Delphic oracle | Definition, Greek Mythology, Pythia, & Facts (2024)

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Delphic oracle | Definition, Greek Mythology, Pythia, & Facts? ›

The Oracle of Delphi

The Pythia often went into an ecstatic state and would channel Apollo. Some have claimed that her altered condition was the result of gases—such as ethylene and methane—that were emitted from geologic fault lines underneath the temple. Whatever the cause, the Pythia would speak, intelligibly or otherwise.

The Oracle was the direct link to the god Apollo. Priests at Delphi were often men but the Oracle, called the Pythia, was always a woman. It is believed she was chosen among the citizens of Delphi and was usually over 50 years old. She served for life and remained unmarried and virginal.

So, the Delphic Oracle refers to the place where the prophecies were given, but an “oracle” can also refer to a prophecy that Apollo gave there. The Delphic Oracle belonged to Apollo, and his priestess, called the Pythia, gave her oracles from inside Apollo's temple.

Definition. The Pythia (or Oracle of Delphi) was the priestess who held court at Pytho, the sanctuary of the Delphinians, a sanctuary dedicated to the Greek god Apollo. Pythia were highly regarded, for it was believed that she channeled prophecies from Apollo himself, while steeped in a dreamlike trance.

The Pythia (priestess) of the oracle at Delphi often went into an ecstatic state during which she uttered sounds revealed to her by the Greek god Apollo. Her “words” were then interpreted by a priest to help a suppliant find a way to avoid calamities, especially… In oracle.

Apollo himself possessed the Pythia and spoke his enigmatic prophecies directly though her. Ancient sources provide us with accounts of the Pythia's divination process. Much of the detailed information comes from sources written many hundreds of years after the classical period (centered on the 5th c.

Pythia, Oracle and Priestess of Delphi

Ancient Greek society had a strong belief in the power of prophecy, and prophecies were delivered by individuals called oracles. Oracles were thought to channel the gods and foretell the future. Delphi was a specific location considered a site of power where oracles worked.

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.

Criterion (iii): Delphi bears a unique testimony to the religion and civilization of ancient Greece. At the legendary site where Apollo slew the serpent Python, celestial cults replaced chthonian cults and introduced the old heritage of myths originating from primitive times.

Was Pythia a real person? ›

The “Pythia” is the official job title. We know of several women by name who, during the long history of this institution (from ca. 800 BCE to AD 390/91), held that role, including Phemonoe and Aristonike. Indeed, at some stage Delphi became so busy that three Pythias were appointed to serve in the role simultaneously.

Pythia (/ˈpɪθiə/; Ancient Greek: Πυθία [pyːˈtʰíaː]) was the title of the high priestess of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. She specifically served as its oracle and was known as the Oracle of Delphi. Her title was also historically glossed in English as the Pythoness.

Dating back to 1400 BC, the Oracle of Delphi was the most important shrine in all Greece, and in theory all Greeks respected its independence. Built around a sacred spring, Delphi was considered to be the omphalos - the center (literally navel) of the world.

Unfortunately, such a place does not exist today. But did it once? In the ancient world, oracles such as the one at Delphi famously promised to reveal the past, present and future.

The prophetess, called Pythia, was a maiden of honourable birth; in earlier times a young girl, but in a later age a woman of over fifty, still wearing a girl's dress, in memory of the earlier custom.

The sibyls (Σίβυλλαι, pl. of Σίβυλλα, pronounced [sí. byl. lai, sí.byl.la]) were prophetesses or oracles in Ancient Greece.

The name Pythia is derived from "pythia hiereia" (Greek: πυθία ἱέρεια), meaning 'priestess of the Pythian Apollo'; it is related to Pythios (Πύθιος), an epithet of Apollo, itself deriving from Pytho, which in myth was the original name of Delphi.

The prophetess, called Pythia, was a maiden of honourable birth; in earlier times a young girl, but in a later age a woman of over fifty, still wearing a girl's dress, in memory of the earlier custom.

The “Pythia” is the official job title. We know of several women by name who, during the long history of this institution (from ca. 800 BCE to AD 390/91), held that role, including Phemonoe and Aristonike. Indeed, at some stage Delphi became so busy that three Pythias were appointed to serve in the role simultaneously.

46–120 A.D.), who served as a priest of Apollo at Delphi, described an exhalation of vapor in the adyton that sent the Pythia into a trance. Despite these testimonies, no serious scholar over the last 50 years has accepted the idea that the Pythia's trance was caused by a gaseous emission.