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Pythia
Sign in to saveAlso known as Oracle of Delphi, Delphic Oracle, Pythoness
Pythia (; ) was the title of the high priestess of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi in central Greece. She served as its oracle and was known as the Oracle of Delphi. Her title was sometimes historically glossed in English as the Pythoness.
Pythia was the high priestess of Apollo's temple at Delphi in ancient Greece, who served as the Oracle of Delphi and was believed to deliver divine prophecies. She was one of the most influential religious figures in the ancient Greek world, consulted by rulers and ordinary people seeking guidance about the future.
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18 sectionsContents
- Name
- Origins
- Organization of the Oracle
- Priestess
- Other officiants
- Oracular procedure
- Experience of supplicants
- Temple of Apollo
- Scientific explanations
- Fumes and vapors
- Excavations
- Illusions in the ''{{Lang|grc-latn|adyton}}''
- See also
- Citations
- General and cited references
- Ancient sources
- Modern sources
- External links
Pythia (; ) was the title of the high priestess of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi in central Greece. She served as its oracle and was known as the Oracle of Delphi. Her title was sometimes historically glossed in English as the Pythoness.
The Pythia was established at the latest in the 8th century BC (though some estimates date the shrine to as early as 1400 BC), and was widely credited for her prophecies uttered under divine possession (enthusiasmos) by Apollo. The Pythian priestess emerged as pre-eminent by the end of the 7th century BC and continued to be consulted until the late 4th century AD. During this period, the Delphic Oracle was the most prestigious and authoritative oracle among the Greeks, and she was among the most powerful women of the classical world. The oracle is one of the best-documented religious institutions of the classical Greeks. Authors who mention the oracle include Aeschylus, Aristotle, Clement of Alexandria, Diodorus, Diogenes, Euripides, Herodotus, Julian, Justin, Livy, Lucan, Nepos, Ovid, Pausanias, Pindar, Plato, Plutarch, Sophocles, Strabo, Thucydides, and Xenophon.