Ancient prophecies, echoes from Delphi
Oracular prophecies.
On the cult of Apollo, but specifically, on a historical / mythological element connected to the ancient oracular prophecies.
‘World Heritage Site’ UNESCO
Temple of Apollo in Delphi has been the most important religious site dating back to the 4th century BC.
Famous and well known throughout all the ancient world for its oracles and a vehicular center for the cult of Apollo in all ancient Greece, located in the region of the Omphalos (the so-called “navel of the world”)
Kings, famous men, war generals, normal people and also Socrates itself reported their demand to Apollo’s priestesses in this specific site.
Evidences comes from documents found by archaeologists in adjacent areas , where priests lived and kept the inventory of taxes and offers to be paid for each request to the god.
According to one of the many hystorical versions related to the nature of this place, Typhon, in Greek mythology, personified earthquakes and volcanic eruptions as well as the ideal of madness and irrational delirium, and was originally the owner of Delphi temple area!
Apollo killed it and let the brilliant Hyperion (the Sun) transform this dark-clouded demon into a python.
A snake, which symbolically represented knowledge.
This is where the term ‘Pythia’ is coming from (Πυθία, Pythía). The mythological figure of the snake Python is therefore modeled on the more archaic figure of Delfina, partly taking up some attributes, but i want you to focus on the oracular aspects.
Typhon was the owner of this area, now conquered by Apollo, who established his cult and his connection with mankind through his priestesses.
Apollo also becomes the symbol of victory over madness as well as the connection point of all these symbolic elements (Madness, Snake, Sun, Rationality).
States of trance induced the Pythia to release the prophecy as the voice of Apollo.
Sacred liturgy with various rituals, the expectations and the enthusiasm of the supplicants themselves, helped to make the Pitia reach the state of mystical exaltation.
During those states of altered consciousness, pythia had the faculty to expose symbolic sentences existing in a fragment of collective memory.
