Editing Delphi (section)

==Oracle of Delphi==
===The prophetic process===
{{main|Pythia|Delphic Sibyl}}
[[File:Delphi-01.jpg|thumb|Coin ([[Obol (coin)|obol]]) struck at Delphi, 480&nbsp;BC, obverse: Short [[Sacrificial tripod|tripod]], reverse: Pellet within circle ([[omphalos]] or [[Patera|phiale]])]]

Perhaps Delphi is best known for its oracle, the [[Pythia]], or [[sibyl]], the priestess prophesying from the tripod in the sunken adyton of the Temple of [[Apollo]]. The Pythia was known as a spokesperson for Apollo. She was a woman of blameless life chosen from the peasants of the area. Alone in an enclosed inner sanctum (Ancient Greek ''adyton'' – "do not enter") she sat on a tripod seat over an opening in the earth (the "chasm"). According to legend, when Apollo slew Python its body fell into this fissure and fumes arose from its decomposing body. Intoxicated by the vapors, the sibyl would fall into a trance, allowing Apollo to possess her spirit. In this state she prophesied. The oracle could not be consulted during the winter months, for this was traditionally the time when Apollo would live among the [[Hyperboreans]]. [[Dionysus]] would inhabit the temple during his absence.<ref>See e.g. {{harvnb|Fearn|2007|p=182}}</ref> Of note, release of fumes is limited in colder weather.

The time to consult Pythia for an oracle during the year was determined from astronomical and geological grounds related to the constellations of Lyra and Cygnus.<ref name="Liritzis_Castro">{{cite journal |last1=Liritzis |first1=I. |last2=Castro |first2=B. |title=Delphi and Cosmovision: Apollo's absence at the land of the hyperboreans and the time for consulting the oracle |journal=Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage |year=2013 |volume=16 |issue=2 |page=184 |doi=10.3724/SP.J.1440-2807.2013.02.04 |bibcode=2013JAHH...16..184L|s2cid=220659867 }}</ref> Similar practice was followed in other Apollo oracles too.<ref name="Oracular_Func">{{cite journal |last1=Castro |first1=Belen |last2=Liritzis |first2=Ioannis |last3=Nyquist |first3=Anne |title=Oracular Functioning And Architecture of Five Ancient Apollo Temples Through Archaeoastronomy: Novel Approach And Interpretation |journal=Interpretation Nexus Network Journal, Architecture & Mathematics |year=2015 |volume=18 |issue=2 |page=373 |doi=10.1007/s00004-015-0276-2|doi-access=free }}</ref>

Hydrocarbon vapors emitted from the chasm. While in a trance the Pythia "raved" – probably a form of ecstatic speech – and her ravings were "translated" by the priests of the temple into elegant hexameters. It has been speculated that the ancient writers, including [[Plutarch]] who had worked as a priest at Delphi, were correct in attributing the oracular effects to the sweet-smelling ''[[pneuma]]'' (Ancient Greek for breath, wind, or vapor) escaping from the chasm in the rock. That exhalation could have been high in the known anaesthetic and sweet-smelling [[ethylene]] or other hydrocarbons such as [[ethane]] known to produce violent trances. Although, given the limestone geology, this theory remains debatable, the authors put up a detailed answer to their critics.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pedley |first1=John |title=Sanctuaries and the Sacred in the Ancient Greek World |date=2005 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=151}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Spiller |first1=Henry A. |last2=Hale |first2=John R. |last3=de Boer |first3=Jelle Z. |title=The Delphic Oracle: A Multidisciplinary Defense of the Gaseous Vent Theory |journal=Clinical Toxicology |year=2002 |volume=40 |issue=2 |pages=189–196 |pmid=12126193 |url=https://farrington1600.wikispaces.com/file/view/DelphicOracle.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161128135436/https://farrington1600.wikispaces.com/file/view/DelphicOracle.pdf |archive-date=2016-11-28 |url-status=live |ref=The Gaseous Vent Theory |doi=10.1081/clt-120004410|s2cid=38994427 }}</ref><ref name="Roach">{{cite magazine |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/08/0814_delphioracle.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010924070805/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/08/0814_delphioracle.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 24, 2001 |title=Delphic Oracle's Lips May Have Been Loosened by Gas Vapors |date=2001-08-14 |df=dmy-all |magazine=National Geographic |author=John Roach |access-date=March 8, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Spiller |first1=Henry |last2=de Boer |first2=Jella |last3=Hale |first3=John R. |last4=Chanton |first4=Jeffery |title=Gaseous emissions at the site of the Delphic Oracle: Assessing the ancient evidence |journal=Clinical Toxicology |year=2008 |volume=46 |issue=5 |pages=487–488 |doi=10.1080/15563650701477803 |pmid=18568810 |s2cid=12441885 |ref=Gaseous emissions}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Piccardi |first1=Luigi |title=Active faulting at Delphi, Greece: Seismotectonic remarks and a hypothesis for the geologic environment of a myth |journal=Geology |date=2000 |volume=28 |issue=7 |pages=651–654|doi=10.1130/0091-7613(2000)28<651:AFADGS>2.0.CO;2 |bibcode=2000Geo....28..651P }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Piccardi |first1=Luigi |last2=Monti |first2=Cassandra |last3=Vaselli |first3=Orlando |last4=Tassi |first4=Franco |last5=Gaki-Papanastassiou |first5=Kalliopi |last6=Papanastassiou |first6=Dimitris |date=January 2008 |title=Scent of a myth: tectonics, geochemistry and geomythology at Delphi (Greece) |url=http://jgs.lyellcollection.org/lookup/doi/10.1144/0016-76492007-055 |journal=Journal of the Geological Society |language=en |volume=165 |issue=1 |pages=5–18 |doi=10.1144/0016-76492007-055|bibcode=2008JGSoc.165....5P |s2cid=131225069 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>{{unbalanced inline|reason=explains gas theory in wikivoice but not criticisms|date=June 2025}}

Ancient sources describe the priestess using "[[Laurus nobilis|laurel]]" to inspire her prophecies. Several alternative plant candidates have been suggested including [[Cannabis]], [[Hyoscyamus]], [[Rhododendron]], and [[Oleander]]. Harissis claims that a review of contemporary toxicological literature indicates that [[oleander]] causes symptoms similar to those shown by the Pythia, and his study of ancient texts shows that oleander was often included under the term "laurel". The Pythia may have chewed oleander leaves and inhaled their smoke prior to her oracular pronouncements and sometimes dying from the toxicity. The toxic substances of oleander resulted in symptoms similar to those of epilepsy, the "sacred disease", which may have been seen as the possession of the Pythia by the spirit of Apollo.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Harissis |first1=Haralampos V. |title=A Bittersweet Story: The True Nature of the Laurel of the Oracle of Delphi |journal=Perspect. Biol. Med. |year=2014 |volume=57 |issue=3 |pages=351–360 |doi=10.1353/pbm.2014.0032 |pmid=25959349 |s2cid=9297573 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/276147773 |access-date=27 November 2016 |ref=Harissis}}</ref>

[[File:'Delphic Sibyl Sistine Chapel ceiling' by Michelangelo JBU37.jpg|thumb|upright|Fresco of Delphic sibyl painted by Michaelangelo at the Sistine Chapel]]

===Influence, devastations and a temporary revival===
The Delphic oracle exerted considerable influence throughout the Greek world, and she was consulted before all major undertakings including wars and the founding of [[Greek colonies|colonies]].{{efn|Because the founding of the city was for the Greeks, as it had been for earlier cultures, primarily a religious act, Delphi naturally assumed charge of the new foundations; and especially in the early period of colonization, the Pythian Apollo gave specific advice that dispatched new colonies in every direction, under the aegis of Apollo. Few cities would undertake such an expedition without consulting the oracle. Thus at a moment when the growth of population might have led to congestion within the city, to random emigration, or to conflicts for arable land in the more densely populated regions, Delphi, willy-nilly, faced the problem and conducted a program of organized dispersal.<ref>[[Lewis Mumford]], ''[[The City in History]]''. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1961; p. 140.</ref>}} She also was respected by the Greek-influenced countries around the periphery of the Greek world, such as [[Lydia]], [[Caria]], and even [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]].

The oracle was also known to the early Romans. Rome's seventh and last [[King of Rome|king]], [[Lucius Tarquinius Superbus]], after witnessing a snake near his palace, sent a delegation including two of his sons to consult the oracle.<ref>Livy, [[Ab urbe condita (book)|Ab urbe condita]], 1.56</ref>

In 278 BC, a Thracian (Celtic) tribe raided Delphi, burned the temple, plundered the sanctuary and stole the "unquenchable fire" from the altar. During the raid, part of the temple roof collapsed.<ref name=Lampsas>Lampsas Giannis (1984) ''Dictionary of the Ancient World (Lexiko tou Archaiou Kosmou)'', Vol. I, Athens, Domi Publications, pp. 761–762</ref> The same year, the temple was severely damaged by an earthquake, thus it fell into decay and the surrounding area became impoverished. The sparse local population led to difficulties in filling the posts required. The oracle's credibility waned due to doubtful predictions.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wood |first= Michael |title=The road to Delphi : the life and afterlife of oracles|date=2003|publisher=Farrar, Straus, and Giroux|isbn=0-374-52610-9|edition=1st|location=New York|oclc=52090516}}</ref>

The oracle flourished again in the second century AD, during the rule of emperor [[Hadrian]], who is believed to have visited the oracle twice and offered complete autonomy to the city.<ref name=Lampsas/> By the 4th century, Delphi had acquired the status of a [[city]].<ref name="ODB">{{cite encyclopedia |title=Delphi |last=Gregory |first=Timothy E. |page=602 |editor-first=Alexander |editor-last=Kazhdan |editor-link=Alexander Kazhdan |encyclopedia=[[Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium]] |location=London; New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1991 |isbn=978-0-19-504652-6}}</ref>

[[Constantine the Great]] looted several monuments in Eastern Mediterranean, including Delphi, to decorate his new capital, [[Constantinople]]. One of those famous items was the bronze column of Plataea (The Serpent Column; Ancient Greek: Τρικάρηνος Ὄφις, Three-headed Serpent; Turkish: Yılanlı Sütun, Serpentine Column) from the sanctuary (dated 479 BC), relocated there from Delphi in AD 324, which can still be seen today standing destroyed at a square of Istanbul (where once upon a time was the Hippodrome of Constantinople, built by Constantine; Ottoman Turkish: Atmeydanı "Horse Square") <ref>{{Cite book|last=Scott |first= Michael |title=Delphi: A History of the Center of the Ancient World| location=Princeton; Oxford |publisher=Princeton University Press |date=2014 |isbn=978-0-691-15081-9 |edition=1st |pages=240–241}}</ref> with part of one of its heads kept in the [[Istanbul Archaeology Museums]] (İstanbul Arkeoloji Müzeleri).

Despite the rise of Christianity across the Roman Empire, the oracle remained a religious center throughout the fourth century, and the Pythian Games continued to be held at least until 424 AD;<ref name="ODB"/> however, the decline continued. The attempt of Emperor [[Julian (emperor)|Julian]] to revive polytheism did not survive his reign.<ref name=Lampsas/> Excavations have revealed a large three-[[aisle]]d basilica in the city, as well as traces of a church building in the sanctuary's gymnasium.<ref name="ODB"/> The site was abandoned in the sixth or seventh centuries, although a single bishop of Delphi is attested in an episcopal list of the late eighth and early ninth centuries.<ref name="ODB"/>

In modern times, the structured method of communication and forecasting known as the [[Delphi technique]] takes its name from the oracle of Delphi,<ref>Sheridan, T., "Computers/Future of Delphi: Technology for Group Dialogue" in Linstone, H. A. and Turoff, M. (2002), [https://web.archive.org/web/20080920145326/http://is.njit.edu:80/pubs/delphibook/delphibook.pdf The Delphi Method: Techniques and Applications], p. 529, archived on 20 September 2008, accessed on 13 July 2024</ref> although some founders and early developers of the technique considered that the adoption of the name "Delphi" was unfortunate and undesirable.<ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Ziglio E | chapter = The Delphi Method and its Contribution to Decision Making | veditors = Adler M, Ziglio E | date =1996 | title = Gazing Into the Oracle: The Delphi Method and Its Application to Social Policy and Public Health | publisher = Jessica Kingsley Publishers | chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=jo1Z1JZIrKIC&pg=PA5 | page= 5 | isbn = 978-1-85302-104-6 }}</ref>

===Religious significance of the oracle===
[[File:Delphi Temple of Apollo.jpg|thumb|Ruins of the ancient temple of Apollo at Delphi, overlooking the valley of Phocis]]
Delphi became the site of a major temple to [[Apollo|Phoebus Apollo]], as well as the Pythian Games and the prehistoric oracle. Even in Roman times, hundreds of votive statues remained, described by [[Pliny the Younger]] and seen by [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]]. Carved into the temple were three phrases: {{lang|grc|γνῶθι σεαυτόν}} (''gnōthi seautón'' = "[[know thyself]]"),  {{lang|grc|μηδὲν ἄγαν}} (''mēdén ágan'' = "nothing in excess"), and {{lang|grc|Ἑγγύα πάρα δ'ἄτη}} (''engýa pára d'atē'' = "make a pledge and [[Atë|mischief]] is nigh").<ref>Plato, ''[[Charmides (dialogue)|Charmides]]'' 164d–165a.</ref> In antiquity, the origin of these phrases was attributed to one or more of the [[Seven Sages of Greece]] by authors such as [[Plato]]<ref>[[Plato]], ''[[Protagoras (dialogue)|Protagoras]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Plat.%20Prot.%20343a&lang=original 343a–b] at the [[Perseus Project]].</ref> and Pausanias.<ref>Pausanias, Description of Greece, Phocis and Ozolian Locri, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160%3Abook%3D10%3Achapter%3D24%3Asection%3D1 10.24.1] at the Perseus Project.</ref> Additionally, according to [[Plutarch]]'s essay on the meaning of the ''"E at Delphi"''—the only literary source for the inscription—there was also inscribed at the temple a large letter [[Epsilon|E]].<ref>Hodge, A. Trevor. "The Mystery of Apollo's E at Delphi", ''American Journal of Archaeology'', Vol. 85, No. 1. (Jan., 1981), pp. 83–84.</ref> Among other things epsilon signifies the number [[5 (number)|5]]. However, ancient as well as modern scholars have doubted the legitimacy of such inscriptions.<ref>H. Parke and D. Wormell, ''The Delphic Oracle'', (Basil Blackwell, 1956), vol. 1, pp. 387–389.</ref> According to one pair of scholars, "The actual authorship of the three maxims set up on the Delphian temple may be left uncertain. Most likely they were popular proverbs, which tended later to be attributed to particular sages."<ref>Parke & Wormell, p. 389.</ref>

According to the Homeric hymn to the Pythian Apollo, Apollo shot his first arrow as an infant that effectively slew the serpent Pytho, the son of Gaia, who guarded the spot. To atone the murder of Gaia's son, Apollo was forced to fly and spend eight years in menial service before he could return forgiven. A festival, the Septeria, was held every year, at which the whole story was represented: the slaying of the serpent, and the flight, atonement, and return of the god.<ref name="article on Delphic Oracle">Cf. Seyffert, ''Dictionary of Classic Antiquities'', {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20070202074730/http://www.ancientlibrary.com/seyffert/0178.html article on "Delphic Oracle"]}}</ref>

The Pythian Games took place every four years to commemorate Apollo's victory.<ref name="article on Delphic Oracle"/> Another regular Delphi festival was the "[[Theophany|Theophania]]" (Θεοφάνεια), an annual festival in spring celebrating the return of Apollo from his winter quarters in [[Hyperborea]]. The culmination of the festival was a display of an image of the deities, usually hidden in the [[sanctuary]], to worshippers.<ref>James Hall, ''A History of Ideas and Images in Italian Art'', pp 70–71, 1983, John Murray, London, {{ISBN|0719539714}}</ref>

The ''theoxenia'' was held each summer, centred on a feast for "gods and ambassadors from other states". Myths indicate that Apollo killed the chthonic [[serpent (symbolism)|serpent]] [[Python (mythology)|Python]] guarding the [[Castalian Spring]] and named his priestess [[Pythia]] after her. Python, who had been sent by [[Hera]], had attempted to prevent [[Leto]], while she was pregnant with Apollo and [[Artemis]], from giving birth.<ref name="GrantHazel2004">{{cite book |author1=Michael Grant |author2=John Hazel |title=Who's Who in Classical Mythology |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EC-DAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA61 |date=2 August 2004 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-50943-0 |page=61}}</ref>

The spring at the site flowed toward the temple but disappeared beneath, creating a cleft which emitted chemical vapors that purportedly caused the oracle at Delphi to reveal her prophecies. Apollo killed Python, but had to be punished for it, since he was a child of Gaia. The shrine dedicated to Apollo was originally dedicated to Gaia and shared with [[Poseidon]].<ref name="article on Delphic Oracle"/> The name Pythia remained as the title of the Delphic [[oracle]].

[[Erwin Rohde]] wrote that the Python was an earth spirit, who was conquered by Apollo, and buried under the [[omphalos]], and that it is a case of one deity setting up a temple on the grave of another.<ref>Rodhe, E (1925), ''Psyche: The Cult of Souls and the Belief in Immortality among the Greeks'', trans. from the 8th edn. by W. B. Hillis (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1925; reprinted by Routledge, 2000). p. 97</ref> Another view holds that Apollo was a fairly recent addition to the Greek [[Pantheon (gods)|pantheon]] coming originally from [[Lydia]].{{citation needed|date=February 2013}}