in the oracle of Amphiaraus, the questioner, after three days of abstinence from wine and a one-day fast, had to fall asleep in the temple so that the will of the deity would be revealed to him in a dream.
painting by artist John Augustus Knapp
The purpose of the oracle was not only to reveal the future, but also to guide the life of the people on behalf of the deity in those exceptional cases when human wisdom turned out to be untenable. Government officials also resorted to oracles when their personal authority was insufficient to carry out one or another measure. Therefore, for certain periods of Greek history, oracles take on the meaning of political institutions. The oracles, whose advice was sought in all important undertakings, greatly contributed to maintaining the consciousness of national unity among the scattered Greeks and the implementation of pan-Greek enterprises. They patronized agricultural culture, the colonization of new lands, etc.
The most ancient of all oracles was considered to be the oracle in Meroe, in Egypt, and it was immediately followed by the oracle in Egyptian Thebes and the oracle of Zeus of Ammon. In Greece, the oracle at Dodona enjoyed the greatest authority, and later the oracle at Delphi. In addition, Zeus had his oracles in Elis, Pisa and Crete, Apollo - in Claros near Colophon and on Delos. The Branchidae oracle at Miletus was dedicated to Apollo and Artemis. The oracles of the heroes were the oracle of Amphiaraus in Oropos, the oracles of Tryphonius and Hercules in Bura and Achaia. Oracles calling upon the spirits of the departed existed in Heraclea Pontus and on Lake Avernus. The sayings of the so-called Sibyls, especially the Eritrean and (in Italy) Cumaean, should also be counted among the oracles. The Romans had the oracles of Faun and Fortune in Praeneste, the Palikov oracle; but they willingly turned to both the Greek and Egyptian oracles. In Greece, oracles lost their significance only after the complete collapse of the freedom and independence of the Greeks, but even then, deprived of any authority, they eked out their existence until the reign of Theodosius, when they were finally closed.
Delphic Sibyl
(Pythia), Michelangelo, Sistine Chapel, Vatican, Rome
Pythia (Πῡθία) - seer in Delphi. At the Delphic sanctuary in ancient times, when the oracle was apparently consulted only once a year, there were two Pythia and one deputy; subsequently, with more frequent questioning of the oracle, there was only one Pythia. The Pythia was chosen regardless of social class. Devotion to Apollo and chastity were required of her. The first Pythia of the Delphic Oracle were virgins. But when one of them was seduced by a petitioner who came for advice, they began to choose mature ones instead of virgins. married women having children or old women, in order to avoid similar cases of discrediting an authoritative oracle in the future. The Pythia refused to give prophecies to a person defiled by a crime. She prepared for divination by fasting for three days and bathing in the Kastal spring; Before the divination, she put on luxurious clothes, laid a laurel wreath on her head, drank the water of the Kassotis spring and chewed a leaf of the sacred laurel. Then she sat on a colossal tripod that stood over the chasm, and, falling into ecstasy from the stupefying vapors, prophesied. These fumes were harmful. There is a known case when a Pythia fell from a tripod unconscious and died. Perhaps Plutarch described it when he witnessed how the priests forced the Pythia to work on an odd day. Against her wishes, she descended into Aditon and suddenly screamed shrilly, collapsed to the ground, and died a few days later. In ancient times, prophecies were given once a year - on the birthday of Apollo - 7 Bisius (mid-February - mid-March), when he returned from the Hyperboreans. From the 6th century BC, they began to be held monthly on the seventh day, except for the three winter months, when Apollo stayed with the Hyperboreans, and even later - daily, except on unclean days.
The Delphic Oracle is a soothsayer at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. According to Greek mythology was founded by Apollo himself on the site of his victory over the monstrous serpent Python. The Delphic oracle, led by the Pythia, was one of the main oracles in the Hellenic world. The heyday of the Delphic Oracle dates back to the 7th–5th centuries BC, when it acted as a mediator in intercity conflicts. It was customary to turn to the oracle on all important issues of public and personal life. A political union was achieved with Sparta, which became the secular sword of the temple. Embassies with rich gifts from many kingdoms hurried to Delphi Ancient world. Midas presented the temple with a golden throne as a gift. Croesus was a fan of the Delphic Apollo. The weakening of the influence of the temple began since the Greco-Persian Wars, when Delphi took the side of the Persians, hoping to become the religious center of the Persian Empire of the Persian Empire. But even during the time of Roman rule, money deposits from different regions of the Mediterranean were kept in the temple. The temple was plundered several times, burned during the invasion of the Gauls in 279 BC, and under Emperor Theodosius (391) it was finally closed.
The history of the temple began with the fact that one day goats wandering between the rocks of Parnassus, approaching a certain hole from which vapors were coming out, suddenly began to have an extraordinary convulsive movement. The people who came running also felt the effect of these fumes: in the insanity of their minds, they began to abruptly utter incoherent words. Immediately these words were taken for predictions (oracles), and the steam coming out of the earthly hole was taken for divine inspiration. The famous temple was built on this site. Initially, the oracle belonged to Gaia, was guarded by the dragon Python, or Delphinius, and the place was called Pytho (ancient Greek πύθω - to rot). The first prophetess of Gaia was the mountain nymph Daphne (ancient Greek ἡ δάφνη - laurel). From her mother Gaia, Themis received the Delphic oracle, which she passed on to her sister Phoebe, who passed it on to her grandson Apollo, who, having learned the art of divination from Pan, arrived at Delphi, where he killed the dragon Python guarding the entrance to the oracle and took possession of the oracle. The dark chthonic prophecies of the son of the Earth gave way to the will of Zeus, the father of the gods and the organizer of the new, Olympic cosmic order, the spokesman of which was the “thrower sun rays", causing vapors in the earth for divination. After the dragon's defeat, Apollo collected its ashes in a sarcophagus and instituted mourning games in Python's honor. Apollo then went to look for priests for his temple. At sea he saw a ship coming from Knossos, in Crete. Turning into a dolphin, he, by the power of his spell, led the ship to Chris, where he revealed himself to the sailors and told them about their destiny. In Chris, the sailors erected an altar to Apollo and it was called Delphic, in honor of the image in which Apollo appeared to them. From Chrisa the sailors went to Parnassus, where they became the first priests of the temple of Apollo. Bees brought a wax temple from the country of the Hyperboreans, and all subsequent temples were built according to its model.
The Temple of Apollo, located in the picturesque mountainous area of Delphi, was the most revered place in ancient Greece. The townspeople came here for help, hoping to solve their everyday problems and improve their health; warriors - for advice before battle; immigrants heading to Italy, Spain or Africa awaited his parting words. The oracle supported Orestes in his intention to avenge the murder of his father and predicted to Oedipus that he would kill his father and marry his mother.
Temple of Apollo of Pytheas
Delphi
The description of the sanctuary is given by the ancient historian Pausanias in the X book of his “Description of Hellas”. In the city of Delphi, the Kastalia stream flowed, originating from a gorge between two rocks - the Phaedriades, at the foot of which there was a sanctuary. The sacred district was filled with statues, all kinds of dedicatory structures, sometimes reaching the size of entire buildings, etc. The temple itself was built in the Doric style and had rich sculptural decoration. The entire architrave was hung with shields obtained from the Persians and Gauls. In the pronaos were inscribed the sayings of the seven sages (“Know thyself”, “Nothing in excess”, etc.) and there was a sacred image of the symbol “E” in three copies: wooden, dedicated to the seven sages, bronze - by the Athenians and gold - by the empress Libya. In the inner part of the temple (aditon), inaccessible to questioners, there was a golden statue of Apollo, a laurel tree, a white marble Omphalus with two golden eagles, and under it was a sarcophagus with the ashes of Python. In the sanctuary itself, where no one except the Pythia and the priests were allowed, there was a famous cleft in the rock from which intoxicating vapors emerged. Above her stood a tripod, on which the Pythia sat to bring herself into ecstasy under the influence of the vapors. Initially, the Pythia was chosen from young girls, but after one of them failed to maintain her virginity, an older girl was chosen. At the edge of the chasm there was the spring of Cassotis, the water of which the Pythia drank before divination, and a laurel tree, the leaves of which she chewed. This tree was shaken by some unknown means. Here was the so-called “navel of the earth” - a cone-shaped elevation made of marble, entwined with sacred bandages. Of the countless number of dedications (after the massive export of works of art to Rome, under Nero, there were still up to 3,000 statues left), the colossal golden tripod, dedicated by the Greeks from barbarian booty after the Battle of Plataea, deserves special mention. Its golden bowl was supported from below by a bronze column in the form of three coiled snakes. All the golden parts became the prey of the Phocians, but the bronze column on which the names of all were written Greek states, who fought with the Persians, was transported by Constantine the Great to Constantinople, where it is now located. On the walls of the so-called "Lesha of the Cnidians" were the famous compositions of Polygnotus, depicting the fall of Troy and underground kingdom. Near Delphi, in the spurs of Parnassus, there is also a stalactite grotto, dedicated in ancient times to the nymphs and Pan.
Pythia (Greek Πυθία) is a soothsayer at the temple of Apollo in Delphi, where the famous Delphic oracle operated. Unlike the Sibyl, with whom she is often identified, she did not give conscious prophecies, but was, so to speak, Apollo’s medium, his instrument. The predictions of the Pythia were “deciphered” by the priests, who gave the answer in poetic form. According to other sources, the Pythia answered the questioner herself, in verse or prose.
The word "Pythia" first appears in Herodotus. Authors of the classical period describe her as an elderly woman. Diodorus writes that at first the Pythia was a young maiden, but after Echecratides of Thessaly, having fallen in love, kidnapped the Pythia, the Delphians decided to choose the Pythia from among women at least fifty years old, but she had to wear the clothes of a virgin.
Delphic Oracle. John William Godward, 1899
How the elections of the Pythia took place is unknown. The main criteria, in addition to age, were an impeccable life and simple origin. Authors of the 2nd century, including Plutarch, who was a priest of Apollo at Delphi, emphasized that the Pythia was a simple village woman, uneducated, rude, without any abilities or experience until she was inspired by Apollo. In her former life, she may have been a wife and mother, but after taking office, she was prohibited from meeting her family. The Pythia lived in a special fenced sacred place, led a chaste life and observed other ritual restrictions. In case of disqualification, she returned to her previous lifestyle. In addition to the Pythia, there were other women in the temple, whose duty was to maintain the unquenchable sacred fire, as well as staff.
During the heyday of the temple in Delphi, there were up to three Pythia at the same time: two worked alternately, and the third was in reserve, which made it possible to reduce the load on the soothsayers.
Initially, the Pythia prophesied only once a year - on the seventh day of the month of Bisia (mid-February - mid-March). It was believed that on this day Apollo was born, the oracle was founded and on the same day Apollo returned from the Hyperboreans. Since it was believed that in winter Apollo flew away on swans to the Hyperboreans, leaving Delphi in the care of Dionysus, during this time the oracle was inactive (Plutarch, Pindar). When consultations began to be given monthly (perhaps in the 6th century BC), the oracle worked nine days a year. During the heyday of the oracle, it was possible to predict on any day, except for those specially agreed upon.
Apollo sitting on Omphale ("navel of the earth"). On the left is a tripod. Coin of Delphi
The details of the procedure are difficult to determine. In general, they boiled down to the following. At dawn, the Pythia purified herself by washing herself in the Kastalsky stream, fumigating herself with laurel leaves, and sprinkled herself with barley flour at the sacred hearth. The pilgrim had to pay for the consultation and perform a preliminary sacrifice. Then the priests sacrificed a goat to Apollo. If, after sprinkling an animal with sacred water, it trembled all over, then it was believed that the sacrifice was pleasing to God and he was ready to give an oracle. Otherwise, the day was considered unfavorable for fortune telling. The goat was sacrificed on a large altar outside the temple. Meanwhile, the Pythia, wearing luxurious gold-woven clothing, loosening her hair, with a laurel branch on her head, went to the sanctuary, drank the sacred water of Cassotis and chewed laurel leaves. Finally, she sat down on the tripod.
The questioner was warned that his thoughts must be pure and his words must have a good meaning. Then there was silence. The Pythia, mounting a tripod, inhaling the vapors penetrating from a cleft in the rock, uttered predictions in poetic form or prose, which were written down by the priests (Strabo). Since the Pythia was temporarily replaced by God, she prophesied in the first person.
It is believed that the Pythia went into ecstasy by inhaling intoxicating vapors emanating from the deep cleft of the rock on which the temple stood.
Pythia. John Collier
Pythia. J.-F.-A. Löwe
Currently, the chasm does not exist, and the possibility of underground evaporation is debatable. Geological and archaeological research by the French Archaeological School in Athens, carried out after 1892, did not reveal either a depression or any evaporation here. It is believed that the crack could disappear as a result strong earthquake, not uncommon in this region.
The meager remains of the heavily destroyed temple date back to the 4th century. BC The western part of the temple was especially damaged, so detailed reconstruction is impossible. Traces of not only a strong earthquake, but also intentional destruction were revealed. This was probably the work of Christians during the period of the prohibition of paganism.
The idea has taken root in literature that the Pythia, inhaling intoxicating vapors, fell into a trance, “sacred madness.” This understanding is now being questioned. It is indicated that in the vase painting the Pythia is depicted calmly sitting on a tripod (but, note, this is only the beginning of the procedure), classical authors describe her as normal and reasonable.
Plutarch in his Pythian treatises speaks of poisonous fumes, sometimes leading to the death of the Pythia. Inhaling them, the Pythia came into such a frenzied state that, upon completion of the divination, she gave the impression of a warrior after a battle, or a bacchante or corybantus after a dance. According to Plutarch, it is the depletion of the earth's power that explains the decline in the authority of the oracle. This interpretation fits perfectly into the tectonic picture (the crack closed, evaporation stopped). Pausanias reported about one of these cracks, which formed after an earthquake and where the third temple of Apollo fell through (X, 5, 12). And the landscape of Delphi itself was formed as a result of such earthquakes. Thus, final conclusions are still far away.
Sibyl of Delphi. Michelangelo B. Fresco of the Sistine Chapel. Rome, Vatican
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