Pythia was the priestess presiding over the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi. There are more than 500 supposed oracular statements which have survived from various sources referring to the oracle at Delphi. Many are anecdotal, and have survived as proverbs. Several are ambiguously phrased, apparently in order to show the oracle in a good light regardless of the outcome. Such prophecies were admired for their dexterity of phrasing. The following list presents some of the most prominent and historically significant prophecies of Delphi.
Archaic period
Lycurgus Some early oracular statements from Delphi may have been delivered to Lycurgus, the semi-legendary Spartan lawgiver (fl. 8th century BC).
According to the report by Herodotus (Histories A.65, 2–4), Lycurgus visited and consulted the oracle before he applied his new laws to Sparta,
Some say that the Pythia also declared to him the constitution that now exists at Sparta, but the Lacedaemonians themselves say that Lycurgus brought it from Crete when he was guardian of his nephew Leobetes, the Spartan king.Herodotus, with an English translation by A. D. Godley. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1920
Both Xenophon and Plutarch also attribute to Lycurgus the introduction of a very cumbersome coinage made from iron (in order to prevent attachment to wealth). In the account of Plutarch and Diodorus, this was also based on an oracular statement,
The supposed oracular statement in retrospect was interpreted as being fulfilled, as the gold and silver Sparta's soldiers sent home after the Peloponnesian War were to prove to be Sparta's undoing, according to Plutarch. It is not likely that this oracle was delivered, if it is at all historical, to Lycurgus himself, as coinage had not been introduced in his time.Kenneth Royce Moore, Was Pythagoras Ever Really in Sparta?, Rosetta Journal Issue #06, Spring 2009.
630 BC In 630 BC, the king of the island of Thera went to Delphi to offer a gift on behalf of his native city, and was told by the oracle:
Because the king did not know where Libya was, he did nothing. Thera was later affected by drought, the Therans again approached the oracle who said:
Following the advice of the oracle, the Therans sought advice from the Cretans as to where Libya was and a colony of Thera was established at Platea. But bad luck still followed them for another two years, so they visited the oracle a third time. She said:
The Therans sought advice from the local Libyans who gave them a new site, and the colony prospered.
595 BC In 595 BC, the affairs of the Oracle were felt too important to be left to the Delphians alone, and the sanctity of the site came to be protected by the Amphictyonic League, a league of 12 cities in existence since 1100 BC. In that year, nearby Kirra levied a toll on pilgrims, which ushered in the First Sacred War. After 5 years of struggle, the Oracle decreed that the site of Kirra be left fallow, sacred to Apollo. This ushered in a period of great prosperity.
594 BC In 594 BC, Solon, the Athenian lawgiver, seeking to capture the island of Salamis from Megara and Cirrha was told by the oracle:
He did, and taking as volunteers 500 young Athenians whose ancestors came from Salamis, was successful in capturing the island that was to prove so important in later Athenian history. Solon never ceased to support and give credit to the oracle for its support in declaring the island was originally Ionian.
In framing his famous constitutional reforms for Athens, Solon again sought the advice of the oracle who told him:
As a result, Solon refused the opportunity to become a revolutionary tyrant, and created a constitution for which he, and Athens, were justly honoured. Through trial by jury, a graduated tax system and the forgiveness of debts he prevented a growing gap between the "haves" and the "have-nots". But he refused to accept the confiscations of the property of the rich, so creating an Athenian middle class. He secured an Oath from the Athenian Council of Magistrates that if they violated these laws, they would dedicate a gold statue to the Oracle of Delphi of equal weight to themselves.
560 BC In 560 BC, Croesus of Lydia, in a trial of oracles, consulted all the famous oracles as to what he was doing on an appointed day. According to Herodotus, the oracle proclaimed:
Delphi was declared the winner. Croesus then asked if he should make war on the Persians and if he should take to himself any allied force. The oracles to whom he sent this question included those at Delphi and Thebes. Both oracles gave the same response, that if Croesus made war on the Persians, he would destroy a mighty empire. They further advised him to seek out the most powerful Greek peoples and make alliance with them.
Croesus paid a high fee to the Delphians and then sent to the oracle asking "Would his monarchy last long?" The Pythia answered:
Croesus thought it impossible that a mule should be king of the Medes and thus believed that he and his issue would never be out of power. He thus decided to make common cause with certain Greek city-states and attack Persia.
However, it was his empire, not that of the Persians, that was defeated, fulfilling the prophecy but not his interpretation of it. He apparently forgot that Cyrus, the victor, was half Mede (by his mother), half Persian (by his father), and therefore could be considered a "mule".Herodotus, "Histories" (Penguin Classics, Harmondsworth)
In Bacchylides' ode,Bacchylides Ode 3.23–62. composed for Hiero of Syracuse, who won the chariot race at Olympia in 468, Croesus with his wife and family mounted the funeral pyre, but before the flames could envelop the king, he was snatched up by Apollo and spirited away to the Hyperboreans. Herodotus' version includes Apollo in more "realistic" mode: Cyrus, repenting of the immolation of Croesus, could not put out the flames until Apollo intervened.
circa 550 BC In his biography of Pythagoras in his Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, Diogenes Laërtius (3rd century AD) cites the statement of Aristoxenus (4th century BC) that Themistoclea taught Pythagoras his moral doctrines:
Porphyry (233–305 AD) calls her Aristoclea (Aristokleia), although there is little doubt that he is referring to the same person.Gilles Ménage, (1984), The history of women philosophers, p. 48. University Press of America. "The person who is referred to as Themistoclea in Laërtius and Theoclea in Suidas, Porphyry calls Aristoclea." Porphyry repeats the claim that she was the teacher of Pythagoras:Porphyry, Life of Pythagoras, 41
Herodotus at 1.66 in his history of the Persian Wars reports that the Spartans consulted Delphi about their plans to invade the lands of their neighbors, the Arcadians and their city of Tegea. The Pythia replied:
circa 525 BC Herodotus statesHerodotus – The history of Herodotus: A new English version, ed. with copious notes and appendices, illustrating the history and geography of Herodotus, from the most recent sources of information; and embodying the chief results, historical and ethnographical, which have been obtained in the progress of cuneiform and hieroglyphical discovery, Volume 2 from (...and, G Rawlinson (The Histories) [Retrieved 2015-3-19] that during the time of the founding of the Siphnian Treasury, the Siphnians were told:
Classical Period
480 BC In 480 BC, when Xerxes, the son of Darius the Great of Persia, returned to finish the job of conquering the Greeks in which his father had failed, the Athenians consulted the oracle. They were told:
When persuaded to seek advice a second time, the oracle gave a way for the Athenians to escape their doom. When Athena approached her father to help her city, Zeus responded that he would grant that "a wall of wood alone shall be uncaptured, a boon to you and your children."
The oracle again advised the Athenians to flee:
Meanwhile, the Spartans also consulted the oracle and were told:
or in a version according to Herodotus:
The Spartans withdrew in consternation, wondering which fate was worse. The Delphians themselves then asked how Persia could be defeated. The oracle replied:
Events overtook the prophecy when the Persian army assaulted Thermopylae, where a Spartan-led coalition (popularly called the "300" after the number of Spartans sent (who were, excepting one man with an eye infection, killed to a man)) and allies held the pass against them. The Spartans under King Leonidas (The Lion) resisted the Persian advance at Thermopylae until betrayed. Refusing to retreat, the entire Spartan contingent, including their King (as foretold), lost their lives, but in so doing gained immortal fame. The Persian armada then sailed to nearby Cape Artemisium, where they were met by the Athenian fleet. The Athenian ships fought against great odds, but in three battles managed to hold their own.
A tremendous storm then arose at Artemesium, with the most violent winds attacking the ships for three days. The Persians lost about 20% of their warships and perhaps the same number of transport vessels to the storm. The stormy winds and huge waves did not harm the Athenian ships.
Back in Athens Themistocles argued that the wall of wood referred to the Athenian navy and persuaded the Athenians to pursue their policy of using wealth from their Attic silver mines at Laurium to continue building their fleet. On the grounds that the oracle referred to the nearby island of Salamis as "holy", he claimed that those slain would be Greece's enemies, not the Athenians. For these the oracle would have said "O cruel Salamis". His voice carried the day, Athens was evacuated to Salamis and in a following naval battle the Athenian fleet and its allies destroyed the Persian fleet at Salamis, while watched by Xerxes. Despite the fact that Athens was burned by the Persians, her occupants were saved, the Persian threat was ended and the authority of the Oracle was never higher.
440 BC Circa 440 BC the Oracle is also said to have claimed that there was no one wiser than Socrates, to which Socrates replied that either all were equally ignorant, or that he was wiser in that he alone was aware of his own ignorance ("what I do not know I do not think I know"). This claim is related to the first of the Delphic maxims inscribed on the forecourt of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, Gnothi Seauton (γνῶθι σεαυτόν), "know yourself!". The second maxim is (): "nothing in excess". Socrates was perhaps only about 30 years old at the time; his fame as a philosopher was yet to come.
One version of the claim stated that a friend of Socrates, Chaerephon, went before Pythia asking, "Is there any man alive wiser than Socrates?" The answer that he received was simply, "None." Another version is:Friedrich Nietzsche, R Geuss - (professor of philosophy at the University of Cambridge), R Speirs - Nietzsche: The Birth of Tragedy and Other Writings (p. 65, note 105) Cambridge University Press, 22 April 1999 (reprint, revised) [Retrieved 2015-04-17]
431 BC At the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War the Spartans sent a delegation to Delphi to inquire whether it would be wise to go to war against Athens. According to Thucydides, "It is said that the god replied that if they fought with all their might, victory would be theirs, and that he himself would be on their side, whether they invoked him or not."Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War, trans. Rex Warner, Penguin, 1954, 103.
403 BC In 403 BC, Lysander, the Spartan victor of the Peloponnesian War was warned to beware:
He was slain from behind in 395 BC by Neachorus, who had a serpent painted upon his shield.
401 BC In 401 BC, Sparta was warned: