In the modern discourse of man, whose judgments are considered revelation and immutable truth, they are often called the oracle. This term is ancient and originates in ancient beliefs. In animism, it was believed that the gods communicate their will through the rustling of the leaves of sacred trees, the flight of birds, the way smoke will rise from donations. Beliefs later changed somewhat. To understand the will of the gods, a special interpreter, a kind of translator, was required. He was the oracle. The belief that the spirit world lies in parallel reality, and only some people are able to understand and interpret what God says, are common among many nations. But what do Pythia and Sibylla mean? After all, they too could predict the future, to convey the answers of the gods to people's questions.
Etymology of the term
The answer to the question of what the oracle is should not be sought in the Latin translation, but in Greek. It would be a mistake to say that this term means a priest and a simple minister of worship. Despite the fact that โoroโ is translated from Latin as โpray,โ the oracle is a primordially Greek phenomenon. Therefore, one should proceed from the word "oฯฮฑo", which means "I see, I know." In this sense, the oracles were not close to priests or priests, but to Slavic wise men, German velves or Celtic druids. In the ancient tradition, this word was also called the interpretation of the will of the gods, and the sacred place where they received it. Of course, the oracle was also a priest, only a special one. He not only honored a deity, but also understood his language, could talk to him. Sometimes spirits prophesied the future through mediums - the Pythians. These women fell into a trance under the influence of chemical fumes and began to mumble something incoherent. The oracle interpreted the words of the Pythia and gave the questioner the coveted answer.
The origin of the cult
Researchers believe that the practice of divining the future came to Greece from Asia Minor. In Assyria and Ancient Egypt (in the city of Buto) there were also places where special priests "spoke through the mouth of the gods." In Greece, this cult was mixed with the veneration of the goddess of the land of Gaia, and the very first oracle proclaimed her will in Epirus, in Dodon. According to the testimony of the famous ancient Greek historian Herodotus, not only his fellow countrymen, but also their distant neighbors knew what the oracle was. He writes that the king of Lydia Croesus decided to declare a kind of โcastingโ for the best soothsayer. He sent messengers to the Greek Delphi, to Aba, to Dodona, to Amphiara, Trephonia and to Miletus. In this "battle of psychics" the victory was won ... by the Pythia from Delphi. She guessed that Croesus was going to cook lamb and a turtle in one cauldron.
The Pythia of Apollo and the Delphic Oracle: what is it?
In most temples of the ancient world, priests learned about the goodwill or bad mood of the gods through the interpretation of the signs sent by them. This practice is called mantico. It was especially common in ancient Rome. The augurs monitored the flight and behavior of the birds, and the haruspics divined through the insides of the animals they sacrificed. In the Greek city of Delphi, a fundamentally different cult was practiced. It was believed that in this place Apollo pierced the serpent Python with a spear. A dart hit a cleft in the ground, from which fumes rose. Later, a temple was built above it, in which a Pythia sat on a tripod. She inhaled the vapors and, falling into a trance from this, prophesied the will of Apollo. No one entered the room except the special priest. Here it becomes clear what the oracle is. The answers he gave to the believing donors were vague and sometimes contained diametrically opposite maxims. Archaeologists have found many clay tablets with questions from pilgrims. The list of topics that interested them was rather narrow: does the wife / husband cheat and is it worth it to conclude a particular financial transaction.
Pythia
This woman does not have to be a virgin, she just pledged to remain chastity while serving Apollo. At first, such a priestess prophesied only once a year - on the seventh day of February. But later, when there was no end to the believers, the matter was put on the conveyor. At the same time, several women working in shifts served at the Delphi church. They took their rightful place on the tripod on the seventh day of every month. Delphi reached its greatest glory in the 5th century BC. The texts of that time clearly indicate what the oracle is: this is the sanctuary of Apollo at the source of the Wisdom of Castalia. By the way, the Pythia predicted the sunset of this place. In 393, Emperor Theodosius, as a Christian, ordered that this stronghold of paganism be closed.
Sybil
Simpler people, who did not have money for a pilgrimage to Delphi or other places of divination, turned to fortunetellers - sibyls. The first woman to bear this name was a Trojan, the daughter of Neseo and Dardan. She possessed the gift of foretelling the future. Following her and other soothsayers began to call sibyls. They were especially sensitive to impending disaster. Thus, the sibyls predicted the eruption of Vesuvius, who buried Pompeii, the destruction of Troy and predicted the place of the battle, at the end of which Greece would lose its independence. Now we know what the oracle is, who is the Pythia and who is the Sybil, and we see the difference in these three types of magic. The Pythia prophesied something slurred, the oracle was free to interpret what he heard as he pleased, and conveyed the answer to the questioners. Sybil, for the most part, testified of the impending disaster, although not everyone wanted to listen to her. For which they paid: "The day will come, and the great Troy will die!"