Irlandos at 12:06, September 20, 2010

2010-09-20T12:06:43Z

Irlandos at 11:35, March 27, 2006

2006-03-27T11:35:34Z

New page

An '''oracle''' is a person or agency considered to be a source of wise counsel or prophetic opinion; an infallible authority, usually spiritual in nature. It can also be a prediction of the future, from the gods, that is spoken through another object or life-form. In the ancient world many sites gained a reputation for the dispensing of oracular wisdom: they too became known as "oracles", as did the oracular utterances themselves, whose very name is derived from the Latin verb ''orare'', to speak.

In classical [[Greece]], the pre-eminent oracle—the [[Sibyl]] (or Pythia)—operated at the temple of [[Apollo]] at [[Delphi]]. This oracle exerted considerable influence throughout Hellenic culture; the Greeks consulted her prior to all major undertakings: wars, the founding of colonies, and so forth. The semi-Hellenic countries around the Greek world, such as Lydia, Caria and even Egypt also respected her. [[Croesus]] of Lydia consulted Delphi before attacking [[Persian Empire|Persia]], and according to [[Herodotus]] was told, "If you do, you will destroy a great empire." Believing the response favorable, Croesus attacked, but it was his own empire that was ultimately destroyed by the Persians.

The oracle also allegedly proclaimed [[Socrates]] the wisest man in Greece, to which [[Socrates]] said that if so, this was because he alone was aware of his own ignorance. In the [[3rd century]], the oracle (perhaps bribed) declared that the god would no longer speak there.

[[Dodona]] in [[Epirus]], became the second most important oracle in ancient Greece, dedicated to [[Zeus]], [[Heracles]] and [[Dione]].

On [[Crete]] lay another important oracle, sacred to [[Apollo]]. It ranked as one of the most accurate oracles in [[Greece]].

Another oracle of note lay in Egypt, in a temple dedicated to Ammon, whom the Greeks associated with [[Zeus]]. [[Alexander the Great]] once visited it, and though no record of his query remains, the oracle is thought to have hailed him as Ammon's son, influencing his conceptions of his own divinity.

==Further reading==
*Curnow, T. 1995. ''The Oracles of the Ancient World: A Comprehensive Guide''. London: Duckworth — ISBN 0715631942
*Fontenrose, J. 1981. ''The Delphic Oracle. Its responses and operations with a catalogue of responses''. Berkeley: University of California Press

{{Credit wikipedia}}

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:06, September 20, 2010
Line 17:		Line 17:

	{{Credit wikipedia}}		{{Credit wikipedia}}
		+
		+	[[Category:Ancient Greece]]

Oracle - Revision history

Irlandos at 12:06, September 20, 2010

Irlandos at 11:35, March 27, 2006