For more than a thousand years the sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi, on the slopes of Mount Parnassus, was the place where cities, kings and private citizens went to ask the gods for advice. At the centre of this institution stood a female figure, the Pythia, through whom the god was believed to speak. Ancient sources allow us to reconstruct quite accurately how a consultation took place, although many details remain debated.
Who the Pythia was
The Pythia was a woman of Delphi chosen to serve the god. Later sources, in particular Plutarch, who was a priest at Delphi for many years between the end of the first and the beginning of the second century AD, describe her as a woman of modest standing, without special education, who once in office lived in purity. Plutarch also notes that in the past the Pythia had been a young woman, whereas in his day she was an older woman who nevertheless dressed like a maiden, in memory of the ancient custom.
In periods of greatest demand, again according to Plutarch, there were as many as three Pythias in service, two regular and one in reserve.
The calendar of consultations
Originally, according to the tradition reported by Plutarch, the oracle spoke only once a year, on the seventh day of the Delphic month of Bysios, considered the birthday of Apollo. Later consultations became monthly, always on the seventh day, except in the winter months, when Apollo was believed to be absent and the sanctuary was entrusted to Dionysus.
The stages of the rite
Putting the sources together, a consultation followed these stages:
- Purification. The Pythia bathed in the Castalian spring; the consultants purified themselves as well.
- Preliminary sacrifice. A goat was sprinkled with cold water: if the animal trembled, the day was propitious and the consultation could take place.
- Payment. The consultant paid a fee, the pelanos, and offered a sacrifice on the altar.
- Order of precedence. The citizens of Delphi and those who had obtained the privilege of promanteia went first.
- The adyton. The Pythia descended into the innermost part of the temple, sat on a tripod next to the omphalos, held a laurel branch and gave the response.
- The drafting. The priests and «prophets» of the sanctuary collected her words and delivered them, sometimes in verse.
Famous responses
Herodotus preserves some of the best-known responses, whose historical authenticity is debated but which illustrate the oracle's style well.
- Croesus, king of Lydia, asked whether he should attack the Persians. The answer was that, if he did, he would destroy a great empire. Croesus attacked, and the great empire destroyed was his own.
- To the Athenians, threatened by the invasion of Xerxes, the Pythia replied that only a «wooden wall» would save them. Themistocles interpreted the wall as the fleet, and the victory of Salamis proved him right.
Ambiguity was not a flaw but an essential feature: the response had to be interpreted, and responsibility for the choice remained with the one who had asked.
The question of the vapours
Some ancient authors, including Strabo, speak of a pneuma, a breath or vapour rising from a cleft in the ground and inspiring the Pythia. The French excavations of the late nineteenth century found no chasm beneath the temple, and for a long time the idea was considered a legend. In more recent years some geological studies have pointed to faults crossing the area of the sanctuary and possible gas emissions from underground springs. The debate remains open: it is plausible that the natural setting played a role, but there is no definitive proof of which substance was involved or to what extent.
Plutarch himself, in the dialogue On the Obsolescence of Oracles, discusses the possibility that the inspiring breath had weakened over time, thus explaining the oracle's decline.
The decline
With the rise of Christianity the sanctuary gradually lost importance. A late tradition attributes to the Pythia a last response addressed to the emperor Julian, announcing that Apollo no longer has a house or a prophetic laurel. The text is famous, but its authenticity is very doubtful. In any case, the laws of Theodosius against pagan cults at the end of the fourth century marked the end of oracular activity.
The meaning of Delphi
Delphi was not a place where the future was bought. It was a centre where the divine word was sought through long preparations, purifications and waiting, and where the answer then demanded reflection. Maestro Cornelio suggests reading it as a model of listening: the question asked with care, the silence before the answer, the responsibility of interpretation.
In short
- The Pythia was a woman of Delphi who, seated on the tripod in the adyton, gave voice to Apollo.
- Consultations took place on the seventh day of the month, at first once a year, then every month except in winter.
- The rite involved purification at the Castalian spring, the sacrifice of a goat, a fee and an order of precedence.
- The responses recorded by Herodotus show a deliberately ambiguous language.
- The hypothesis of natural vapours is debated and not definitively proven.
