The Oracle of Delphi was a priestess at the Sanctuary of Apollo in Delphi, Greece, who conveyed messages from Apollo to supplicants. She was chosen from the priestesses of Apollo and had to be of good nature. Delphi was considered the center of the world, and the omphalos marked the center of the known world. Many societies had oracles, and the Oracle of Delphi was a topic of intense interest and discussion in ancient Greece. The site has been declared a World Heritage Site, but no oracles are found there today.
The Oracle of Delphi was a priestess who served at the Sanctuary of Apollo in Delphi, a Greek city. According to archaeological evidence, an oracle was associated with the site as early as the 8th century BC, with the site closed in the 4th century AD as it was deemed inappropriate by the newly Christianised Roman Empire. Numerous contemporaries wrote of the Oracle and depicted her in works of art, and she is perhaps one of the most famous and enigmatic figures in Greek culture.
Obviously, not a single person has served the site for over a thousand years. Instead, the Oracle of Delphi was chosen from the priestesses of Apollo who served at the sanctuary. The Oracle had to be of good nature, but she could be rich, poor, educated, old, ignorant or young; the main criterion appeared to be his potential fitness for service. Once a woman became the Oracle of Delphi, she took the name Pythia, abandoning her former life.
By tradition, the Oracle at Delphi sat on a three-legged stool above an opening in the Earth that purportedly conveyed messages from Apollo. Supplicants were supported by the Oracle by a barrier, and were expected to sit in silence as she conveyed her message as Apollo’s mouthpiece. The Oracle’s proclamations were sometimes quite cryptic and other times very clear, and many contemporary authors suggested that the Oracles provided advice and information in their own voice whenever they used Apollo’s.
Delphi itself is a very interesting site and, thanks to the rich hoard of archaeological treasures, has been declared a World Heritage Site by the United Nations. The Greeks believed that Delphi was the center of the world, and they traveled there to visit the omphalos, or navel stone, which marked the center of the known world. The ompahlos at Delphi was covered with a carved knotted pattern, and was typically kept close to the Pythia.
Many societies have had some version of an oracle or sacred priestess, suggesting a universal desire for information from the gods about the future. The Oracle of Delphi is just one among many such women, and she was obviously a topic of intense interest and discussion in ancient Greece, with many people writing about her and their experiences at Delphi. No oracles are found at Delphi today, although some people claim to feel an intense and almost supernatural connection to the site and its ancient history.
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