Unfortunately the image of a half-naked and ripped Gerard Butler dangerously climbing an almost vertical mountain in a thunderstorm to consult an oracle consisting of a woman obviously on hallucinogens and the disfigured priests who relay her unconscious, drug inspired “prophecies” is not an accurate portrayal of what the oracles of the gods were in the time of the ancient Greeks. Needless to say, I was shocked and extremely disappointed in Warner Brothers Pictures. When we visited the Temple of Apollo today in Delphi, the ruins at the site of his oracle conveyed a very different story to their visitors than the misleading, although entertaining, writers of 300.
First of all, the oracle does not lie at the top of a mountain; it is easily accessible to those of us who are not experienced rock climbers or Spartan warriors. Nor is it a sacred, quiet temple with a few other buildings for the housing of the oracles themselves and the priests. Instead, I discovered Delphi to be quite large, with a theater, stadium and many other buildings that made it a relatively busy place most of the year as it was used for theater festivals and the Olympic games in addition to the consultation of the oracle. Also, there was lots of building activity in the area as many different city-states built their personal treasuries to Apollo around the temple. By the end of the fifth century there were 27 individual treasuries, each full of treasure, spoils of war, and other valuable objects. While the original purpose of each treasury was to house the offerings made to the god for favorable oracles, the elaboration and filling of the treasuries became a competition; each city-state was trying to outdo the others and the buildings became symbols of the power and wealth of its specific builder, a sort of intimidation factor. During this time, the Greeks had no concept of the separation of church and state, making the environment of Delphi as much of a political as well as religious one.
Secondly, when visiting the oracle, most people already knew the answer to their question or willed the answer they wanted out of the oracle in their interpretation of the prophecy or through bribery. Offerings were made to the god (or sometimes even to the priest or Pythia herself) as a way to manipulate the oracle into providing a favorable outcome. Individuals used the oracle as a scapegoat when they didn’t want to make hard decisions and decided the answers to their own questions by interpreting the prophecy in the way they so chose (this usually ended up being beneficial for themselves). Not all prophecies were at first acceptable to the subject and in such an instance, a Greek would not accept an answer that conflicted greatly with his interests. The receiver of an ominous or displeasing oracle would then usually appeal to the god with even more gifts or sacrifices in the hopes that he would receive a better prophesy the second time around. With the “direction” of Apollo, the people visiting the oracle indirectly decided their own consequences.
In conclusion, the site visit to Delphi was extremely interesting and I discovered many things about Greek paganism that I had not previously known, but in spite of all this new knowledge, I feel compelled to say that the most important lesson I learned today is that not everything I see in movies is real.
First of all, the oracle does not lie at the top of a mountain; it is easily accessible to those of us who are not experienced rock climbers or Spartan warriors. Nor is it a sacred, quiet temple with a few other buildings for the housing of the oracles themselves and the priests. Instead, I discovered Delphi to be quite large, with a theater, stadium and many other buildings that made it a relatively busy place most of the year as it was used for theater festivals and the Olympic games in addition to the consultation of the oracle. Also, there was lots of building activity in the area as many different city-states built their personal treasuries to Apollo around the temple. By the end of the fifth century there were 27 individual treasuries, each full of treasure, spoils of war, and other valuable objects. While the original purpose of each treasury was to house the offerings made to the god for favorable oracles, the elaboration and filling of the treasuries became a competition; each city-state was trying to outdo the others and the buildings became symbols of the power and wealth of its specific builder, a sort of intimidation factor. During this time, the Greeks had no concept of the separation of church and state, making the environment of Delphi as much of a political as well as religious one.
Secondly, when visiting the oracle, most people already knew the answer to their question or willed the answer they wanted out of the oracle in their interpretation of the prophecy or through bribery. Offerings were made to the god (or sometimes even to the priest or Pythia herself) as a way to manipulate the oracle into providing a favorable outcome. Individuals used the oracle as a scapegoat when they didn’t want to make hard decisions and decided the answers to their own questions by interpreting the prophecy in the way they so chose (this usually ended up being beneficial for themselves). Not all prophecies were at first acceptable to the subject and in such an instance, a Greek would not accept an answer that conflicted greatly with his interests. The receiver of an ominous or displeasing oracle would then usually appeal to the god with even more gifts or sacrifices in the hopes that he would receive a better prophesy the second time around. With the “direction” of Apollo, the people visiting the oracle indirectly decided their own consequences.
In conclusion, the site visit to Delphi was extremely interesting and I discovered many things about Greek paganism that I had not previously known, but in spite of all this new knowledge, I feel compelled to say that the most important lesson I learned today is that not everything I see in movies is real.
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