ORACLES.
_Ques._ What do you understand by oracles?
_Ans._ The places where the heathen divinities were supposed to answer
those who consulted them, were called oracles. This word was also
applied to the responses given.
_Ques._ Name some of the more famous oracles?
_Ans._ Among the most celebrated were, the oracles of Jupiter at
Dodo´na; of Apollo, at Delphi; of Trophonius, near Lebe´dea in
Boeotia; of Jupiter Ammon, in the deserts of Lybia; of Æsculapius at
Epidaurus; and the Castalian Fount.
_Ques._ Describe the oracle of Dodo´na.
_Ans._ Dodo´na was a town of Epirus, probably situated in the valley
now called Joannina, but the exact site has not been ascertained. In
the earlier times Jupiter gave answers to his votaries by means of a
so-called vocal oak or beach. Brazen instruments, suspended from the
higher branches, clashed together when moved by the wind. The
priestesses who were appointed to explain the responses of the oracle
could attach whatever meaning they pleased to these inarticulate
sounds. Later, the Corcyrians presented to the temple a brazen caldron
surmounted by a figure of the same metal; the statue held in its hand
a whip, the lash of which consisted of three chains, each having an
astragalus (a small bone) at the end. These, when moved by the winds,
struck the caldron, and produced so continuous a sound that four
hundred vibrations were sometimes counted before it ceased.
Demosthenes tells us that the responses delivered to the Athenians at
Dodo´na were carefully preserved in the public archives; their
reverence for the oracle did not, however, prevent them from accusing
the priestess of being influenced by bribes when they were
dissatisfied with her answers.
The oracle of Dodo´na was probably the most ancient in Greece. The
temple was founded by the Pelasgi long before the siege of Troy; it
was partially destroyed by the Ætolians during the Social War, and it
would seem that it never recovered from this disaster. The town
existed many centuries later; and we read of a bishop of Dodo´na who
attended the council of Ephesus.
_Ques._ What does Diodorus tell us concerning the oracle at Delphi?
_Ans._ This historian relates that a shepherd, while feeding his
flocks on the side of Mount Parnassus, observed that his sheep and
goats, on approaching a certain cavity in the earth, began to skip
and dance about in an extraordinary manner. As he drew near to examine
the cause of this phenomenon, the vapors, exhaling from the earth,
affected him in the same way; his body was convulsed, and he spoke
words which revealed futurity. Others experienced similar effects, and
the exhalation was supposed to have a certain divine property. The
cavity was approached with reverence; a tripod was placed over it; and
a priestess or Pythia was appointed to preside. The words which she
uttered when under the influence of the vapor were considered to be
inspired by Apollo; crowds came to consult the oracle; a temple was
built, and the city of Delphi arose insensibly around the spot.
As the oracle grew in repute it became necessary to appoint a second
and a third Pythia to answer those who came to consult the god. The
Pythia could not prophesy until she had become intoxicated by the
vapor from the sanctuary. This effect was not produced at all times,
and on some days it was not permitted to consult the oracle. Spring
was considered the most propitious season. When Apollo was favorably
disposed, his approach was made known by the moving of a laurel that
stood before the gate of the temple. The sacred tree was then seen to
tremble in every leaf.
The Pythia was obliged to prepare by fasts, sacrifices and
purifications before she ascended the tripod. When under the influence
of the mysterious vapor, her hair stood erect, her eyes flashed, she
foamed at the mouth, and a convulsive trembling seized her whole body.
She then spoke prophetic words, which were carefully noted by the
attendant priests. The oracles were sometimes in verse, but more
commonly in prose; in the latter case they were immediately versified
by poets employed for that purpose.
Many remarkable oracles are recorded by Herodotus as having been
delivered at Delphi, but as a general thing the answers were
ambiguous, and so cautiously worded as to seem true, whatever might be
the event. Such was the answer given to Croe´sus, king of Lydia, when
he consulted the oracle concerning the result of his expedition
against the Medes. The Pythia told him that by crossing the river
Halys he would ruin a great empire, but as she did not say what
empire, whether his own or that of his enemies, the oracle could not
fail of being fulfilled. There is no doubt that the Pythia was often
influenced by persuasion or bribes, and many illustrious persons were
accused of having bought the oracles they desired.
The temple of Apollo at Delphi was enriched by the offerings of
different princes, and the surrounding nations vied with one another
in the magnificence of their gifts. The building was destroyed by fire
in the year 548 B. C., but was soon rebuilt. Xerxes, after having
forced the pass of Thermopylæ, sent a detachment of his army to
plunder the treasures of Delphi. The expedition was unsuccessful,
owing, as the Delphians asserted, to a manifest interposition of the
deity. Afterwards, Philome´lus, a Phocian general, seized these
treasures to pay his troops. He is said to have carried off, in gold
and silver, a sum equal to ten million dollars. Still later Delphi was
threatened by the Gauls, under their king Brennus. According to
Pausanias, the city and temple were saved by Pan, as we have seen in
the account given of that god; but others declare that the invaders
possessed themselves of great booty. Sylla also plundered Delphi, and
Nero took from it, at one time, no less than five hundred statues of
bronze.
The temple was finally dismantled by Constantine the Great, who
adorned his Hippodrome with the sacred tripods.
No traces are known to exist of the cavern whence issued the sacred
vapor, but some have thought it might be discovered by searching in
the central part of the ruins of the ancient city.
_Ques._ Who was Trophonius, and for what was his oracle remarkable?
_Ans._ Trophonius, and his brother Agame´des were the architects of
the temple of Apollo at Delphi. According to one legend, when the
edifice was finished, they asked the god to reward them for their
labor. Apollo promised that he would recompense them on the seventh
day, and bade them live happily during the interval. On the seventh
night the brothers died in their sleep. The oracle is said to have
been discovered on the following occasion: In a time of severe drought
the Boeotians consulted Apollo at Delphi, and were directed to seek
aid from Trophonius in Lebadea. They proceeded thither, and seeing a
swarm of bees enter a chasm in the earth, they followed and discovered
a deep cavern. Here they found the oracle of Trophonius, and the aid
they sought.
_Ques._ What ceremonies were observed in consulting this oracle?
_Ans._ The votary was first purified by solemn ablutions; then, after
offering sacrifice, and drinking of a water called Lethe, or oblivion,
he descended by means of ladders into the first, or upper cavern. The
opening into the lower cave was extremely narrow, and there was
apparently nothing to aid the descent. Here, those who were courageous
enough to advance, lay upon the ground with their feet within the
entrance, taking care to hold in each hand a certain composition of
honey. They were then carried downwards with great force, as by the
current of a rapid river. In the mysterious depths of the lower cave,
the future was revealed, but not to all in the same manner; some saw,
others heard what they desired to know.
It has been frequently asserted that those who entered the cave of
Trophonius never smiled and we should judge, from the accounts given
by ancient writers, that they were subjected to a treatment closely
resembling what we now call animal magnetism, or mesmerism.
_Ques._ Where was the temple of Jupiter Ammon?
_Ans._ It was situated in an oasis of the Libyan desert, called by the
ancients Ammon, and by the modern Arabs, Siwah. It is about five
degrees west of Cairo.
The temple is said to have been founded by Bacchus under the following
circumstances. While marching through the Libyan desert, Bacchus came
to a barren waste of sand where his whole army was in danger of
perishing for want of water. He called on Jupiter for aid, and a ram
suddenly appeared, which guided them to a verdant oasis, in the midst
of which sparkled a clear fountain. Bacchus erected on the spot, a
temple which he dedicated to Jupiter. As the surrounding country was
called Hammo´des from Hammon or Ammon, sand, the god was worshipped
here under this title, and was always represented as having the head
and horns of a ram. The temple soon became celebrated as an oracle,
and was enriched, like that of Delphi, by splendid offerings. When
Camby´ses invaded Egypt, he sent a large body of troops across the
desert to seize its treasures. As nothing was ever heard of this
expedition, it seems probable that the Persians were purposely misled
by their Egyptian guides, and thus perished in the desert. Alexander
the Great visited the temple of Jupiter Ammon to question the oracle
as to his parentage; and the priests, who were undoubtedly apprised of
the object of his visit, did not wait to be questioned, but saluted
the king as the son of Jupiter. The site of this temple was discovered
in the last century by an English traveller, but the latest and best
account is given by Belzoni, who visited it in 1816. The oasis is
about six miles in length, with an average breadth of four miles. It
is fertile and produces in abundance, rice, wheat and fruits. The
ruins of the temple are not extensive; they are, however, interesting,
as many pieces of sculpture, including figures of goats with rams'
heads, are found in a good state of preservation. In a beautiful grove
of palms, towards the centre of the oasis, is the famous Fons Solis,
or Fountain of the Sun, which does not, however, correspond with the
description given by Herodotus. According to that historian, this
fountain was always tepid at dawn, icy cold at noon; it grew warm
again towards sunset, and was boiling hot at midnight. Belzoni says
that this account is quite exaggerated, although the water of the
fountain felt to him much warmer at midnight than at noon-day. The
truth seems to be that little or no change takes place in the
fountain, which is well shaded and very deep. The great change which
really takes place in the atmosphere is probably the cause of the
apparent variation in the temperature of the fountain. Belzoni had no
thermometer with him, so that he was unable to test the truth of this
supposition.
_Ques._ Where was the oracle of Æsculapius?
_Ans._ This god was consulted by the sick in many places, but his most
celebrated oracle was in his native city of Epidaurus in Argolis. This
oracle was so famous that in the year 293 B. C., when a terrible
pestilence was raging in Rome, the Senate sent a solemn embassy to
Epidaurus to implore the aid of Æsculapius. The god was propitious,
and accompanied the returning embassy in the form of a serpent.
According to another account, the priests sent to Rome a sacred
serpent which they nourished in the temple.
_Ques._ What was particularly remarkable in the oracles of Æsculapius?
_Ans._ It would seem that the priests, who had probably some skill in
medicine, made use of every means calculated to encourage the
votaries, and inspire them with a confident hope of recovery. They
were obliged to sleep in the temple, and we should judge, from the
accounts given by ancient writers, that they were subjected to a
treatment closely resembling what we now call animal magnetism, or
mesmerism.
The temple of Epidaurus was plundered by Sylla to defray the expenses
of the war against Mithridates.
_Ques._ Where was the Castalian Fount?
_Ans._ There were two celebrated springs of that name; one on Mount
Parnassus, which was sacred to the Muses, and another near Daphne, in
Syria. This last was believed to impart the knowledge of futurity to
those who drank of its waters. The oracle of this fountain promised
the empire to Hadrian, while he was yet in a private station. When he
ascended the throne, he had the fountain shut up with stones.
_Ques._ What opinions did the early Christian writers hold with regard
to the heathen oracles?
_Ans._ They believed that although the responses were to be
attributed, as a general thing, to mere human jugglery and imposture,
there were occasions in which it was impossible to doubt the direct
agency of evil spirits. We read in Scripture that Satan spoke by the
mouths of the possessed, and none were more likely to fall under this
demoniac influence than the priests and other ministrants in these
shrines of imposture. Many instances are recorded where Christians
imposed silence on oracles by pronouncing the name of Jesus Christ, or
by the sign of the cross; and sometimes the same effect was produced
by their simple presence in the temple.
_Ques._ At what period did the oracles cease to give responses?
_Ans._ No exact date can be assigned; as Christianity spread, these
impostures fell gradually into disrepute, and were at length entirely
abandoned. It has been asserted that the oracles became silent at the
birth of Christ, but this is an error. Milton, however adopts this
idea in his beautiful Hymn of the Nativity:
"The oracles are dumb;
No voice or hideous hum
Rings through the arched roof in words deceiving.
Apollo from his shrine
Can no more divine,
With hollow shriek the steep of Delphos leaving.
No nightly trance or breathed spell
Inspires the pale-eyed priest from the prophetic cell."