Have An Issue? Go See An Oracle! Quiz

Answer: Blindness

Tiresias was known as the blind prophet of Apollo. As a young man, he had an interesting encounter with a pair of snakes. After he hit them, the goddess Hera turned him into a woman for seven years before reversing the curse. After this, in a later argument where he sided with Zeus over Hera, she again cursed him. This time she made him permanently blind. Zeus, saddened by this, then granted Tiresias a very long life and the ability to foretell the future.

He was visited by many people and prophesized occurrences. He foretold the great deeds and labors that Heracles would someday perform. Tiresias also predicted that Narcissus would live a long life but would "fail to recognize himself". After consultation, he foretold of the downfall of Oedipus. Tiresias died after drinking tainted water but even in the afterlife his powers remained strong.

Answer: Oracle of Delphi

The Oracle of Delphi, for over a thousand years, was one of the most sought-after entities. The oracle was actually a priestess with the title of the Pythia. This was an ordinary woman from the local village (normally over 50 years old) who dedicated her life to serving the god Apollo. Visits, or consultations, were only held once a month and only for 9 months of the year. A visitor would be purified before asking the oracle anything.

The oracle would then go into a deep trance and would utter words that were translated by male priests. The words had to be carefully considered by the applicant. As an example, when King Croesus asked if he should attack Persia, the answer was that he "would destroy a great empire". Mistakingly thinking the oracle meant Persia, he attacked only to realize she meant he would destory his OWN lands.

Answer: Oak

The Oracle of Dodona, located in northwestern Greece, was considered the oldest oracle and was visited by many religious pilgrims. It was initially served by male priests described by Homer as going barefoot and sleeping on the ground to maintain constant contact with the Earth. They would listen to the rustling of a single sacred oak tree, believed to be the dwelling of Zeus. They also got divine messages from the cooing of doves.

People from all over the world came to seek advice. Even Alexander the Great was among the visitors. Thousands of questions, inscribed on small lead tablets, have been discovered at the site over the centuries. The sanctuary was shut down in 391-392 CE when Emperor Theodosius I banned all pagan religious activities and cut down the sacred oak tree!

Answer: Sleeping

Unlike oracles that used priestesses, this oracle was dedicated to the hero-turned-god Amphiaraus, who offered guidance through the personal visions of those who slept there. People would come and purify themselves in the nearby baths. They would then offer a sacrifice, usually a ram, before heading into the sleeping hall. Lying on their ram skins, they would sleep and dream. Amphiaraus would then appear in their dreams, providing the answer to their questions or a cure for their ailments.

Priests were there to guide the people through the process and to help interpret the dream answers. The site was visited by a Persian general and a king but also by many villagers in the surrounding areas.

Answer: False

This oracle was reported to be one of ancient Greece's most unusual and frightening sites. Here, pilgrims "met" the hero Trophonius in an underground chamber. The visitor would first lodge nearby for a required number of days, eating little. Then they would offer sacrifices and drink special water to help them clear their minds and get ready to remember the answers they would receive.

They would then sit on the ground and put their feet in a hole where suddenly they were "violently pulled" downward. Inside the dark, cramped space they would have nightmarish "talks" with Trophonius and his snakes. When they were catapulted back out, they would be raving and speaking incoherently. Priests would interpret their words to gain the answers.

Answer: In raving, unrhymed words

The Sibyls were legendary female seers who were inspired by the gods to reveal answers to pilgrims' needs. They were not necessarily tied to a single location but delivered prophecies at various holy sites. The answers were given in a state that sounded like lunacy or madness and were often in riddles or hard to understand. Interpreters would aid the visitors.

The Sibyls lived very long lives, sometimes even approaching one thousand years. There were upwards of ten to twelve of these women at any given time throughout the lands. One Sibyl in Turkey, according to Christian interpretation, predicted the coming of Jesus Christ and Sibyls appear alongside Old Testament prophets on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

Answer: Entrails

The importance of this oracle was closely tied to the renowned Olympic Games, which were held in honor of Zeus every four years. Athletes and others who wanted answers to questions would bring a sacrificial animal. The priests and seers would kill the animal on an altar to Zeus. They would then look into the flames and examine the entrails of the animal to gain an answer. The priests that "ran" this site were reported to be relatives of Apollo.

Interestingly, the Temple of Zeus at Olympia housed one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World: a monumental gold and ivory statue of the god, crafted by the sculptor Pheidias. While the statue was a religious focal point, the oracle itself operated separately, using the altar of Zeus.

Answer: Sacred spring

The name "Didyma" means "twins," which the Greeks associated with the twin deities Apollo and Artemis. The temple here was gigantic and enclosed a sacred spring that bubbled from the ground and a laurel tree. Only the priestess was allowed to go near these entities. Pilgrims and guests would provide their question in written form which would be given to the priestess.

She would then purify herself and sit on a swing suspended over the sacred spring and dip her foot or the hem of her dress into the water. She would then pronounce an answer which male priests would return to the original person who asked. This oracle flourished during the Roman periods, with Roman Emperors like Trajan and Hadrian visiting and donating to the site.

Answer: True

Whereas other oracles primarily used priestesses at the site, the Oracle of Apollo at Claros was exclusively for male priests. The sanctuary for the oracle was built around a freshwater spring in a subterranean chamber. Questions from pilgrims were whispered into the priest's ear and he would enter the dark, vaulted room.

Here he would drink from the water and receive divine inspiration from Apollo. He would deliver his answer in the form of an oral poem. Scribes would write this down and post it outside for viewing. These consultations always took place at night under the light of many torches. Germanicus, the Roman general and adopted son of Emperor Tiberius, visited the oracle in 18 CE and reportedly received a gloomy prophecy foretelling his early death, which occurred just a year later!

Answer: Trojan War

According to legend, Apollo fell in love with Cassandra and granted her the vision to see the future. However, when she spurned him he then cursed her with the fact that nobody would believe her, even when her prophesies were accurate.

Cassandra saw many future, horrific events around the Trojan War. She predicted that her brother Paris's journey to Greece to abduct Helen would lead to the destruction of Troy, but her warnings were ignored. She also warned the Trojans that the giant wooden horse left by the Greeks was a trick. She begged them to destroy it, but they ignored her also. They let the horse in and sealed their fate.