Oracle Of Delphi
Freedom in Greece: The rise and Fall of Delphi
Delphi was one of the few institutions of the Greek world considered an authority throughout the Greek polis. A temple dedicated to Apollo, a god of light, truth, and divination. Its location was near a Mt. Parnassus and had a female priestess who answered the questions of the petitioner. The Oracle of Delphi being in a unique position was regarded as an arbiter for the Greeks it assisted in decisions such as war, colonization, and advice. How Delphi became a power comes from its connection to mythology as a holy site and connection to the mentality of the Greeks. The other factors that contributed to the rise come from its distinctive ceremony when making predicting. The main function of the oracle’s …show more content…
prediction was to provide an incoherent message that was always in need of interpretation. Its height of power came in the Persian wars in which it gives advice that both helps and hurts the various city-states of Greece. Through the oracle of the wooden wall, the strength and weakness of Delphi was revealed. Its decline in influencing the city-states of Greece comes from its pessimistic predictions during the Persian wars, an intellectual change occurring at least in Athens. The concluding part of Delphi’s power ultimate decline in influencing the politics of Greece comes from Phillip of Macedon conquest of Greece and the end of Greek liberty. The Oracle of Delphi’s influence over Greek politics depended on the Greek liberty and once that ended, its power ended. The reason that the Oracle was important to the Greek comes from the assurance of a time of trouble. The Greeks as a culture placed value on insanity. As mentioned by E. R Dobbs, “‘Our greatest blessing’, says Aristotle in the Phaedrus, ‘comes to us by way of madness.’” However, when giving this response, there was a difference between the insanity that was stigmatized and the blessed one. One of the divine blessing was that of the prophetic madness. This shows that for Aristotle at least, the Greeks valued madness when tied to religion. One of the main functions of a religious institution comes from its ability to give meaning to a world that seems to lack any. This was no different for the Greeks. As Dodds describes one reason that the Oracle of Delphi could become an institution for the Greeks' comes from its cultural effect on the people. As he says, “Without Delphi, Greek Society could scarcely have endured the tension to which it was subjected in the archaic age. The crushing sense of human ignorance and human insecurity the dread of divine phthonos, the dread of miasma- accumulated burden of these things would have been unendurable with the assurance that behind the chaos there was knowledge and purpose.” Therefore, the attribute of importance that allowed the Oracle to be an institution of power comes from its promise of telling the absolute truth of a god. This means that all the other Greek city-states came to see Delphi as a site of importance because of the incoherent mutterings of the Oracle, truth can be found. With foreign policy, the Greeks always desired the assistance of the gods, as a proof of confidence that their actions were right. Although this seems obvious, it presents the underlying theme of this paper. The power of Delphi depended on its ability to understand the Greek mentality. As long as their reputation remained intact, it maintained influence. This idea was especially seen in its appearance in mythology, from the rock from Cronus, to the various stories that depend on the prediction of Delphi.
The rise of the Oracle of Delphi was seen in its connection to the creation story of Greece. Religion in Greece contains some of the most fantastical imagery and no site was considered more central to that belief system than the Oracle of Delphi. A significant attribute of Delphi was its association with Greek religion through its mythology. Mythology helps in showing the religious idea of a culture. Mythologies present the values held by the people, and explanation for the natural processes of the world. One reason for Delphi political presence came from it being the center of the Greek world comes from the rock that lies near the temple of Apollo. Although Delphi lies geographically near the center of Ancient Greece in a political sense, it holds a religious significance. Cronus, the father of Zeus, Demeter, Hera, Poseidon, Hestia, and Hades, regurgitated this rock. The rock plays the role of a decoy for Zeus to grow up and defeat his father. As Hesiod says, “First he vomited up the stone which last he had swallowed, and this Zeus took and planted in place, on earth of the wide ways, at holy Pytho, in the hollow ravine under Parnassus, to be a portent and a wonder to the mortal men thereafter.” This rock therefore was a monument on earth to remind people about the start of Zeus’s rise to power. From this story, it is likely that the priests of Delphi influence developed this myth to place Delphi in a more prominent place in the Greek landscape. Pythos appeared in the Iliad but did not get the reverence it received in the Odyssey or Theogony. What matters most was that Delphi had connections to the gods even before Apollo, which starts its rise to power as a holy site. The rock represented, a worry maintained by the Greeks or fear of the next generation. Within the cosmogony of the Greek people, the Greeks implanted a fear used in various stories and a common prediction.
The factor that helped the Delphi rise to power was their prominence in mythology, specifically tapping into one of the greatest fears leaders have while ruling.
The Oracle of Delphi was considered the most trustworthy of the Oracles throughout Greece. Delphi was home to another seer called the Delphi Sybil showing that prediction had a strong foundation in the Greek imagination. Looking at some of the popular and complete works in Greek mythology, divine predictors show the fear of the future and specifically of the future generation. A common prediction was that a child or grandchild would cause the death of the one asking for the prediction. In mythology, Acrisius came to fear Perseus because the Oracle’s prediction of killing him. This same situation was seen in Oedipus and the story provided by Herodotus of Cyrus. Grandfathers tried to do away with an infant that would cause their death, left to be exposed to the wild but ended up being taken care of by a farmer family. The story of creation comes from this idea of the new generation replacing the older generation with Cronus killing Uranus, and Zeus imprisoning his father and the titans. The true apex of this idea of the next generation replacing the old one can be seen in the story of Zeus and Athena. Zeus believed that if Metis gave birth a son, his son would replace him, so he ate her. He conceives her from his mind fully grown. Mythology preserves the knowledge and values maintained by a culture. A fear …show more content…
children or a younger population replacing the older one was one of the first foundational values within western culture. Therefore, kings seeking guidance to avoid a prediction seen as showing the inevitability of the result but the major lesson shown by all these who try to oppose the next generation was its futility. With Perseus, he ended up killing his grandfather in a discus competition by accident, and Oedipus killed his father by accident. Whether the predictions of the Oracle were true or not they understood in a way the general mentality of the Greek people and created a reputation based on not only on the fears of the Greeks but on a plethora of decisions. All these figures faced the same problem, yet the freedom to do this was the other major appeal of Delphi and prediction givers. Although fearing the next generation was common, the choice of action depended on the leaders. Some could use these stories as a guide of what not to do. The other is to follow through and hope for a result like Zeus. The manner in which Greek society presents freedom and shared culture can be shown in the manner that Apollo came to become the god associated with predictions, and divination.
That the site was tied to predictions came from a tradition seen in Greek history of the older generation making room for the new one. The area of Delphi by itself was not considered very significant since it is a region near the mountain Parnassus, a rocky area. An unproductive land that even in Homeric hymns had Leto promise the lands that her son would not reject it once he was born. Yet in the hymn of Apollo, the Pythian Apollo comes to the lands as a conqueror and then puts new people on it to be the inhabitants and caretaker of his temple. Mentioned by Poulson Apollo was a foreign god, specifically a Dorian god that took over the region. From the story, the meaning can be seen as a patriarchal based people displacing the matriarchal original people. In the Homeric hymn, Apollo sought a place to put his temple, and eventually reaches Delos. In this rocky landscape, a great she-dragon held sway in Delphi, and was named Python. Apollo fought and defeated it with his “mighty bow”. That Delphi was a site that included a resettlement of people helps present a major theme of Greek history of various cultures mixing. This allows Delphi to be a rather impartial site since its identity includes a mixture of deities to create a new one. Although displaced, the old belief was not forgotten and instead was incorporated in the new pantheon. Greek mythology follows some similarities to other cultures but its major importance is in showing an evolution of belief. The story of a male force taking over the lands by vanquishing a female monster was common in Greek and even other mythologies such as in Babylon in which Tiamat was defeated by the patriarchal god, or the story of Theseus displacing the Amazons out of Athens. Even though Apollo displaces the goddess, the cultural power it held could not be forgotten since the trait of divination came from this goddess Gaea. Therefore, the reputation of Delos being a site of divination comes from a more ancient source yet became a trait of Apollo. Delphi for at least up to the Peloponnesian war maintained a significant role in the decision making of the Greek polis. The mixing of beliefs comes from the tradition in the region major sites of development such as Babylon, Egypt and Greece comes from their relative proximity. Whether seen as a trait of humanity or culture, the fact was that the women held the prestigious position of the Oracle of Delphi.
One of the unique position that the Oracle of Delph presents in its influence in Greek politics was the position of a woman in such a central role, even if she was ignorant. Some scholars like to make the claim that although the Oracle was a woman, she did not truly have a position of power. As David Bowen says, “As a poor woman, usually excluded from the public business of Delphi, she would be unlikely to know much about the Greek world in general or the petitioner in particular, so she was in no real position to influence events.” This idea that the Oracle as a lower class woman, in a society similar to Athens, woman was generally uneducated was insulated from the world. Although this may be true, it does not take away from the fact that by the 5th century, the Oracle was an influential institution advising kings and leaders of the city-states. Even if the Pythia herself was ignorant does not mean that the temple of Delphi was ignorant. Delphi was an institution, specifically an early church that received gifts and had various personnel working for them. The best example of how the Oracle could get information on other city-states was through the Athenian Exegetae. They were an upper class interpreters found in Athens that were of enough fame that Plato mentions they would be useful in his republic. As Poulson mentions, “At the same tome the Exegetae were both diplomats of the Oracle and spies as much of Apollo’s mysterious insight into the interior life of states and the relations of leading personalities may be due to them.” In this way, the Oracle rather than be an ignorant, had an information center she could have listened to whenever she needed to prepare for an Oracle. The other trouble in dismissing the Oracle comes from the fact that in a society that was highly patriarchal and polis that followed the Athenian model had women taking care of the home. The other figure involved with Delphi was the Sibyl. She was a woman similar to the Oracle that gave predictions but lacked the trance. With both these figures, Delphi provided one of the few examples possible for a woman let alone one from a poor family to have influence in the politics of the Greek polis. The procedure done in Delphi both reinforces the general religious practices of the Greeks but also add the element of drama that made Delphi more credibility than any other seer did.
The procedure in which an Oracle gave a response to most cases of divination helps explain the reason that Delphi was influential in foreign affairs. A present image of the Oracle of Delphi involves the Oracle atop her tripod while the petitioner was in front of her. Considering the presence, it maintains in various sources, it gives the most stereotypical idea of what the Oracle appeared. The accepted manner in which a person petition for a prediction from the Oracle involves them sacrificing an animal in front of the temple, sprinkle with water and after the animal seemed to nod in agreement, then they would go into the temple and ask the Oracle the question they desired. This gives the general set up and reflects the common manner in which the Greeks believed that a sacrifice was necessary in making a big decision involving the gods. The major question that arises in the response of the Oracle was derived in the Pythia trance. As Richard Stoneman describes, “The priestess at Delphi, the Pythia, delivered her response to enquirers by mounting a tripod (in which incense would normally be burnt) inside the innermost shire of the temple of Apollo at Delphi, going into an ecstatic trance (or in other terms, becoming possessed by the god) and pronouncing her Oracles.” This state of possession meant that the Oracle unlike many other people seemed to look like they actually were in touch with the gods. Again, madness came to be revered in Greek culture and religion as showing it was possible to speak with the gods. The Oracle through this trance presents the power of a dramatic performance influencing history. These dramatic displays allowed those asking to interpret what they heard. The trance for many scholars' comes from whether it was self-induced or influence by gasses found in an underground cavern. Both these ideas have some truth into them but both forget that the importance was that this gave the Oracle of Delphi the appearance of a direct connection to the gods. Through this dramatic performance, leaders from afar would hear about it and test it to see the reliability of the Oracle. From all of these factors, it came to no surprise that wars were declared to protect this sanctuary to the hybrid god, one being the most important one and the other being the foundation of the Amphictyonic league.
The moment from which the Oracle of Delphi gained true political power came from its influence on war that of troy and the first sacred wars. The start of the Trojan War came from a conflict between the gods. The connection of the role of Delphi to Troy was found in The Odyssey when it said, “For so Phoebos Apollo had told [Agamemnon] by an Oracle In divine Pytho where we had gone over the stone threshold seeking the Oracle. For then the beginning of trouble was rolling on the Trojans and Danaans through the plans of great Zeus.” Although Hesiod presents the origins of the great gods and there was archeological evidence but the most influential work was Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. As this passage presents, the Oracle originally influenced the Trojan War and presents the need of their advice. The region of Delphi being sacred to the various polis of Greece created a council that declared war on behalf of the gods. The council’s name was the Amphictyonic League which comprised about 24 city-states, made originally of the Dorian and Ionian tribes but included those of the surrounding region. The start of the first sacred wars starts from a simple idea of a land abusing their position. As Timothy Howe describes, “The various accounts agree that c.590 BCE the harbor community of Krisa, which had grown wealthy off the trade and traffic to Delphi, acted in an impious manner toward pilgrims and sanctuary of Apollo.” The event itself even had allusions to the Trojan War where the similar to the Achaeans, the Amphictyonic League included the Thessaly federation, Athens and Sikyon, and they fight well at first but once the Krisaians go behind their wall, the siege takes a long time. In the same vein of guile of Odysseus, Solon advises to poison the water supply, which gives them a victory against the Krisians. The result of this war was the creation of an oath between the allied city-states to make the land property of the gods. In a fashion of myths, stories can explain greater truths of this world. Although there is a question of whether there was a first sacred war or if it was created by Phillip of Macedon to lend credence to his intervention of Greece in 370 BCE. It presents the importance of the site to all Greeks. The idea that a coalition was created to keep this Pan-Hellenic institution safe therefore shows the growth of its political power in influencing other polis to protect it from looting and defilement. This event defines the manner in which Delphi finally became the institution for all Greeks, a Dorian god that grew to become a Pan-Hellenic institution. The other great factor for Delphi to be involved in the politics of various Greek city-states was the colonization movement.
One way in which the Delphi came to influence foreign policy of the polis was through the colonization movement, first as a rubberstamp but then as an informed institution. In the case of colonization, there is evidence from W. G Forrest that Delphi became a political power from colonization. As Forrest says, “The altar of Apollo Archegetes at Naxos shews decisively that Delphi played some part in its foundation. For Zankle we have Kallimachos' story of the consultation of Apollo by its founders, Perieres and Krataimenes, about the naming of the site.” These areas are directly tied to the Corinthian and Chalkis allies. Delphi was also directly involved in these cases. Therefore, Delphi was involved in colonizing at least as back as 700 BCE. The idea that Colonizing was a factor of its growth comes from how it started and where it would end up. Forrest says, “The Pythia's words were no more than a divine rubber stamp set on the decisions already reached in Korinth or Chalkis… And when he worked again and again as he came to be regarded more and more as indispens- able for any allied colonial move, no doubt he did begin to acquire some sort of authority as adviser as well as approver, no doubt he did learn a lot about sites and markets and so on, enough to make Delphi something of an information centre, perhaps even enough to take the initiative in organising an expedition on some occasions.” Colonizing movements were tied to Delphi in some part to the closeness to the city-states that at the time had power to seek out lands to colonize. At first, the enemies of these city-states like Eretria, Megara, and Mileto, did not have a single story involving the Oracle of Delphi. The idea that the enemies of Korinth and Chalkis did not utilize Delphi comes as no surprise, yet Delphi from its colonial reputation became influential. Although Delphi was not the one to make the decisions, over time its authority expanded so that other city-states asked for advise on where to settle. The best example comes from Herodotus. “The Dolonci, a Thracian people to whom the Chersonese then belonged, finding themselves in difficulties in a war with the Apsinthians, sent their chiefs to Delphi, to ask advice from the Oracle.” The Doloci desired to found a city and through the influence of Delphi, came to see Miltiades as their founder. This story being mentioned in Herodotus gives the most probable practice that existed in the Greek world once Delphi a center of colonization. As David Bowen mentions, the Oracle’s role was in assistance of legitimizing a founder. “The purpose of the consultation would be to confirm the status of Miltiades as founder, and authorize him to carry out the role which included not only the distribution of land to settlers but also the founding of sanctuaries for the gods.” The sacred wars put the Oracle of Delphi in the center of the politics of Greece, especially that of Sparta and Athens, which was seen in the Persian and Peloponnesian wars. Although colonization was vital for the growth of Delphi into an institution for advising, the interpretation of the Oracle was as important.
The most important part of Delphic tradition never was the response but the manner in which the listener interpreted the response, and ease in which a person could interpret the Oracle’s prediction incorrectly. An easy distraction coming from the Oracle’s response was whether it was in verse or prose but rather than waste time on this, it is easy to say that in general, the Oracle gave a response that was ambiguous, in which in literature it was presented poetically while in real life it was a response that was simpler. The best example of this response can be seen in Histories by Herodotus in which the first story of Cnossus asking the Oracle about fighting against the Persians. In it, the messengers after bringing various sacrifices to the Oracle, asks if he should fight the Persians. The Oracle says a great nation would fall and says to choose the strongest of the Greek city-states. He also receives the response that his reign’s length depended on the Persian throne being sat on by a mule, and when that time comes, until then he must not be afraid of losing his position. This prediction gave the paramount example of the dangers of looking at taking the superficial interpretation of the Oracle’s response. As the events unfold in the book, Cnossus ends up fighting against the Persians with the Spartans as allies. The Persians decimate the Lydian’s and Cnossus comes to realize that both predictions came true. The empire that fell was his own, and the mule referred to by the third response referred to Cyrus, in which he was a child of mix breed, his mother of Medean descent while his father was of a lower stock. To the Greeks reading this story, would be reminded and in a way reinforce their belief in the Oracle’s position since as long as one interpreted the Oracle’s response correctly, then no problem would arise. This story, being interpreted in various fashions presents the crux of what the Oracle provided to the Greeks. Some scholars may say that the Oracle was no better than choosing by lots or the equivalent of a die role. Herodotus although a great historian, also followed the Homeric tradition of dramatic telling of a probably mundane event. This therefore explains his dramatic retelling of Athens’s decision to escape the city and the rise of Themistocles, showing the value of Delphi.
The counter example to this point was revealed in the story of the wooden walls and the power of Greek civilization in allowing freedom and proper interpretation of the Oracle’s response. In one of the most desperate situations in the Histories, the Persians were near the Attica region and the Athenians were scared. They sent one messenger to the Oracle and got a response that essentially gave the worst-case scenario. When the leaders of Athens heard this, they rejected it and sent another messenger in which the second response was relatively less desperate. The most significant parts were, “That wooden wall only shall not fall, but help you and your children… Divine Salamis, you will bring death to women’s sons When the corn is scattered, or the harvest gathered in.” When all the leaders of Athens debate on the meaning of the response, the professional interpreters give a dire response that made the situation seems hopeless. One leader convinces the others of his interpretation that the wooden walls were ships, and his name was Themistocles. From this episode, the intelligent mentality of the Greek was further revealed. Rather than hear the prediction and take the worst case, Themistocles gives the hopeful one it is just due and looks into the words since as he mentions, rather than wicked, the land of salamis was called divine. In this way, there was a shift in the power between the traditional interpreter of the Oracle and that of the politician with a goal set in mind. Unlike the roman who only used divinations as an excuse for war, the Greeks used it for debating a certain outcome, especially in Athens. As mentioned in paging the Oracle, the strength of Delphi came from the people listening and creating meaning from the Oracle predictions. This contrast with the Persian response to Oracle knowledge, which shows, “… the Persians' stony silence when asked by Mardonius if they know of any relevant Oracles. Afraid to risk Mardonius' displeasure, they do not reveal the oracular knowledge which, Herodotus implies, could have saved them.” A major theme in the Persian Wars comes from the idea that Greeks maintained a culture of freedom and respect for the gods, which contrasts, with the despotic and hubris rule of Persian. This weakness of one ruler not listening to all the possible information therefore provides the best example of Oracle being a symbol of power. The height of the Oracles power was during the Persian war, but by the Peloponnesian war, there was a major shift in attention. In one way, the influence of Delphi on foreign affairs depended on it being mentioned by those writing the history. Thucydides therefore presents the best contrast through his explanation of people creating the meaning of an Oracle’s prediction in that of the plague. In the Peloponnesian war, Thucydides gives the greatest example of the fall of the Oracle’s influence in the quote about the Oracle and the plague.
Thucydides rather than Herodotus was a man that believed in a more systematic approach toward history. Therefore, Thucydides gives a drastic view on history in which he gives a more scientific view toward history. The best example of this comes from his idea that the plague of Athens came from a mix of old men talking and Oracle’s prediction. This was especially seen with the reason that the plague was seen to have originated from a prophecy. In the Peloponnesian war, “… the old men claiming that long ago it was recited, ‘A Dorian war will come, and with it plague.’… men shaped their memories in accordance with what they experienced.” In this passage, Thucydides talked about the manner in which the Athenians came to think that the word of the old man was to be associated with what an Oracle said about Sparta, which said that if they went to war they would win. Thucydides presents the manner in which rather than the prophecy being the direct event of what occurred, it was in the Athenians that created this connection. Thucydides therefore shows the objective mind that rather than accept the word of an Oracle, he presents the events in a human level. Rather than accept that the Oracle’s words as the truth, he found that it was a mix of old ideas. This mentality toward divination therefore presents the main idea that a perceived
decline can be seen from Thucydides presentation of events. As David Bowen mentions, one reason that the Oracle of Delphi was seen to have diminished in political sway after the 6th century BCE comes from a division on the manner in which Thucydides rejects many of the conventions that Herodotus did in his Histories. The moment in the Peloponnesian, war where Thucydides does describe the role of the Delphi comes near the beginning, when the Spartans desire for the Athenians to rid them of the Goddess’s curse. Thucydides shows the influence of Delphi when he says, “When Kylon was consulting the oracle of Delphi, the god responded that he should seize the acropolis of Athens during the greatest festival of Zeus.” As an example of the tendency of people to misinterpret the oracle, Thucydides gives the most common response. It therefore reinforces the idea that Bowen presents that says, “When Thucydides writes Herodotean history, Delphi is much more prominent and appears to be more actively involved in events.” The decline of Delphi in some factors comes from a perception of its diminished attention by Thucydides. However, the fall of Delphi’s power did not necessary come from a loss of focus from history but seen in its endorsement of certain people in their time of power.
A major part of the strength of Delphi depended on its reputation and its susceptibility to a tarnishing it. One of these was in its choice of people that represented the Greek people, shown in that they no longer choose them after Cleomedes. In the period when the Oracle helped in making some people into heroes, one candidate blatantly contradicts this idea. The name of the athlete that shows the worst candidate that Delphi supported was Cleomedes of Astypalaea. In Poulson, he describes Cleomedes as a man that killed his opponent and in his rage; he went back to his city and killed a school of children by pulling the roof of the school. The town people stoned him until he hid in a chest in the temple of Athena. The miracle that occurs was, “When it was opened, he was gone and when the frightened townsfolk inquired on the meaning of the miracle, the Oracle gave the following answer: “Cleomedes of Astypalaea is the last hero. Sacrifice to him as an immortal.” The Oracles blatant support for a man that was both irresponsible and a cold-murderer shows the fallibility of the Oracle. The weakness of the Oracle was that as time went on, their opinion could be utterly wrong. The Oracle for the Greeks was perceived as the voice of a god but people can change their opinion of a god. As was mentioned by Poulson, the dedication to other mortals ended around this man, and by the end of the 7th century BCE, the Pythian Games no longer existed as well. As a political force, the Oracle still had power, but from an opinion like this, the influence Delphi on politics depended on its correct outcome.
A sign of the loss of power of the Oracle can be seen in Herodotus’s Histories on the opinion of the Oracle toward the war. As mentioned before, the power of Delphi depended on its predictions being correct or positive. The first response that the Oracle gave to the Athenians when Xerxes army was near, presents doom that Persia brought. The words given that show the dark outlook were, “Why sit you, doomed ones? Fly to the world’s end, leaving Home and heights your city circle like a wheel. The head shall not remain in its place, nor the body.” The Athenian in a time of great peril goes to the Oracle for advice. At a response like this, it is no wonder they ended up asking for a second response. The Oracle at first predicted doom for the Athenians, and only through the interpretation of Themistocles on the second response, do the Athenians survive and fight in the battle of Salamis. The wooden wall story presents both the strength and weakness of Delphi in that as long as the message gives a more positive ambiguity, then the Greeks can face most situations. As the first response gave a negative prospect, the Athenians preferred a second prediction to assure themselves of their situation. Another episode that presents Delphi undermining the Greek cause against Persia involved the Cretans. As the Cretan ask the Oracle whether they should side with the Greeks the Oracle reminded them of the Iliad and Minos, and how the Greeks had been unfaithful allies, in which they decide not to side with them.” As seen from the passages, the Oracle gave a generally disastrous outcome for the Greeks. Rather than encourage the Cretans to ally with the other Greeks against the Persians, the Pythia tried to instill dissident through the reminder of the Trojan War. Therefore, the idea that the Greeks end up defeating the Persians presents an interesting situation. Even if the Oracle did not lose its religious prestige, it provided for the Greek polis the idea that the Oracle was fallible. This was further reinforced because Themistocles’ interpretation mattered more than the official interpreters of the Oracle could. Although a fall in prestige, the end of Delphic power was through a loss of liberty.
A significant factor for the fall of Oracle of Delphi came from its use as a political contrivance to bring the Macedonians and eventual fall of Greek liberty to Macedonian dominance. By the year356 BCE, Philomelus, and his five thousand mercenaries plagued the Delphi. Philomelus started this conflict based defying the Theban hegemony over the region and supported it on the idea that Phocis deserved control over Delphi. They therefore stole the temple and the Amphictyonic League declared the third sacred war. For a period of 356 to 346, the Greeks fought this war, the major powers being Athens, Sparta, Thessaly, and Macedon. Philomelus sacked the sacred temple to pay for his mercenaries. The city-state of Thessaly called for Philip to be an ally against Phocis and its allies. As the author Worthington says, “This would prove to be a convenient stepping stone to more formal involvement in central Greek politics.” The original leaders of Phocis died through various means and those captured were executed as sacrilegious criminals, but the war lasted about 10 years. This one action set up a chain of reactions that had Phillip assisting in freeing Delphi but by the end had fought the battle of Chaeronea, which brought all the Greek city-states under the hegemony of Macedon. By involving himself in this war, he came into conflict with other regions of Greece and focused on ways to strengthen his territories. He also ended the war politically. Phocis in 346 placed Phaelaecus, as general yet under an agreement with Phillip, he fled to Peloponnese. As the Bradford said “The Phocians robed of their hopes, handed themselves over to Phillip and so the king unexpectantly and without battle, ended the sacred war.” Unlike the First Sacred war that brought the amphicyoion league and consensus that Delphi was a power, instead of glory for Delphi, this war gave prestige to Phillip. The reason that this shows the utter fall of the authority of the Delphi as a political force was from the integral s need of interpretation. Whether it is a democracy led city-state, or a military headed Sparta, Delphi’s power and prestige depended on the liberty of city-states to be ruled as one liked. Phillip fulfilled the loss of independence through the battle of Chaeronea. Boeotia and Athens allied together to stop the Macedonians advances. Yet, the Oracle of Delphi provided words that made it seem like both sides would lose. The prediction given by the sibyl was, “Far from the battle at the Thermodon would I be, To observe as an eagle high in the clouds of the sky. The defeated will weep, the victor be destroyed.” Obvious that this Oracle was rather vague as any other, but the prediction given gave a sense of multiple losers implying the alliance of Athens and Boeotia while the victor was Phillip. For the Boeotian’s especially, the loss to Macedon was impactful because of the Sacred Band, their elite soldiers that gained a reputation through the rise of power of Thebes under Epaminondas. As the later events revealed, Phillip ended up dead through an assassination and his son Alexander gained the responsibility of ruling Macedon and continuing his father’s wars. The judgment of Delphi was heard, but no one headed it since the Athenians and Thebans went to war and lost while Philip waged the war and end up dead through an assassination.
As seen from the history of the Oracle of Delphi power in politics arose from a reputation it developed and reinforced through its information networks, performance, and involvement with the city-states at a very early time through colonizing movement. Its decline came from its loss in reputation, the perceived unimportance given by later historians and the fall of Greek liberty caused by Phillip of Macedon. The answer that Greek leaders came to Delphi was more of a vote of confidence then any real advice. As the Oracle was a speaker for the God Apollo, her words were considered truthful. The need of interpretation comes from the Greek ingenuity that solutions did not come easy. It presents one of the major forms of the Greek igneous mind to exercise their creativity in a unique form. Delphi was the crossroad in Greek civilization where the gods and real world were allowed to mix. Even though Delphi was considered one of the most well documented religious site in the ancient world, it still contains mysteries that may never be resolved.
Delphi was one of the few institutions of the Greek world considered an authority throughout the Greek polis. A temple dedicated to Apollo, a god of light, truth, and divination. Its location was near a Mt. Parnassus and had a female priestess who answered the questions of the petitioner. The Oracle of Delphi being in a unique position was regarded as an arbiter for the Greeks it assisted in decisions such as war, colonization, and advice. How Delphi became a power comes from its connection to mythology as a holy site and connection to the mentality of the Greeks. The other factors that contributed to the rise come from its distinctive ceremony when making predicting. The main function of the oracle’s …show more content…
prediction was to provide an incoherent message that was always in need of interpretation. Its height of power came in the Persian wars in which it gives advice that both helps and hurts the various city-states of Greece. Through the oracle of the wooden wall, the strength and weakness of Delphi was revealed. Its decline in influencing the city-states of Greece comes from its pessimistic predictions during the Persian wars, an intellectual change occurring at least in Athens. The concluding part of Delphi’s power ultimate decline in influencing the politics of Greece comes from Phillip of Macedon conquest of Greece and the end of Greek liberty. The Oracle of Delphi’s influence over Greek politics depended on the Greek liberty and once that ended, its power ended. The reason that the Oracle was important to the Greek comes from the assurance of a time of trouble. The Greeks as a culture placed value on insanity. As mentioned by E. R Dobbs, “‘Our greatest blessing’, says Aristotle in the Phaedrus, ‘comes to us by way of madness.’” However, when giving this response, there was a difference between the insanity that was stigmatized and the blessed one. One of the divine blessing was that of the prophetic madness. This shows that for Aristotle at least, the Greeks valued madness when tied to religion. One of the main functions of a religious institution comes from its ability to give meaning to a world that seems to lack any. This was no different for the Greeks. As Dodds describes one reason that the Oracle of Delphi could become an institution for the Greeks' comes from its cultural effect on the people. As he says, “Without Delphi, Greek Society could scarcely have endured the tension to which it was subjected in the archaic age. The crushing sense of human ignorance and human insecurity the dread of divine phthonos, the dread of miasma- accumulated burden of these things would have been unendurable with the assurance that behind the chaos there was knowledge and purpose.” Therefore, the attribute of importance that allowed the Oracle to be an institution of power comes from its promise of telling the absolute truth of a god. This means that all the other Greek city-states came to see Delphi as a site of importance because of the incoherent mutterings of the Oracle, truth can be found. With foreign policy, the Greeks always desired the assistance of the gods, as a proof of confidence that their actions were right. Although this seems obvious, it presents the underlying theme of this paper. The power of Delphi depended on its ability to understand the Greek mentality. As long as their reputation remained intact, it maintained influence. This idea was especially seen in its appearance in mythology, from the rock from Cronus, to the various stories that depend on the prediction of Delphi.
The rise of the Oracle of Delphi was seen in its connection to the creation story of Greece. Religion in Greece contains some of the most fantastical imagery and no site was considered more central to that belief system than the Oracle of Delphi. A significant attribute of Delphi was its association with Greek religion through its mythology. Mythology helps in showing the religious idea of a culture. Mythologies present the values held by the people, and explanation for the natural processes of the world. One reason for Delphi political presence came from it being the center of the Greek world comes from the rock that lies near the temple of Apollo. Although Delphi lies geographically near the center of Ancient Greece in a political sense, it holds a religious significance. Cronus, the father of Zeus, Demeter, Hera, Poseidon, Hestia, and Hades, regurgitated this rock. The rock plays the role of a decoy for Zeus to grow up and defeat his father. As Hesiod says, “First he vomited up the stone which last he had swallowed, and this Zeus took and planted in place, on earth of the wide ways, at holy Pytho, in the hollow ravine under Parnassus, to be a portent and a wonder to the mortal men thereafter.” This rock therefore was a monument on earth to remind people about the start of Zeus’s rise to power. From this story, it is likely that the priests of Delphi influence developed this myth to place Delphi in a more prominent place in the Greek landscape. Pythos appeared in the Iliad but did not get the reverence it received in the Odyssey or Theogony. What matters most was that Delphi had connections to the gods even before Apollo, which starts its rise to power as a holy site. The rock represented, a worry maintained by the Greeks or fear of the next generation. Within the cosmogony of the Greek people, the Greeks implanted a fear used in various stories and a common prediction.
The factor that helped the Delphi rise to power was their prominence in mythology, specifically tapping into one of the greatest fears leaders have while ruling.
The Oracle of Delphi was considered the most trustworthy of the Oracles throughout Greece. Delphi was home to another seer called the Delphi Sybil showing that prediction had a strong foundation in the Greek imagination. Looking at some of the popular and complete works in Greek mythology, divine predictors show the fear of the future and specifically of the future generation. A common prediction was that a child or grandchild would cause the death of the one asking for the prediction. In mythology, Acrisius came to fear Perseus because the Oracle’s prediction of killing him. This same situation was seen in Oedipus and the story provided by Herodotus of Cyrus. Grandfathers tried to do away with an infant that would cause their death, left to be exposed to the wild but ended up being taken care of by a farmer family. The story of creation comes from this idea of the new generation replacing the older generation with Cronus killing Uranus, and Zeus imprisoning his father and the titans. The true apex of this idea of the next generation replacing the old one can be seen in the story of Zeus and Athena. Zeus believed that if Metis gave birth a son, his son would replace him, so he ate her. He conceives her from his mind fully grown. Mythology preserves the knowledge and values maintained by a culture. A fear …show more content…
children or a younger population replacing the older one was one of the first foundational values within western culture. Therefore, kings seeking guidance to avoid a prediction seen as showing the inevitability of the result but the major lesson shown by all these who try to oppose the next generation was its futility. With Perseus, he ended up killing his grandfather in a discus competition by accident, and Oedipus killed his father by accident. Whether the predictions of the Oracle were true or not they understood in a way the general mentality of the Greek people and created a reputation based on not only on the fears of the Greeks but on a plethora of decisions. All these figures faced the same problem, yet the freedom to do this was the other major appeal of Delphi and prediction givers. Although fearing the next generation was common, the choice of action depended on the leaders. Some could use these stories as a guide of what not to do. The other is to follow through and hope for a result like Zeus. The manner in which Greek society presents freedom and shared culture can be shown in the manner that Apollo came to become the god associated with predictions, and divination.
That the site was tied to predictions came from a tradition seen in Greek history of the older generation making room for the new one. The area of Delphi by itself was not considered very significant since it is a region near the mountain Parnassus, a rocky area. An unproductive land that even in Homeric hymns had Leto promise the lands that her son would not reject it once he was born. Yet in the hymn of Apollo, the Pythian Apollo comes to the lands as a conqueror and then puts new people on it to be the inhabitants and caretaker of his temple. Mentioned by Poulson Apollo was a foreign god, specifically a Dorian god that took over the region. From the story, the meaning can be seen as a patriarchal based people displacing the matriarchal original people. In the Homeric hymn, Apollo sought a place to put his temple, and eventually reaches Delos. In this rocky landscape, a great she-dragon held sway in Delphi, and was named Python. Apollo fought and defeated it with his “mighty bow”. That Delphi was a site that included a resettlement of people helps present a major theme of Greek history of various cultures mixing. This allows Delphi to be a rather impartial site since its identity includes a mixture of deities to create a new one. Although displaced, the old belief was not forgotten and instead was incorporated in the new pantheon. Greek mythology follows some similarities to other cultures but its major importance is in showing an evolution of belief. The story of a male force taking over the lands by vanquishing a female monster was common in Greek and even other mythologies such as in Babylon in which Tiamat was defeated by the patriarchal god, or the story of Theseus displacing the Amazons out of Athens. Even though Apollo displaces the goddess, the cultural power it held could not be forgotten since the trait of divination came from this goddess Gaea. Therefore, the reputation of Delos being a site of divination comes from a more ancient source yet became a trait of Apollo. Delphi for at least up to the Peloponnesian war maintained a significant role in the decision making of the Greek polis. The mixing of beliefs comes from the tradition in the region major sites of development such as Babylon, Egypt and Greece comes from their relative proximity. Whether seen as a trait of humanity or culture, the fact was that the women held the prestigious position of the Oracle of Delphi.
One of the unique position that the Oracle of Delph presents in its influence in Greek politics was the position of a woman in such a central role, even if she was ignorant. Some scholars like to make the claim that although the Oracle was a woman, she did not truly have a position of power. As David Bowen says, “As a poor woman, usually excluded from the public business of Delphi, she would be unlikely to know much about the Greek world in general or the petitioner in particular, so she was in no real position to influence events.” This idea that the Oracle as a lower class woman, in a society similar to Athens, woman was generally uneducated was insulated from the world. Although this may be true, it does not take away from the fact that by the 5th century, the Oracle was an influential institution advising kings and leaders of the city-states. Even if the Pythia herself was ignorant does not mean that the temple of Delphi was ignorant. Delphi was an institution, specifically an early church that received gifts and had various personnel working for them. The best example of how the Oracle could get information on other city-states was through the Athenian Exegetae. They were an upper class interpreters found in Athens that were of enough fame that Plato mentions they would be useful in his republic. As Poulson mentions, “At the same tome the Exegetae were both diplomats of the Oracle and spies as much of Apollo’s mysterious insight into the interior life of states and the relations of leading personalities may be due to them.” In this way, the Oracle rather than be an ignorant, had an information center she could have listened to whenever she needed to prepare for an Oracle. The other trouble in dismissing the Oracle comes from the fact that in a society that was highly patriarchal and polis that followed the Athenian model had women taking care of the home. The other figure involved with Delphi was the Sibyl. She was a woman similar to the Oracle that gave predictions but lacked the trance. With both these figures, Delphi provided one of the few examples possible for a woman let alone one from a poor family to have influence in the politics of the Greek polis. The procedure done in Delphi both reinforces the general religious practices of the Greeks but also add the element of drama that made Delphi more credibility than any other seer did.
The procedure in which an Oracle gave a response to most cases of divination helps explain the reason that Delphi was influential in foreign affairs. A present image of the Oracle of Delphi involves the Oracle atop her tripod while the petitioner was in front of her. Considering the presence, it maintains in various sources, it gives the most stereotypical idea of what the Oracle appeared. The accepted manner in which a person petition for a prediction from the Oracle involves them sacrificing an animal in front of the temple, sprinkle with water and after the animal seemed to nod in agreement, then they would go into the temple and ask the Oracle the question they desired. This gives the general set up and reflects the common manner in which the Greeks believed that a sacrifice was necessary in making a big decision involving the gods. The major question that arises in the response of the Oracle was derived in the Pythia trance. As Richard Stoneman describes, “The priestess at Delphi, the Pythia, delivered her response to enquirers by mounting a tripod (in which incense would normally be burnt) inside the innermost shire of the temple of Apollo at Delphi, going into an ecstatic trance (or in other terms, becoming possessed by the god) and pronouncing her Oracles.” This state of possession meant that the Oracle unlike many other people seemed to look like they actually were in touch with the gods. Again, madness came to be revered in Greek culture and religion as showing it was possible to speak with the gods. The Oracle through this trance presents the power of a dramatic performance influencing history. These dramatic displays allowed those asking to interpret what they heard. The trance for many scholars' comes from whether it was self-induced or influence by gasses found in an underground cavern. Both these ideas have some truth into them but both forget that the importance was that this gave the Oracle of Delphi the appearance of a direct connection to the gods. Through this dramatic performance, leaders from afar would hear about it and test it to see the reliability of the Oracle. From all of these factors, it came to no surprise that wars were declared to protect this sanctuary to the hybrid god, one being the most important one and the other being the foundation of the Amphictyonic league.
The moment from which the Oracle of Delphi gained true political power came from its influence on war that of troy and the first sacred wars. The start of the Trojan War came from a conflict between the gods. The connection of the role of Delphi to Troy was found in The Odyssey when it said, “For so Phoebos Apollo had told [Agamemnon] by an Oracle In divine Pytho where we had gone over the stone threshold seeking the Oracle. For then the beginning of trouble was rolling on the Trojans and Danaans through the plans of great Zeus.” Although Hesiod presents the origins of the great gods and there was archeological evidence but the most influential work was Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. As this passage presents, the Oracle originally influenced the Trojan War and presents the need of their advice. The region of Delphi being sacred to the various polis of Greece created a council that declared war on behalf of the gods. The council’s name was the Amphictyonic League which comprised about 24 city-states, made originally of the Dorian and Ionian tribes but included those of the surrounding region. The start of the first sacred wars starts from a simple idea of a land abusing their position. As Timothy Howe describes, “The various accounts agree that c.590 BCE the harbor community of Krisa, which had grown wealthy off the trade and traffic to Delphi, acted in an impious manner toward pilgrims and sanctuary of Apollo.” The event itself even had allusions to the Trojan War where the similar to the Achaeans, the Amphictyonic League included the Thessaly federation, Athens and Sikyon, and they fight well at first but once the Krisaians go behind their wall, the siege takes a long time. In the same vein of guile of Odysseus, Solon advises to poison the water supply, which gives them a victory against the Krisians. The result of this war was the creation of an oath between the allied city-states to make the land property of the gods. In a fashion of myths, stories can explain greater truths of this world. Although there is a question of whether there was a first sacred war or if it was created by Phillip of Macedon to lend credence to his intervention of Greece in 370 BCE. It presents the importance of the site to all Greeks. The idea that a coalition was created to keep this Pan-Hellenic institution safe therefore shows the growth of its political power in influencing other polis to protect it from looting and defilement. This event defines the manner in which Delphi finally became the institution for all Greeks, a Dorian god that grew to become a Pan-Hellenic institution. The other great factor for Delphi to be involved in the politics of various Greek city-states was the colonization movement.
One way in which the Delphi came to influence foreign policy of the polis was through the colonization movement, first as a rubberstamp but then as an informed institution. In the case of colonization, there is evidence from W. G Forrest that Delphi became a political power from colonization. As Forrest says, “The altar of Apollo Archegetes at Naxos shews decisively that Delphi played some part in its foundation. For Zankle we have Kallimachos' story of the consultation of Apollo by its founders, Perieres and Krataimenes, about the naming of the site.” These areas are directly tied to the Corinthian and Chalkis allies. Delphi was also directly involved in these cases. Therefore, Delphi was involved in colonizing at least as back as 700 BCE. The idea that Colonizing was a factor of its growth comes from how it started and where it would end up. Forrest says, “The Pythia's words were no more than a divine rubber stamp set on the decisions already reached in Korinth or Chalkis… And when he worked again and again as he came to be regarded more and more as indispens- able for any allied colonial move, no doubt he did begin to acquire some sort of authority as adviser as well as approver, no doubt he did learn a lot about sites and markets and so on, enough to make Delphi something of an information centre, perhaps even enough to take the initiative in organising an expedition on some occasions.” Colonizing movements were tied to Delphi in some part to the closeness to the city-states that at the time had power to seek out lands to colonize. At first, the enemies of these city-states like Eretria, Megara, and Mileto, did not have a single story involving the Oracle of Delphi. The idea that the enemies of Korinth and Chalkis did not utilize Delphi comes as no surprise, yet Delphi from its colonial reputation became influential. Although Delphi was not the one to make the decisions, over time its authority expanded so that other city-states asked for advise on where to settle. The best example comes from Herodotus. “The Dolonci, a Thracian people to whom the Chersonese then belonged, finding themselves in difficulties in a war with the Apsinthians, sent their chiefs to Delphi, to ask advice from the Oracle.” The Doloci desired to found a city and through the influence of Delphi, came to see Miltiades as their founder. This story being mentioned in Herodotus gives the most probable practice that existed in the Greek world once Delphi a center of colonization. As David Bowen mentions, the Oracle’s role was in assistance of legitimizing a founder. “The purpose of the consultation would be to confirm the status of Miltiades as founder, and authorize him to carry out the role which included not only the distribution of land to settlers but also the founding of sanctuaries for the gods.” The sacred wars put the Oracle of Delphi in the center of the politics of Greece, especially that of Sparta and Athens, which was seen in the Persian and Peloponnesian wars. Although colonization was vital for the growth of Delphi into an institution for advising, the interpretation of the Oracle was as important.
The most important part of Delphic tradition never was the response but the manner in which the listener interpreted the response, and ease in which a person could interpret the Oracle’s prediction incorrectly. An easy distraction coming from the Oracle’s response was whether it was in verse or prose but rather than waste time on this, it is easy to say that in general, the Oracle gave a response that was ambiguous, in which in literature it was presented poetically while in real life it was a response that was simpler. The best example of this response can be seen in Histories by Herodotus in which the first story of Cnossus asking the Oracle about fighting against the Persians. In it, the messengers after bringing various sacrifices to the Oracle, asks if he should fight the Persians. The Oracle says a great nation would fall and says to choose the strongest of the Greek city-states. He also receives the response that his reign’s length depended on the Persian throne being sat on by a mule, and when that time comes, until then he must not be afraid of losing his position. This prediction gave the paramount example of the dangers of looking at taking the superficial interpretation of the Oracle’s response. As the events unfold in the book, Cnossus ends up fighting against the Persians with the Spartans as allies. The Persians decimate the Lydian’s and Cnossus comes to realize that both predictions came true. The empire that fell was his own, and the mule referred to by the third response referred to Cyrus, in which he was a child of mix breed, his mother of Medean descent while his father was of a lower stock. To the Greeks reading this story, would be reminded and in a way reinforce their belief in the Oracle’s position since as long as one interpreted the Oracle’s response correctly, then no problem would arise. This story, being interpreted in various fashions presents the crux of what the Oracle provided to the Greeks. Some scholars may say that the Oracle was no better than choosing by lots or the equivalent of a die role. Herodotus although a great historian, also followed the Homeric tradition of dramatic telling of a probably mundane event. This therefore explains his dramatic retelling of Athens’s decision to escape the city and the rise of Themistocles, showing the value of Delphi.
The counter example to this point was revealed in the story of the wooden walls and the power of Greek civilization in allowing freedom and proper interpretation of the Oracle’s response. In one of the most desperate situations in the Histories, the Persians were near the Attica region and the Athenians were scared. They sent one messenger to the Oracle and got a response that essentially gave the worst-case scenario. When the leaders of Athens heard this, they rejected it and sent another messenger in which the second response was relatively less desperate. The most significant parts were, “That wooden wall only shall not fall, but help you and your children… Divine Salamis, you will bring death to women’s sons When the corn is scattered, or the harvest gathered in.” When all the leaders of Athens debate on the meaning of the response, the professional interpreters give a dire response that made the situation seems hopeless. One leader convinces the others of his interpretation that the wooden walls were ships, and his name was Themistocles. From this episode, the intelligent mentality of the Greek was further revealed. Rather than hear the prediction and take the worst case, Themistocles gives the hopeful one it is just due and looks into the words since as he mentions, rather than wicked, the land of salamis was called divine. In this way, there was a shift in the power between the traditional interpreter of the Oracle and that of the politician with a goal set in mind. Unlike the roman who only used divinations as an excuse for war, the Greeks used it for debating a certain outcome, especially in Athens. As mentioned in paging the Oracle, the strength of Delphi came from the people listening and creating meaning from the Oracle predictions. This contrast with the Persian response to Oracle knowledge, which shows, “… the Persians' stony silence when asked by Mardonius if they know of any relevant Oracles. Afraid to risk Mardonius' displeasure, they do not reveal the oracular knowledge which, Herodotus implies, could have saved them.” A major theme in the Persian Wars comes from the idea that Greeks maintained a culture of freedom and respect for the gods, which contrasts, with the despotic and hubris rule of Persian. This weakness of one ruler not listening to all the possible information therefore provides the best example of Oracle being a symbol of power. The height of the Oracles power was during the Persian war, but by the Peloponnesian war, there was a major shift in attention. In one way, the influence of Delphi on foreign affairs depended on it being mentioned by those writing the history. Thucydides therefore presents the best contrast through his explanation of people creating the meaning of an Oracle’s prediction in that of the plague. In the Peloponnesian war, Thucydides gives the greatest example of the fall of the Oracle’s influence in the quote about the Oracle and the plague.
Thucydides rather than Herodotus was a man that believed in a more systematic approach toward history. Therefore, Thucydides gives a drastic view on history in which he gives a more scientific view toward history. The best example of this comes from his idea that the plague of Athens came from a mix of old men talking and Oracle’s prediction. This was especially seen with the reason that the plague was seen to have originated from a prophecy. In the Peloponnesian war, “… the old men claiming that long ago it was recited, ‘A Dorian war will come, and with it plague.’… men shaped their memories in accordance with what they experienced.” In this passage, Thucydides talked about the manner in which the Athenians came to think that the word of the old man was to be associated with what an Oracle said about Sparta, which said that if they went to war they would win. Thucydides presents the manner in which rather than the prophecy being the direct event of what occurred, it was in the Athenians that created this connection. Thucydides therefore shows the objective mind that rather than accept the word of an Oracle, he presents the events in a human level. Rather than accept that the Oracle’s words as the truth, he found that it was a mix of old ideas. This mentality toward divination therefore presents the main idea that a perceived
decline can be seen from Thucydides presentation of events. As David Bowen mentions, one reason that the Oracle of Delphi was seen to have diminished in political sway after the 6th century BCE comes from a division on the manner in which Thucydides rejects many of the conventions that Herodotus did in his Histories. The moment in the Peloponnesian, war where Thucydides does describe the role of the Delphi comes near the beginning, when the Spartans desire for the Athenians to rid them of the Goddess’s curse. Thucydides shows the influence of Delphi when he says, “When Kylon was consulting the oracle of Delphi, the god responded that he should seize the acropolis of Athens during the greatest festival of Zeus.” As an example of the tendency of people to misinterpret the oracle, Thucydides gives the most common response. It therefore reinforces the idea that Bowen presents that says, “When Thucydides writes Herodotean history, Delphi is much more prominent and appears to be more actively involved in events.” The decline of Delphi in some factors comes from a perception of its diminished attention by Thucydides. However, the fall of Delphi’s power did not necessary come from a loss of focus from history but seen in its endorsement of certain people in their time of power.
A major part of the strength of Delphi depended on its reputation and its susceptibility to a tarnishing it. One of these was in its choice of people that represented the Greek people, shown in that they no longer choose them after Cleomedes. In the period when the Oracle helped in making some people into heroes, one candidate blatantly contradicts this idea. The name of the athlete that shows the worst candidate that Delphi supported was Cleomedes of Astypalaea. In Poulson, he describes Cleomedes as a man that killed his opponent and in his rage; he went back to his city and killed a school of children by pulling the roof of the school. The town people stoned him until he hid in a chest in the temple of Athena. The miracle that occurs was, “When it was opened, he was gone and when the frightened townsfolk inquired on the meaning of the miracle, the Oracle gave the following answer: “Cleomedes of Astypalaea is the last hero. Sacrifice to him as an immortal.” The Oracles blatant support for a man that was both irresponsible and a cold-murderer shows the fallibility of the Oracle. The weakness of the Oracle was that as time went on, their opinion could be utterly wrong. The Oracle for the Greeks was perceived as the voice of a god but people can change their opinion of a god. As was mentioned by Poulson, the dedication to other mortals ended around this man, and by the end of the 7th century BCE, the Pythian Games no longer existed as well. As a political force, the Oracle still had power, but from an opinion like this, the influence Delphi on politics depended on its correct outcome.
A sign of the loss of power of the Oracle can be seen in Herodotus’s Histories on the opinion of the Oracle toward the war. As mentioned before, the power of Delphi depended on its predictions being correct or positive. The first response that the Oracle gave to the Athenians when Xerxes army was near, presents doom that Persia brought. The words given that show the dark outlook were, “Why sit you, doomed ones? Fly to the world’s end, leaving Home and heights your city circle like a wheel. The head shall not remain in its place, nor the body.” The Athenian in a time of great peril goes to the Oracle for advice. At a response like this, it is no wonder they ended up asking for a second response. The Oracle at first predicted doom for the Athenians, and only through the interpretation of Themistocles on the second response, do the Athenians survive and fight in the battle of Salamis. The wooden wall story presents both the strength and weakness of Delphi in that as long as the message gives a more positive ambiguity, then the Greeks can face most situations. As the first response gave a negative prospect, the Athenians preferred a second prediction to assure themselves of their situation. Another episode that presents Delphi undermining the Greek cause against Persia involved the Cretans. As the Cretan ask the Oracle whether they should side with the Greeks the Oracle reminded them of the Iliad and Minos, and how the Greeks had been unfaithful allies, in which they decide not to side with them.” As seen from the passages, the Oracle gave a generally disastrous outcome for the Greeks. Rather than encourage the Cretans to ally with the other Greeks against the Persians, the Pythia tried to instill dissident through the reminder of the Trojan War. Therefore, the idea that the Greeks end up defeating the Persians presents an interesting situation. Even if the Oracle did not lose its religious prestige, it provided for the Greek polis the idea that the Oracle was fallible. This was further reinforced because Themistocles’ interpretation mattered more than the official interpreters of the Oracle could. Although a fall in prestige, the end of Delphic power was through a loss of liberty.
A significant factor for the fall of Oracle of Delphi came from its use as a political contrivance to bring the Macedonians and eventual fall of Greek liberty to Macedonian dominance. By the year356 BCE, Philomelus, and his five thousand mercenaries plagued the Delphi. Philomelus started this conflict based defying the Theban hegemony over the region and supported it on the idea that Phocis deserved control over Delphi. They therefore stole the temple and the Amphictyonic League declared the third sacred war. For a period of 356 to 346, the Greeks fought this war, the major powers being Athens, Sparta, Thessaly, and Macedon. Philomelus sacked the sacred temple to pay for his mercenaries. The city-state of Thessaly called for Philip to be an ally against Phocis and its allies. As the author Worthington says, “This would prove to be a convenient stepping stone to more formal involvement in central Greek politics.” The original leaders of Phocis died through various means and those captured were executed as sacrilegious criminals, but the war lasted about 10 years. This one action set up a chain of reactions that had Phillip assisting in freeing Delphi but by the end had fought the battle of Chaeronea, which brought all the Greek city-states under the hegemony of Macedon. By involving himself in this war, he came into conflict with other regions of Greece and focused on ways to strengthen his territories. He also ended the war politically. Phocis in 346 placed Phaelaecus, as general yet under an agreement with Phillip, he fled to Peloponnese. As the Bradford said “The Phocians robed of their hopes, handed themselves over to Phillip and so the king unexpectantly and without battle, ended the sacred war.” Unlike the First Sacred war that brought the amphicyoion league and consensus that Delphi was a power, instead of glory for Delphi, this war gave prestige to Phillip. The reason that this shows the utter fall of the authority of the Delphi as a political force was from the integral s need of interpretation. Whether it is a democracy led city-state, or a military headed Sparta, Delphi’s power and prestige depended on the liberty of city-states to be ruled as one liked. Phillip fulfilled the loss of independence through the battle of Chaeronea. Boeotia and Athens allied together to stop the Macedonians advances. Yet, the Oracle of Delphi provided words that made it seem like both sides would lose. The prediction given by the sibyl was, “Far from the battle at the Thermodon would I be, To observe as an eagle high in the clouds of the sky. The defeated will weep, the victor be destroyed.” Obvious that this Oracle was rather vague as any other, but the prediction given gave a sense of multiple losers implying the alliance of Athens and Boeotia while the victor was Phillip. For the Boeotian’s especially, the loss to Macedon was impactful because of the Sacred Band, their elite soldiers that gained a reputation through the rise of power of Thebes under Epaminondas. As the later events revealed, Phillip ended up dead through an assassination and his son Alexander gained the responsibility of ruling Macedon and continuing his father’s wars. The judgment of Delphi was heard, but no one headed it since the Athenians and Thebans went to war and lost while Philip waged the war and end up dead through an assassination.
As seen from the history of the Oracle of Delphi power in politics arose from a reputation it developed and reinforced through its information networks, performance, and involvement with the city-states at a very early time through colonizing movement. Its decline came from its loss in reputation, the perceived unimportance given by later historians and the fall of Greek liberty caused by Phillip of Macedon. The answer that Greek leaders came to Delphi was more of a vote of confidence then any real advice. As the Oracle was a speaker for the God Apollo, her words were considered truthful. The need of interpretation comes from the Greek ingenuity that solutions did not come easy. It presents one of the major forms of the Greek igneous mind to exercise their creativity in a unique form. Delphi was the crossroad in Greek civilization where the gods and real world were allowed to mix. Even though Delphi was considered one of the most well documented religious site in the ancient world, it still contains mysteries that may never be resolved.