The Ancient Oracles

The Ancient Oracles
Author: Richard Stoneman
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2011
Genre: Divination
ISBN: 9780300140422

For more than a thousand years, Greeks from all walks of life consulted oracles for guidance received directly from the gods. This colorful and wide-ranging survey encompasses the entire history of Greek oracles and focuses fresh attention on philosophical, psychological, and anthropological aspects of oracular consultation. It also examines how Greek oracles' practices were distinctive compared to those of their neighbors, especially in Egypt, Babylon, and Israel. Richard Stoneman weaves a fascinating historical tapestry, taking into account the different kinds of oracles (healers, advisors, prophets, and others), their most important sanctuaries, debates about them among ancient thinkers, and Christian attacks on them. Delving into the reasons behind the oracles' enduring position at the heart of Greek culture, Stoneman offers fresh insights into pagan religious practice and the history of Greek intellectual and spiritual life.

Oracles of the Dead

Oracles of the Dead
Author: Robert Temple
Publisher: Destiny Books
Total Pages: 480
Release: 2005-09-07
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 9781594770852

An examination of the shadow side of prophecy in human history and our attitudes toward fate and predicting the future • Explores the divinatory techniques and traditions of classical Greece and Rome as compared with ancient China • Contains new information concerning the location of the Greek Oracle of the Dead at Baia • Shows how the latest discoveries in science may validate the system of the I Ching • First U.S. Edition of Netherworld Many methods for predicting the future, such as tarot, runes, the I Ching, and other divinatory oracles, can be traced back to ancient cultures. In Oracles of the Dead Robert Temple examines the Greek and Roman traditions and techniques of divination and compares them to those of ancient China. He reveals the real physical location of the "hell" of the ancient Greeks--known in antiquity as the Oracle of the Dead and used for séances intended to contact the spirits of the dead--and provides photographs from his explorations there. Relating them to the ancient belief in the Oracle of the Dead, Temple examines the various mysteries associated with Delphi and the other oracles of the ancient world and explains how they were used to allow visitors to experience contact with the divine. Furthermore, his examination of the Chinese oracular system shows how the latest developments in science are validating the system of the I Ching.

Oracles, Curses, and Risk Among the Ancient Greeks

Oracles, Curses, and Risk Among the Ancient Greeks
Author: Esther Eidinow
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 533
Release: 2007-10-04
Genre: History
ISBN: 0199277788

A study of the question tablets from the oracle at Dodona and binding-curse tablets from across the ancient Greek world, These tablets reveal the hopes and anxieties of ordinary people, and help us to understand some of the ways in which they managed risk and uncertainty in their daily lives.

The Sibyls

The Sibyls
Author: Mama Zogbé
Publisher: Lulu.com
Total Pages: 160
Release: 2007
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0971624569

What is now currently the 'holy seat of the Vatican' in Italy, was originally the sacerdotal seat of these ancient black Sibyl Queen Mothers. Centuries before for Christ, they were known to heal the sick, restore dignity and strength to the weak, and restore sight to the blind. They were famous for curing lameness, epileptics, deaf mutes and lepers. They were said to 'cast out demons' and even to 'raise-up the dead' Their prophecies are the oldest and most authentic in the world. They were the basis for Greek and Roman tragedies and plays. More astonishing, their prophetic books were later collected by the Roman authorities, who needed a 'western theological' foundation in order to compete with the powerful levitical Jews. These Sibyl prophecies soon became the sole and undisputed precursor to the western, Christian Bible. .

The Oracles of Apollo

The Oracles of Apollo
Author: John Opsopaus
Publisher: Llewellyn Worldwide
Total Pages: 200
Release: 2017-07-08
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 0738752258

Throughout history, divination has been an important tool for seeking guidance from the gods. Fortunately, several classical divination systems are available to us again today. The Oracles of Apollo shows how to use two rediscovered divination systems: the Alphabet Oracle, a system that uses the ancient Greek alphabet, and the Counsels of the Seven Sages, a series of 147 short, oracular statements that were inscribed on tablets at Delphi. This book shares divination techniques and rituals—including the use of alphabet stones, dice, staves, beads, and coins—and interpretations of the outcomes to help you integrate the wisdom of the gods and goddesses. These oracles were originally designed thousands of years ago to provide insights into practical matters and deeper issues...and they can be used again today.

Omens and Oracles

Omens and Oracles
Author: Matthew Dillon
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 487
Release: 2017-07-14
Genre: History
ISBN: 1317148967

Addressing the role which divination played in ancient Greek society, this volume deals with various forms of prophecy and how each was utilised and for what purpose. Chapters bring together key types of divining, such as from birds, celestial phenomena, the entrails of sacrificed animals and dreams. Oracular centres delivered prophetic pronouncements to enquirers, but in addition, there were written collections of oracles in circulation. Many books were available on how to interpret dreams, the birds and entrails, and divination as a religious phenomenon attracted the attention of many writers. Expert diviners were at the heart of Greek prophecy, whether these were Apollo’s priestesses delivering prose or verse answers to questions put to them by consultants, diviners known as manteis, who interpreted entrails and omens, the chresmologoi, who sang the many oracles circulating orally or in writing, or dream interpreters. Divination was utilised not only to foretell the future but also to ensure that the individual or state employing divination acted in accordance with that divinely prescribed future; it was employed by all and had a crucial role to play in what courses of action both states and individuals undertook. Specific attention is paid in this volume not only to the ancient written evidence, but to that of inscriptions and papyri, with emphasis placed on the iconography of Greek divination.

Classical Athens and the Delphic Oracle

Classical Athens and the Delphic Oracle
Author: Hugh Bowden
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 212
Release: 2005-05-05
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780521823739

The Delphic Oracle was where, according to Greek tradition, Apollo would speak through his priestesses. This work explores the importance placed on consultations at Delphi by Athenians in the city's age of democracy. It demonstrates the extent to which concern to do the will of the gods affected Athenian politics, challenging the notion that Athenian democracy may be seen as a model for modern secular democratic constitutions. All the known consultations of the oracle by Athens in the period before 300 BC are examined, and descriptions of consultations found in Attic tragedy and comedy are discussed. This work provides a new account of how the Delphic oracle functioned and presents a thorough analysis of the relationship between the Athenians and the oracle, making it essential reading both for students of the oracle itself and of Athenian democracy.

Greek Oracles (Routledge Revivals)

Greek Oracles (Routledge Revivals)
Author: H. W. Parke
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2015-04-07
Genre: Greece
ISBN: 9781138015579

Greek Oracles, first published in 1967, presents an iintroduction to an often under-acknowledged aspect of the ancient world: its religion.From the individual with a reputation for divination to a priesthood officially recognised by the state, the wide field of prophecy was dominated by its traditional oracular centres, pre-eminently Delphi.Conclusions are based on an examination of this latter oracle throughout the thousand years when Graeco-Roman religious culture was oriented towards prophecy.

The Oracles of the Ancient World

The Oracles of the Ancient World
Author: Trevor Curnow
Publisher: Bristol Classical Press
Total Pages: 248
Release: 2004-03-25
Genre: History
ISBN:

Ranging from Abai to Zeleia, from massive temples in Egypt to modest tombs in Turkey, oracles were a major feature of the religions of many ancient cultures until their demise under the Christian Roman emperors. This work is a guide to all the known oracles of the ancient world. The greater part of it is devoted to an alphabetical listing providing details of nearly 300 sites in more than 25 countries where oracles of one kind or another functioned in antiquity. The text is extensively cross-referenced and illustrated, and supplemented by indexes, a glossary, and a substantial introduction.