Many people in the ancient Greco-Roman world sought oracles,"the response of a god to a question asked him by a worshipperor oracular shrine" (Oxford,754) for advice and the prediction of future events. Each oraclewas contacted and asked by the inquirer through a type of divinationspecified by the oracle. These specified types of divination allowedthe inquirer to foretell future events and to interpret ones ofthe past. How did these types of oracles and divination fit intothe Greco-Roman world? Did they always play a large role in thisworld?
Oracles can be divided into three broad categories based uponthe method of divination. These categories are Cleromancy (thecasting of lots), interpretation of signs of one sort or another,and oral divination. Cleromancy involves the casting of smallrocks or bits of wood dropped onto a surface from a vase, andwere mainly used at the Oracle at Dodona as well as the interpretationof signs (Zaidman, 121). Cited inthe Odyssey as the user of signs, this oracle was known to takeits response from the sacred oak. This method was later replacedby the interpreting of the murmur of the sacred spring or theechoes of a brazen song (Oxford,358). Another oracle that uses this method of divination is theOracle of Apollo at Claros. The Oracle of Apollo at Claros usedknucklebones or dice for casting lots.
The most primitive oracle, the interpretation of signs, includedinterpreting acts of nature such as thunder and other celestialphenomena, the trail left from sacrificial entrails or even theflight patterns and other behavioral instincts for birds. Theinterpretation of the acts of birds, augury, is the oldest typeof divination by the interpretation of signs (Oxford356).
The Oracle at Delphi usedoral divination: the most common form of seeking and receivingoracles. This oracle was contacted using the Pythia, a woman whodevoted her life to receiving and giving the responses of theoracle to the inquirer through a middleman. "The prophetes,who had already received the enquirer's question in verbal orwritten form, put it to the Pythia, and conveyed the answer back"(Parke, 84). This use of a person was also part of a type of divinationcalled prophecy. Prophecy involved using a divine or demonic possessedmedium or mouth piece (Oxford, 356). Another type of Oracle involving interpretation is a dreamoracle. People seeking assistance would travel to the oracle,ask the oracle and then proceed to the dormitory for incubation.This process required the inquirer to perform preliminary ritesbefore retreating and sleeping. During this sleep, the inquirerreceived a dream vision, which could either be understood by thedreamer or interpreted by a professional interpreter (Oxford,356). One vision from a dream oracle at Amphiraus was used topredict a future event:
The Minion who was sent to the oracle of Amphiaraus had, in his sleep there, a vision of a servant of the god who appeared to him and tried first to eject him by word of mouth, alleging that the god was not there; then next he tried to push him away with his hands, and, when the man persisted in staying, took up a large stone and smote him on the head. All this was in harmony, as it were, with events to come; for Mardonius was vanquished while the Greeks were led, not by a king, but by a guardian and deputy of a king; and he fell, struck by a stone just as the Lydian dreamed that he was struck in his sleep. (Plutarch, 412).
The most popular oracle that used dream oracles was the Oracleof Asclepius at Epidaurus.
The Oracle of Asclepius at Epidaurus was an oracle of healing.The oracle gave limited oracles of other sorts and rarely wassought to protect from shipwreck and other disasters. The inquirerhere participated in the ritual of incubation.
Ambrosia of Athens, blind in one eye. This woman came as a suppliant to the god. Walking in the sanctuary, she mocked at certain of the cures, claiming it was unbelievable that lame and blind people should have recovered their health merely by experiencing a dream. She incubated in the sanctuary and had a dream: the god appeared right up close to her and told her that he would cure her, but that she would have to pay in sacrifice a silver pig as a memorial of her foolishness. So saying, he made an incision in her sick eye and poured in medicine. The next morning she departed, cured. (Zaidman, 131). The oracle is believed to have contributed to the history ofmedicine. This oracle was popular in the fourth century becauseit provided a way for people to have a personal relationship withthe divine that they were unable to find in the state religion(Oxford, 129).
These oracles were not always popular. After many years offrequent use and consultation, the demand for oracles was declining.There was much speculation on the reason for this decline. Onereason was stated in Plutarch's Obsolescence of Oracles:
And regarding the oracle here at Delphi, the most ancient in time and the most famous in repute, men record that for a long time it was made desolate and unapproachable by a fierce creature, a serpent; they do not however put the correct interpretation upon its laying idle, but quite the reverse; for it was the desolation that attracted the creature rather than the creature caused the desolation. (Plutarch, 373)
The reason outlined above seems to be a fairly common one throughoutthe oracles. The inquirers at these oracles sought other methodsto contact the oracles for their needs. These methods includedcasting spells, similar to those found in the Greek Magical Papyri.
Spells requesting dream oracles are found throughout the PGM.The inquirer in hopes of receiving a dream vision recited thesespells. Other spells were for requesting a direct vision. Theincreased use of these spells resulted in the decline in the useof oracles. Overall, this decline increased the number of inquirerswho resorted to themselves and possibly a more individually basedrelationship with the Divine. This resort to individuals requestingthe Oracle themselves also allowed the inquirer to be sure thatit was up to his expectations. The other methods of Divinationusually involved a medium or an interpreter. This method allowedthe inquirer to present it himself to the Oracle. Over the years,the Oracles continued to decline until they became totally obsolete.
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