Famous oracular statements from Delphi
Encyclopedia
Pythia
was the priestess presiding over the Oracle
of Apollo
at Delphi
. There are more than 500 supposed Oracular statements which have survived from various sources referring to the oracle at Delphi. Many are anecdotal, and have survived as proverbs. Several are ambiguously phrased, apparently in order to show the oracle in a good light regardless of the outcome. Such prophesies were admired for their dexterity of phrasing. One such famous prediction was the answer to an unknown person who was inquiring as to whether it would be safe for him to join a military campaign; the answer was: "Go, return not die in war", which can have two entirely opposite meanings, depending on where a missing comma
is supposed to be - before or after the word "not".
The following list presents some of the most prominent and historically significant.
, the semi-legendary Sparta
n lawgiver (fl. 8th century BC).
According to the report by Plutarch
, the oracle told Lycurgus that his prayers had been heard and that the state which observed the laws of Lycurgus would become the most famous in the world. With such an endorsement, Lycurgus went to the leading men of Sparta and enlisted their support. Seeking further assistance she also told him:
As a result Lycurgus built a constitution for the Spartans that combined features of a monarchy
with two kings, of a land-owning aristocracy
and a democracy
.
Historiographers also attribute to Lycurgus the introduction of a very cumbersome coinage made from iron (in order to prevent theft and bribery).
In the account of Plutarch and Diodorus, this was also based on an oracular statement,
The supposed oracular statement in retrospect was interpreted
as being fulfilled as the gold and silver Sparta's soldiers sent home after the Peloponnesian War
were to prove to be Sparta's undoing. It is not likely that this oracle was delivered, if it is at all historical, to Lycurgus himself, as coin
age had not been introduced in his time.
went to Delphi to offer a gift on behalf of his native city, and was told by the oracle:
Because the king did not know where Libya was, he did nothing. Later it did not rain on Thera for a considerable period, and to find out what could be done, the Therans again approached the oracle. She said:
To relieve the pressure from the drought, and following the advice of the oracle, the Therans sought advice from the Cretans
as to where Libya was and a colony of Thera was established at Platea. But bad luck still followed them for another two years, so they visited the oracle a third time. She said:
The Therans sought advice from the local Libyans who gave them a new site, and the colony prospered.
, a league of 12 cities in existence since 1100 BC. (The league had been named after Amphictyon
of Thermopylae
, brother of Hellen
, the first Greek (or non-Pelasgian) King of Athens
.) In that year, nearby Kirra
levied a toll on pilgrims, which ushered in the First Sacred War
. After 5 years of struggle, the Oracle decreed that the site of Kirra be left fallow, sacred to Apollo
. This ushered in a period of great prosperity.
, the Athenian lawgiver, seeking to capture the island of Salamis
from Megara
and Cirrha
was told by the oracle:
He did, and taking as volunteers 500 young Athenians whose ancestors came from Salamis
, was successful in capturing the island that was to prove so important in later Athenian history. Solon never ceased to support and give credit to the oracle for its support in declaring the island was originally Ionian.
In framing his famous constitutional reforms for Athens, Solon again sought the advice of the oracle who told him:
As a result Solon refused the opportunity to become a revolutionary tyrant
, and created a constitution for which he, and Athens, were justly honoured. Through trial by jury
, a graduated tax system and the forgiveness of debts he prevented a growing gap between the "haves" and the "have-nots". But he refused to accept the confiscation
s of the property
of the rich, so creating an Athenian middle class
. He secured an Oath from the Athenian Council of Magistrates that if they violated these laws they would dedicate a gold statue to the Oracle of Delphi of equal weight to themselves.
of Lydia
, in a trial of oracles, consulted all the famous oracles as to what he was doing on an appointed day. According to Herodotus, the oracle proclaimed:
Delphi was declared the winner. Croesus then asked if he should make war on the Persians and if he should take to himself any allied force. The oracles to whom he sent this question included those at Delphi and Thebes. Both oracles gave the same response, that if Croesus made war on the Persians, he would destroy a mighty empire. They further advised him to seek out the most powerful Greek peoples and make alliance with them.
Croesus paid a high fee to the Delphians and then sent to the oracle asking "Would his monarchy last long?" The Pythia answered:
Croesus thought it impossible that a mule
should be king of the Medes and thus believed that he and his issue would never be out of power. He thus decided to make common cause with certain Greek city states and attack Persia.
However, it was he, not the Persians, who was defeated, fulfilling the prophecy but not his interpretation of it. He apparently forgot that Cyrus
, the victor, was half Mede (by his mother), half Persian
(by his father) and therefore could be considered a mule.
, the son of Darius the Great
of Persia, returned to finish the job of conquering the Greeks in which his father had failed, the Athenians consulted the oracle. They were told:
It was unambiguous. When persuaded to seek advice a second time, the oracle gave a way for the Athenians to escape their doom. When Athena approached her father to help her city, Zeus responded that he would grant that "a wall of wood alone shall be uncaptured, a boon to you and your children."
The oracle again advised the Athenians to flee:
Meanwhile, the Spartans also consulted the oracle and were told:
or in a version according to Herodotus:
The Spartans withdrew in consternation, wondering which fate was worse. The Delphians themselves then asked how Persia could be defeated. The oracle replied:
Events overtook the prophecy when the Persian army assaulted
Thermopylae
, where the Spartans (notably “the 300”) and allies held the pass against them. The Spartans under King Leonidas (The Lion) resisted the Persian advance at Thermopylae until betrayed by treachery. Refusing to retreat, the entire Spartan contingent, including their King (as foretold), lost their lives, but in so doing gained immortal fame. The Persian armada then sailed to nearby Cape Artemisium
, where they were met by the Athenian fleet. The Athenian ships fought against great odds, but in three battles managed to hold their own.
A tremendous storm then arose at Artemesium, with the most violent winds attacking the ships for three days. The Persians lost about 20% of their warships and perhaps the same number of transport vessels to the storm. The stormy winds and huge waves did not harm the Athenian ships.
Back in Athens Themistocles
argued that the wall of wood referred to the Athenian navy and persuaded the Athenians to pursue their policy of using wealth from their Attic silver mines at Laurium
to continue building their fleet. On the grounds that the oracle referred to the nearby island of Salamis
as "holy", he claimed that those slain would be Greece's enemies, not the Athenians. For these the oracle would have said "O cruel Salamis". His voice carried the day, Athens was evacuated to Salamis and in a following naval battle the Athenian fleet and its allies destroyed the Persian fleet at Salamis, while watched by Xerxes. Despite the fact that Athens was burned by the Persians, her occupants were saved, the Persian risk was ended and the authority of the Oracle was never higher.
, to which Socrates said that either all were equally ignorant, or that he was wiser in that he alone was aware of his own ignorance. This claim is related to one of the most famous mottos of Delphi, which Socrates said he learned there, Gnothi Seauton
(Γνώθι Σεαυτόν): "know thyself!". Another famous motto of Delphi is : "nothing in excess" (literally, "nothing excessively"). Socrates was perhaps only about 30 years old at the time, his fame as a philosopher was yet to come. It has been said that in encouraging Socrates' philosophical leanings, the Oracle was to have had its greatest impact upon the future of successive civilisations. One version of the claim stated that a friend of Socrates went before Pythia asking, "Is there any man alive wiser than Socrates?" The answer that he received was simply, "No."
, the Spartan victor of the Peloponnesian War
was warned to beware:
He was slain from behind in 395 BC by Neachorus, who had a serpent painted upon his shield.
Agesilaus
, the lame king of Sparta, who acceeded to the Spartan throne at the time of Lysander, through attacking enemies in every quarter, lost control of the seas to the Persians who attacked Spartan coastal locations. In his obsession with Thebes, he incited the Thebans
under Epaminondas
to fight back. The Spartans were defeated for the first time by the Thebans in the battle of Leuctra
in 371 BC; this led to the invasion of Sparta itself and its defeat at the battle of Mantinea
in 362 BC.
consulted the Oracle and was told:
The king then sought to control the silver mines in the neighbouring Thracian and Illyrian kingdom, and using them to bribe his way to early victories, playing one Greek state off against the others, and isolating his enemies by bribes to potential allies.
Philip also had a highly spirited black colt that no one could ride. The Oracle of Delphi stated whoever could ride this horse would conquer the world, but despite many attempts neither Philip nor any of his generals could mount the horse. His son, Alexander, later to be called the Great, succeeded as he realized that the horse was afraid of his own shadow. Philip gave the horse Bucephalus
to Alexander, who took the steed on his conquest of Asia.
In 353 BC, a third Sacred War
broke out when Thebes had placed a fine upon Phokis, and Phokis, to pay for the war, heavily taxed the people of nearby Delphi and seized the Treasury of Delphi. The Amphictyonic League led by Philip declared war against Phokis. Philip sought to unite all Greece with Macedon
in the Amphictyonic League to attack Persia. In 339 BC, Philip interfered once again against the Amphictyonic alliance when the Krissans trespassed on Apollo's sacred grounds. Philip punished the Krissans, and consequently in 338 c. B.C. defeated the combined armies of the Athenians and the Spartans, thus becoming the dominant force in Greek affairs. Eventually, at the Battle of Chaeronea
he was successful against the Athenians and Thebans but he was assassinated before he could lead the invasion of Persia.
ic invasion, the oracle declared:
The Celts were met by earthquakes, avalanches, and a massive snow storm, forcing them to retreat. But the Romans
were a different matter. In 191 BC, the sanctuary of Delphi fell into the Roman sphere of influence, and the oracle generally supported the rise of Rome henceforth.
tribe of Maedi
who extinguished the sacred fire which had been burning uninterrupted for centuries. At the time of Pompey the Great, Cicero
, Pompey's ally, consulted the Oracle as to how he should find greatest fame and was told:
Pompey was subsequently defeated by Julius Caesar
. Cicero cultivated his oratory and his skills in the courts in preserving Rome from the Catilinarian conspiracy, earning undying fame.
Nero
, who was just 30 years old and had killed his own mother in 59 AD, when visiting the Oracle was told:
He was angered and had the Pythia buried alive. Nero thought he would have a long reign and die at 73. Instead his reign came to a short end after a revolt by Galba
who was 73 years of age at the time.
visited Delphi before he reached the throne. After drinking of the Kassotis, his destiny as Emperor was proclaimed. When he had acceded to the throne, he ordered it blocked up so no one else could get the same idea in the same way.
visited Delphi and asked why the quality of the Oracular utterances had declined, the oracle stated it was as a result of Christian
influence. It may have been one of the factors that led to Diocletian's persecution of the Christians, and Christian animosity against the Oracle, which eventually led to its destruction.
, Christian attacks against pagan temples continued, reaching a head when the Emperor ordered that all pagan temples be shut. The oracle declared to the Emperor in 393 AD
Within two years the Emperor Theodosius was dead. Within 20 years the Western Roman Empire had started to accept Germanic tribes across the border, and for the first time in 800 years no further oracular statements were given.
Pythia
The Pythia , commonly known as the Oracle of Delphi, was the priestess at the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, located on the slopes of Mount Parnassus. The Pythia was widely credited for her prophecies inspired by Apollo. The Delphic oracle was established in the 8th century BC...
was the priestess presiding over the Oracle
Oracle
In Classical Antiquity, an oracle was a person or agency considered to be a source of wise counsel or prophetic predictions or precognition of the future, inspired by the gods. As such it is a form of divination....
of Apollo
Apollo
Apollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in Greek and Roman mythology...
at Delphi
Delphi
Delphi is both an archaeological site and a modern town in Greece on the south-western spur of Mount Parnassus in the valley of Phocis.In Greek mythology, Delphi was the site of the Delphic oracle, the most important oracle in the classical Greek world, and a major site for the worship of the god...
. There are more than 500 supposed Oracular statements which have survived from various sources referring to the oracle at Delphi. Many are anecdotal, and have survived as proverbs. Several are ambiguously phrased, apparently in order to show the oracle in a good light regardless of the outcome. Such prophesies were admired for their dexterity of phrasing. One such famous prediction was the answer to an unknown person who was inquiring as to whether it would be safe for him to join a military campaign; the answer was: "Go, return not die in war", which can have two entirely opposite meanings, depending on where a missing comma
Comma
A comma is a type of punctuation mark . The word comes from the Greek komma , which means something cut off or a short clause.Comma may also refer to:* Comma , a type of interval in music theory...
is supposed to be - before or after the word "not".
The following list presents some of the most prominent and historically significant.
Lycurgus
Greco-Roman historiographers record some early oracular statements from Delphi as delivered to LycurgusLycurgus (Sparta)
Lycurgus was the legendary lawgiver of Sparta, who established the military-oriented reformation of Spartan society in accordance with the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi...
, the semi-legendary Sparta
Sparta
Sparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c...
n lawgiver (fl. 8th century BC).
According to the report by Plutarch
Plutarch
Plutarch then named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. 46 – 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...
, the oracle told Lycurgus that his prayers had been heard and that the state which observed the laws of Lycurgus would become the most famous in the world. With such an endorsement, Lycurgus went to the leading men of Sparta and enlisted their support. Seeking further assistance she also told him:
There are two roads, most distant from each other: the one leading to the honorable house of freedom, the other the house of slavery, which mortals must shun. It is possible to travel the one through manliness and lovely accord; so lead your people to this path. The other they reach through hateful strife and cowardly destruction; so shun it most of all.
As a result Lycurgus built a constitution for the Spartans that combined features of a monarchy
Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...
with two kings, of a land-owning aristocracy
Aristocracy
Aristocracy , is a form of government in which a few elite citizens rule. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning "rule of the best". In origin in Ancient Greece, it was conceived of as rule by the best qualified citizens, and contrasted with monarchy...
and a democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
.
Historiographers also attribute to Lycurgus the introduction of a very cumbersome coinage made from iron (in order to prevent theft and bribery).
In the account of Plutarch and Diodorus, this was also based on an oracular statement,
Love of money and nothing else will ruin Sparta.
The supposed oracular statement in retrospect was interpreted
Postdiction
According to critics of paranormal beliefs, postdiction is an effect of hindsight bias that explains claimed predictions of significant events, such as plane crashes and natural disasters...
as being fulfilled as the gold and silver Sparta's soldiers sent home after the Peloponnesian War
Peloponnesian War
The Peloponnesian War, 431 to 404 BC, was an ancient Greek war fought by Athens and its empire against the Peloponnesian League led by Sparta. Historians have traditionally divided the war into three phases...
were to prove to be Sparta's undoing. It is not likely that this oracle was delivered, if it is at all historical, to Lycurgus himself, as coin
Coin
A coin is a piece of hard material that is standardized in weight, is produced in large quantities in order to facilitate trade, and primarily can be used as a legal tender token for commerce in the designated country, region, or territory....
age had not been introduced in his time.
630 BC
In 630 BC, the king of the island of TheraSantorini
Santorini , officially Thira , is an island located in the southern Aegean Sea, about southeast from Greece's mainland. It is the largest island of a small, circular archipelago which bears the same name and is the remnant of a volcanic caldera...
went to Delphi to offer a gift on behalf of his native city, and was told by the oracle:
that he should found a city in Libya
LibyaLibya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
.
Because the king did not know where Libya was, he did nothing. Later it did not rain on Thera for a considerable period, and to find out what could be done, the Therans again approached the oracle. She said:
if they ... would make a settlement at Cyrene
Cyrene, LibyaCyrene was an ancient Greek colony and then a Roman city in present-day Shahhat, Libya, the oldest and most important of the five Greek cities in the region. It gave eastern Libya the classical name Cyrenaica that it has retained to modern times.Cyrene lies in a lush valley in the Jebel Akhdar...
in Libya, things would go better with them.
To relieve the pressure from the drought, and following the advice of the oracle, the Therans sought advice from the Cretans
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
as to where Libya was and a colony of Thera was established at Platea. But bad luck still followed them for another two years, so they visited the oracle a third time. She said:
Know you better than I, fair Libya abounding in fleeces? Better the stranger than he who has trod it? Oh! Clever Therans!
The Therans sought advice from the local Libyans who gave them a new site, and the colony prospered.
595 BC
In 595 BC, the affairs of the Oracle were felt too important to be left to the Delphians alone, and the sanctity of the site came to be protected by the Amphictyonic LeagueAmphictyonic League
In the Archaic period of ancient Greece, an amphictyony , a "league of neighbors", or Amphictyonic League was an ancient association of Greek tribes formed in the dim past, before the rise of the Greek polis...
, a league of 12 cities in existence since 1100 BC. (The league had been named after Amphictyon
Amphictyon
Amphictyon , in Greek mythology, was the second son of Deucalion and Pyrrha, although there was also a tradition that he was autochthonous ; he is also said to be a son of Hellen son of Deucalion and Pyrrha. Amphictyon was king of Thermopylae and married a daughter of Cranaus of Athens...
of Thermopylae
Thermopylae
Thermopylae is a location in Greece where a narrow coastal passage existed in antiquity. It derives its name from its hot sulphur springs. "Hot gates" is also "the place of hot springs and cavernous entrances to Hades"....
, brother of Hellen
Hellen
Hellen , the son of Deucalion and Pyrrha, brother of Amphictyon and father of Aeolus, Xuthus, and Dorus. His name is also another name for Greek, meaning a person of Greek descent or pertaining to Greek culture, and the source of the adjective "Hellenic".Each of his sons founded a primary tribe of...
, the first Greek (or non-Pelasgian) King of Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
.) In that year, nearby Kirra
Kirra, Phocis
Kirra , is a village in Phocis, central Greece. It is part of the municipal unit of Itea. It is also sometimes called Adrastea. Kirra is part of a Trifecta starting in the north with Delphi, descending south to the Gulf of Corinth to Itea, which is the main city on the water in that area, and then...
levied a toll on pilgrims, which ushered in the First Sacred War
First Sacred War
The First Sacred War was fought between the Amphictyonic League of Delphi and the city of Kirrha. The conflict arose due to Kirrha's frequent robbery and mistreatment of pilgrims going to Delphi and their encroachments upon Delphic land. The war resulted in the defeat and destruction of Kirrha...
. After 5 years of struggle, the Oracle decreed that the site of Kirra be left fallow, sacred to Apollo
Apollo
Apollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in Greek and Roman mythology...
. This ushered in a period of great prosperity.
594 BC
In 594 BC, SolonSolon
Solon was an Athenian statesman, lawmaker, and poet. He is remembered particularly for his efforts to legislate against political, economic and moral decline in archaic Athens...
, the Athenian lawgiver, seeking to capture the island of Salamis
Salamis Island
Salamis , is the largest Greek island in the Saronic Gulf, about 1 nautical mile off-coast from Piraeus and about 16 km west of Athens. The chief city, Salamina , lies in the west-facing core of the crescent on Salamis Bay, which opens into the Saronic Gulf...
from Megara
Megara
Megara is an ancient city in Attica, Greece. It lies in the northern section of the Isthmus of Corinth opposite the island of Salamis, which belonged to Megara in archaic times, before being taken by Athens. Megara was one of the four districts of Attica, embodied in the four mythic sons of King...
and Cirrha
Kirra, Phocis
Kirra , is a village in Phocis, central Greece. It is part of the municipal unit of Itea. It is also sometimes called Adrastea. Kirra is part of a Trifecta starting in the north with Delphi, descending south to the Gulf of Corinth to Itea, which is the main city on the water in that area, and then...
was told by the oracle:
First sacrifice to the warriors who once had their home in this island,
Whom now the rolling plain of fair Asopia covers,
Laid in the tombs of heroes with their faces turned to the sunset,
He did, and taking as volunteers 500 young Athenians whose ancestors came from Salamis
Salamis Island
Salamis , is the largest Greek island in the Saronic Gulf, about 1 nautical mile off-coast from Piraeus and about 16 km west of Athens. The chief city, Salamina , lies in the west-facing core of the crescent on Salamis Bay, which opens into the Saronic Gulf...
, was successful in capturing the island that was to prove so important in later Athenian history. Solon never ceased to support and give credit to the oracle for its support in declaring the island was originally Ionian.
In framing his famous constitutional reforms for Athens, Solon again sought the advice of the oracle who told him:
Seat yourself now amidships, for you are the pilot of Athens. Grasp the helm fast in your hands; you have many allies in your city.
As a result Solon refused the opportunity to become a revolutionary tyrant
Tyrant
A tyrant was originally one who illegally seized and controlled a governmental power in a polis. Tyrants were a group of individuals who took over many Greek poleis during the uprising of the middle classes in the sixth and seventh centuries BC, ousting the aristocratic governments.Plato and...
, and created a constitution for which he, and Athens, were justly honoured. Through trial by jury
Jury
A jury is a sworn body of people convened to render an impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Modern juries tend to be found in courts to ascertain the guilt, or lack thereof, in a crime. In Anglophone jurisdictions, the verdict may be guilty,...
, a graduated tax system and the forgiveness of debts he prevented a growing gap between the "haves" and the "have-nots". But he refused to accept the confiscation
Confiscation
Confiscation, from the Latin confiscatio 'joining to the fiscus, i.e. transfer to the treasury' is a legal seizure without compensation by a government or other public authority...
s of the property
Property
Property is any physical or intangible entity that is owned by a person or jointly by a group of people or a legal entity like a corporation...
of the rich, so creating an Athenian middle class
Middle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
. He secured an Oath from the Athenian Council of Magistrates that if they violated these laws they would dedicate a gold statue to the Oracle of Delphi of equal weight to themselves.
560 BC
In 560 BC, CroesusCroesus
Croesus was the king of Lydia from 560 to 547 BC until his defeat by the Persians. The fall of Croesus made a profound impact on the Hellenes, providing a fixed point in their calendar. "By the fifth century at least," J.A.S...
of Lydia
Lydia
Lydia was an Iron Age kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the modern Turkish provinces of Manisa and inland İzmir. Its population spoke an Anatolian language known as Lydian....
, in a trial of oracles, consulted all the famous oracles as to what he was doing on an appointed day. According to Herodotus, the oracle proclaimed:
I count the grains of sand on the beach and measure the sea; I understand the speech of the dumb and hear the voiceless. The smell has come to my sense of a hard shelled tortoise boiling and bubbling with a lamb's flesh in a bronze pot: the cauldron underneath it is of bronze, and bronze is the lid.
Delphi was declared the winner. Croesus then asked if he should make war on the Persians and if he should take to himself any allied force. The oracles to whom he sent this question included those at Delphi and Thebes. Both oracles gave the same response, that if Croesus made war on the Persians, he would destroy a mighty empire. They further advised him to seek out the most powerful Greek peoples and make alliance with them.
Croesus paid a high fee to the Delphians and then sent to the oracle asking "Would his monarchy last long?" The Pythia answered:
Whenever a mule
MuleA mule is the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse. Horses and donkeys are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes. Of the two F1 hybrids between these two species, a mule is easier to obtain than a hinny...
shall become sovereign king of the Medians, then, Lydian Delicate-Foot, flee by the stone-strewn HermusHermusIn Greek mythology, Hermus is a name attributed to multiple characters.-River god:Hermus is the god of the river Hermus located in the Aegean region of Lydia . Like most of the river-gods, he is the son of Oceanus and Tethys...
, flee, and think not to stand fast, nor shame to be chicken-hearted.
Croesus thought it impossible that a mule
Mule
A mule is the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse. Horses and donkeys are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes. Of the two F1 hybrids between these two species, a mule is easier to obtain than a hinny...
should be king of the Medes and thus believed that he and his issue would never be out of power. He thus decided to make common cause with certain Greek city states and attack Persia.
However, it was he, not the Persians, who was defeated, fulfilling the prophecy but not his interpretation of it. He apparently forgot that Cyrus
Cyrus the Great
Cyrus II of Persia , commonly known as Cyrus the Great, also known as Cyrus the Elder, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire. Under his rule, the empire embraced all the previous civilized states of the ancient Near East, expanded vastly and eventually conquered most of Southwest Asia and much...
, the victor, was half Mede (by his mother), half Persian
Persian people
The Persian people are part of the Iranian peoples who speak the modern Persian language and closely akin Iranian dialects and languages. The origin of the ethnic Iranian/Persian peoples are traced to the Ancient Iranian peoples, who were part of the ancient Indo-Iranians and themselves part of...
(by his father) and therefore could be considered a mule.
480 BC
In 480 BC, when XerxesXerxes I of Persia
Xerxes I of Persia , Ḫšayāršā, ), also known as Xerxes the Great, was the fifth king of kings of the Achaemenid Empire.-Youth and rise to power:...
, the son of Darius the Great
Darius I of Persia
Darius I , also known as Darius the Great, was the third king of kings of the Achaemenid Empire...
of Persia, returned to finish the job of conquering the Greeks in which his father had failed, the Athenians consulted the oracle. They were told:
Now your statues are standing and pouring sweat. They shiver with dread. The black blood drips from the highest rooftops. They have seen the necessity of evil. Get out, get out of my sanctum and drown your spirits in woe.
It was unambiguous. When persuaded to seek advice a second time, the oracle gave a way for the Athenians to escape their doom. When Athena approached her father to help her city, Zeus responded that he would grant that "a wall of wood alone shall be uncaptured, a boon to you and your children."
The oracle again advised the Athenians to flee:
Await not in quiet the coming of the horses, the marching feet, the armed host upon the land. Slip away. Turn your back. You will meet in battle anyway. O holy Salamis
Battle of SalamisThe Battle of Salamis was fought between an Alliance of Greek city-states and the Persian Empire in September 480 BCE, in the straits between the mainland and Salamis, an island in the Saronic Gulf near Athens...
, you will be the death of many a woman's son between the seedtime and the harvest of the grain.
Meanwhile, the Spartans also consulted the oracle and were told:
The strength of bulls or lions cannot stop the foe. No, he will not leave off, I say, until he tears the city or the king limb from limb.
or in a version according to Herodotus:
Hear your fate, O dwellers in Sparta of the wide spaces;
Either your famed, great town must be sacked by Perseus' sons,
Or, if that be not, the whole land of Lacedaemon
Shall mourn the death of a king of the house of Heracles,
For not the strength of lions or of bulls shall hold him,
Strength against strength; for he has the power of Zeus,
And will not be checked until one of these two he has consumed.
The Spartans withdrew in consternation, wondering which fate was worse. The Delphians themselves then asked how Persia could be defeated. The oracle replied:
Pray to the Winds. They will prove to be mighty allies of Greece.
Events overtook the prophecy when the Persian army assaulted
Battle of Thermopylae
The Battle of Thermopylae was fought between an alliance of Greek city-states, led by King Leonidas of Sparta, and the Persian Empire of Xerxes I over the course of three days, during the second Persian invasion of Greece. It took place simultaneously with the naval battle at Artemisium, in August...
Thermopylae
Thermopylae
Thermopylae is a location in Greece where a narrow coastal passage existed in antiquity. It derives its name from its hot sulphur springs. "Hot gates" is also "the place of hot springs and cavernous entrances to Hades"....
, where the Spartans (notably “the 300”) and allies held the pass against them. The Spartans under King Leonidas (The Lion) resisted the Persian advance at Thermopylae until betrayed by treachery. Refusing to retreat, the entire Spartan contingent, including their King (as foretold), lost their lives, but in so doing gained immortal fame. The Persian armada then sailed to nearby Cape Artemisium
Artemisium
Artemisium is a cape north of Euboea, Greece. The legendary hollow cast bronze statue of a debatable Zeus or Poseidon was found off this cape in a sunken ship.-See also:* Temple of Artemis...
, where they were met by the Athenian fleet. The Athenian ships fought against great odds, but in three battles managed to hold their own.
A tremendous storm then arose at Artemesium, with the most violent winds attacking the ships for three days. The Persians lost about 20% of their warships and perhaps the same number of transport vessels to the storm. The stormy winds and huge waves did not harm the Athenian ships.
Back in Athens Themistocles
Themistocles
Themistocles ; c. 524–459 BC, was an Athenian politician and a general. He was one of a new breed of politicians who rose to prominence in the early years of the Athenian democracy, along with his great rival Aristides...
argued that the wall of wood referred to the Athenian navy and persuaded the Athenians to pursue their policy of using wealth from their Attic silver mines at Laurium
Laurium
Laurium or Lavrio is a town in southeastern part of Attica, Greece. It is the seat of the municipality of Lavreotiki...
to continue building their fleet. On the grounds that the oracle referred to the nearby island of Salamis
Salamis Island
Salamis , is the largest Greek island in the Saronic Gulf, about 1 nautical mile off-coast from Piraeus and about 16 km west of Athens. The chief city, Salamina , lies in the west-facing core of the crescent on Salamis Bay, which opens into the Saronic Gulf...
as "holy", he claimed that those slain would be Greece's enemies, not the Athenians. For these the oracle would have said "O cruel Salamis". His voice carried the day, Athens was evacuated to Salamis and in a following naval battle the Athenian fleet and its allies destroyed the Persian fleet at Salamis, while watched by Xerxes. Despite the fact that Athens was burned by the Persians, her occupants were saved, the Persian risk was ended and the authority of the Oracle was never higher.
440 BC
Circa 440 BC the Oracle is also said to have said that there was no one wiser than SocratesSocrates
Socrates was a classical Greek Athenian philosopher. Credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy, he is an enigmatic figure known chiefly through the accounts of later classical writers, especially the writings of his students Plato and Xenophon, and the plays of his contemporary ...
, to which Socrates said that either all were equally ignorant, or that he was wiser in that he alone was aware of his own ignorance. This claim is related to one of the most famous mottos of Delphi, which Socrates said he learned there, Gnothi Seauton
Know thyself
The Ancient Greek aphorism "Know thyself", Greek: ', English phonetics pronunciation: , was inscribed in the pronaos of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi according to the Greek periegetic writer Pausanias .The maxim, or aphorism, "Know Thyself" has had a variety of meanings attributed to it in...
(Γνώθι Σεαυτόν): "know thyself!". Another famous motto of Delphi is : "nothing in excess" (literally, "nothing excessively"). Socrates was perhaps only about 30 years old at the time, his fame as a philosopher was yet to come. It has been said that in encouraging Socrates' philosophical leanings, the Oracle was to have had its greatest impact upon the future of successive civilisations. One version of the claim stated that a friend of Socrates went before Pythia asking, "Is there any man alive wiser than Socrates?" The answer that he received was simply, "No."
431 BC
At the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War the Spartans send a delegation to Delphi inquire whether it would be wise to go to war against Athens. According to Thucydides, "It is said that the god replied that if they fought with all their might, victory would be theirs, and that he himself would be on their side, whether they invoked him or not."403 BC
In 403 BC, LysanderLysander
Lysander was a Spartan general who commanded the Spartan fleet in the Hellespont which defeated the Athenians at Aegospotami in 405 BC...
, the Spartan victor of the Peloponnesian War
Peloponnesian War
The Peloponnesian War, 431 to 404 BC, was an ancient Greek war fought by Athens and its empire against the Peloponnesian League led by Sparta. Historians have traditionally divided the war into three phases...
was warned to beware:
Also the dragon (serpent), earthborn, in craftiness coming behind thee.
He was slain from behind in 395 BC by Neachorus, who had a serpent painted upon his shield.
401 BC
In 401 BC, Sparta was warned:Sure though thy feet, proud Sparta, have a care,
A lame king's reign may see thee trip — Beware!
Troubles unlooked for long shall vex thy shore,
And rolling Time his tide of carnage pour.
Agesilaus
Agesilaus II
Agesilaus II, or Agesilaos II was a king of Sparta, of the Eurypontid dynasty, ruling from approximately 400 BC to 360 BC, during most of which time he was, in Plutarch's words, "as good as thought commander and king of all Greece," and was for the whole of it greatly identified with his...
, the lame king of Sparta, who acceeded to the Spartan throne at the time of Lysander, through attacking enemies in every quarter, lost control of the seas to the Persians who attacked Spartan coastal locations. In his obsession with Thebes, he incited the Thebans
Thebes, Greece
Thebes is a city in Greece, situated to the north of the Cithaeron range, which divides Boeotia from Attica, and on the southern edge of the Boeotian plain. It played an important role in Greek myth, as the site of the stories of Cadmus, Oedipus, Dionysus and others...
under Epaminondas
Epaminondas
Epaminondas , or Epameinondas, was a Theban general and statesman of the 4th century BC who transformed the Ancient Greek city-state of Thebes, leading it out of Spartan subjugation into a preeminent position in Greek politics...
to fight back. The Spartans were defeated for the first time by the Thebans in the battle of Leuctra
Battle of Leuctra
The Battle of Leuctra was a battle fought on July 6, 371 BC, between the Boeotians led by Thebans and the Spartans along with their allies amidst the post-Corinthian War conflict. The battle took place in the neighbourhood of Leuctra, a village in Boeotia in the territory of Thespiae...
in 371 BC; this led to the invasion of Sparta itself and its defeat at the battle of Mantinea
Battle of Mantinea (362 BC)
The Battle of Mantinea was fought on July 4 362 BC between the Thebans, led by Epaminondas and supported by the Arcadians and the Boeotian league against the Spartans, led by King Agesilaus II and supported by the Eleans, Athenians, and Mantineans...
in 362 BC.
359 BC
In 359 BC, Philip II of MacedonPhilip II of Macedon
Philip II of Macedon "friend" + ἵππος "horse" — transliterated ; 382 – 336 BC), was a king of Macedon from 359 BC until his assassination in 336 BC. He was the father of Alexander the Great and Philip III.-Biography:...
consulted the Oracle and was told:
With silver spears you may conquer the world
The king then sought to control the silver mines in the neighbouring Thracian and Illyrian kingdom, and using them to bribe his way to early victories, playing one Greek state off against the others, and isolating his enemies by bribes to potential allies.
Philip also had a highly spirited black colt that no one could ride. The Oracle of Delphi stated whoever could ride this horse would conquer the world, but despite many attempts neither Philip nor any of his generals could mount the horse. His son, Alexander, later to be called the Great, succeeded as he realized that the horse was afraid of his own shadow. Philip gave the horse Bucephalus
Bucephalus
Bucephalus or Bucephalas was Alexander the Great's horse and one of the most famous actual horses of antiquity. Ancient accounts state that Bucephalus died after the Battle of the Hydaspes in 326 BC, in what is now modern Pakistan, and is buried in Jalalpur Sharif outside of Jhelum, Pakistan...
to Alexander, who took the steed on his conquest of Asia.
In 353 BC, a third Sacred War
Third Sacred War
The Third Sacred War was fought between the forces of the Delphic Amphictyonic League, principally represented by Thebes, and latterly by Philip II of Macedon, and the Phocians...
broke out when Thebes had placed a fine upon Phokis, and Phokis, to pay for the war, heavily taxed the people of nearby Delphi and seized the Treasury of Delphi. The Amphictyonic League led by Philip declared war against Phokis. Philip sought to unite all Greece with Macedon
Macedon
Macedonia or Macedon was an ancient kingdom, centered in the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula, bordered by Epirus to the west, Paeonia to the north, the region of Thrace to the east and Thessaly to the south....
in the Amphictyonic League to attack Persia. In 339 BC, Philip interfered once again against the Amphictyonic alliance when the Krissans trespassed on Apollo's sacred grounds. Philip punished the Krissans, and consequently in 338 c. B.C. defeated the combined armies of the Athenians and the Spartans, thus becoming the dominant force in Greek affairs. Eventually, at the Battle of Chaeronea
Chaeronea
Chaeronea is a village and a former municipality in Boeotia, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Livadeia, of which it is a municipal unit. Population 2,218...
he was successful against the Athenians and Thebans but he was assassinated before he could lead the invasion of Persia.
279 BC
In 279 BC, plundered by a CeltCelt
The Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Roman-era Europe who spoke Celtic languages.The earliest archaeological culture commonly accepted as Celtic, or rather Proto-Celtic, was the central European Hallstatt culture , named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt, Austria....
ic invasion, the oracle declared:
Care for these things fall on me!
The Celts were met by earthquakes, avalanches, and a massive snow storm, forcing them to retreat. But the Romans
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
were a different matter. In 191 BC, the sanctuary of Delphi fell into the Roman sphere of influence, and the oracle generally supported the rise of Rome henceforth.
83 BC
In 83 BC, Delphi was razed by an attack from the ThracianThrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
tribe of Maedi
Maedi
The Maedi , were a Thracian or Illyrian tribe, which in historic times, occupied the area between Paionia and Thrace, on the southwestern fringes of Thrace, along the middle course of the Strymon, between the Kresna Gorge and the Rupel Pass...
who extinguished the sacred fire which had been burning uninterrupted for centuries. At the time of Pompey the Great, Cicero
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
, Pompey's ally, consulted the Oracle as to how he should find greatest fame and was told:
make your own nature, not the advice of others, your guide in life.
Pompey was subsequently defeated by Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
. Cicero cultivated his oratory and his skills in the courts in preserving Rome from the Catilinarian conspiracy, earning undying fame.
67 AD
In 67 AD, EmperorEmperor
An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right...
Nero
Nero
Nero , was Roman Emperor from 54 to 68, and the last in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Nero was adopted by his great-uncle Claudius to become his heir and successor, and succeeded to the throne in 54 following Claudius' death....
, who was just 30 years old and had killed his own mother in 59 AD, when visiting the Oracle was told:
Your presence here outrages the god you seek. Go back, matricide
MatricideMatricide is the act of killing one's mother. As for any type of killing, motives can vary significantly.- Known or suspected matricides :* Amastris, queen of Heraclea, was drowned by her two sons in 284 BC....
! The number 73 marks the hour of your downfall!
He was angered and had the Pythia buried alive. Nero thought he would have a long reign and die at 73. Instead his reign came to a short end after a revolt by Galba
Galba
Galba , was Roman Emperor for seven months from 68 to 69. Galba was the governor of Hispania Tarraconensis, and made a bid for the throne during the rebellion of Julius Vindex...
who was 73 years of age at the time.
Before 117 AD
Before 117 AD the Emperor HadrianHadrian
Hadrian , was Roman Emperor from 117 to 138. He is best known for building Hadrian's Wall, which marked the northern limit of Roman Britain. In Rome, he re-built the Pantheon and constructed the Temple of Venus and Roma. In addition to being emperor, Hadrian was a humanist and was philhellene in...
visited Delphi before he reached the throne. After drinking of the Kassotis, his destiny as Emperor was proclaimed. When he had acceded to the throne, he ordered it blocked up so no one else could get the same idea in the same way.
303 AD
In 303 AD, when the Emperor DiocletianDiocletian
Diocletian |latinized]] upon his accession to Diocletian . c. 22 December 244 – 3 December 311), was a Roman Emperor from 284 to 305....
visited Delphi and asked why the quality of the Oracular utterances had declined, the oracle stated it was as a result of Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
influence. It may have been one of the factors that led to Diocletian's persecution of the Christians, and Christian animosity against the Oracle, which eventually led to its destruction.
389 AD
In 389 AD, under the reign of Theodosius ITheodosius I
Theodosius I , also known as Theodosius the Great, was Roman Emperor from 379 to 395. Theodosius was the last emperor to rule over both the eastern and the western halves of the Roman Empire. During his reign, the Goths secured control of Illyricum after the Gothic War, establishing their homeland...
, Christian attacks against pagan temples continued, reaching a head when the Emperor ordered that all pagan temples be shut. The oracle declared to the Emperor in 393 AD
Tell the king; the fair wrought house has fallen.
No shelter has Apollo, nor sacred laurel leaves;
The fountains are now silent; the voice is stilled.
It is finished.
Within two years the Emperor Theodosius was dead. Within 20 years the Western Roman Empire had started to accept Germanic tribes across the border, and for the first time in 800 years no further oracular statements were given.