GREEKS CONSULT THE ORACLE

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impossible for any ordinary mortal to foretell what will surely come to pass, men have always sought to reach the deity through those whom they believed are endowed with the spirit of divination. Among the Greeks this gift was believed to be possessed by the priestess in the temple of Apollo at Delphi, whose prophecies were regarded as revelations made by the gods to men.

Before Xerxes set out with his army from Sardis, while he was mobilizing his forces at Critalla, in Cappadocia, the patriotic leaders in Sparta and Athens secured the election of representatives to an assembly, which convened in the temple of Poseidon, on the isthmus of Corinth. This was the first pan-Hellenic military Congress. In order to ascertain the will of the gods, and peer a little way into the future, to divine the fate of Greece, a delegation was chosen to proceed to Delphi to consult the oracle.

It was the custom of the age, and as has been observed, had been the custom time out of mind, for man to seek aid of the supernatural. Even the Israelites, who first taught the doctrine of monotheism and worshipped Jehovah, a spirit invisible, eternal, unchangeable, approached him through the order of the priesthood; nor was any one, save the great high priest, ever permitted to enter the Holy of Holies. All the nations of the East consulted magicians, wizards, wise men, spirit-raisers, necromancers, soothsayers, and received revelations, either orally, or by signs; through the medium of dreams, or through communication with departed spirits. Even Saul, the first king of Israel, after he had banished the wizards, and witches, and spiritraisers from his Kingdom, consulted a witch, or female necromancer at Endor, on the eve of his last battle with the Philistines on the plains of Gilboa.

On the southern slopes of Parnassus, about six miles from the gulf of Corinth, stood the famous temple of Delphi, dedicated to the worship of Apollo, prophet

of Zeus. Within its mysterious precincts the Pythoness from the sacred tripod deriving inspiration from the vapors arising from the fountain Cassotis, which gushed from the crevasses of the rocks beneath, chanted her incantations which revealed the divine will, forecasting the decrees of fate, as traced on the web of futurity. She was clad in flowing robes, her hair was adorned with gold ornaments. Before entering upon the discharge of her sacred office, she performed the ceremony of purification. She then entered the cavern in the recesses of the temple, drank of the waters of the fountain Cassotis, tasted the fruit of the old bay-tree, growing beside this mysterious spring, and ascended the tripod, the seat of prophecy and divination.

Under the influence of the sacred vapors she inhaled, the Pythoness was soothed by dreamy sensations, followed by a state of ecstatic delirium. While in this condition of religious frenzy, she was translated in spirit to the domain of the supernatural, and held converse with the gods. She revealed what she heard in mysterious utterances, which were taken down by the priest of the temple, who reduced them to poetic form, usually hexameter verse. In this manner, the supposed utterances of the deity were revealed to the suppliant.

The custody of the temple was with a corrupt and venal priesthood, chosen from the wealthy families of Delphi. The suppliants in order to secure the divine favor were required to offer sacrifices, and place upon the altar costly gifts. When they approached the temple, they wore crowns of laurel, adorned with fillets of wool. The first response of the Delphic oracle, received by those who had been sent to learn the future of Hellas, was a great disappointment. The prophetic utterances were ominous, yet there seemed to be no good reason why the oracle should fill with despondency and blight the hopes of those patriots who sought the welfare of Greece, in the impending conflict with Persia.

PROPHETIC UTTERANCES

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It may be suggested, however, that at this period the power and influence of the priesthood was on the wane. As the spirit of democracy and free government developed among the Hellenes, the power of the priesthood measurably diminished. This is the language of the prophecy which the suppliants received from the priestess of the temple in answer to their humble petitions for light and guidance:

"O wretched men, why sit ye here? Fly to the ends of the earth, leaving your houses and the lofty summits of your wheelshaped city. For neither does the head remain firm, nor the body nor the lowest feet, nor the hands, nor is aught of the middle left, but they are all fallen to ruin.

"For fire and fleet Mars, driving the Syrian chariot, destroys it. And he will destroy many other turrets, and not yours alone; and he will deliver many temples of the immortals to devouring fire, which now stand dripping with sweat shaken with terror. From the topmost roofs, trickles black blood, pronouncing inevitable woe. But go from the sanctuary, and infuse your mind with courage to meet misfortune."

This deliverance was a cruel and savage onslaught aimed at the liberties of Greece. It foretold the failure of all patriotic efforts to resist the invasion of Xerxes, whose avowed purpose was to reduce the Hellenes to slavery. It wouldn't do at all. In sheer disgust and disappointment, the suppliants were about to return with their dismal report to their countrymen. But Timon, an influential citizen of Delphi, whose sympathies were with his countrymen, and who stood well with the aristocratic order of the priesthood, prevailed upon the pilgrims to remain and renew their prayers, and not depart until they had received more favorable responses from the gods. They accordingly continued their supplications, bringing other and further gifts to the altar. Figuratively speaking, they wrestled with the priests even as Jacob of old, according to the Hebrew records, wrestled with the angel. In due time a second utterance was received from the Py

thoness. It was but a slight improvement on the first. But in it, the genius of Themistocles read the deliverance of Greece. He interpreted the "wooden walls " referred to by the oracle to mean the Hellenic navy, given by Zeus, which should remain impregnable and at divine Salamis, through its instrumentality, the enemies of Hellas should perish. Here is the second prophecy.

"Pallas is unable to propitiate Olympian Zeus, entreating him with many a prayer, and prudent counsel. But to you again I utter this speech making it like adamant:

"When all is taken that the limit of Cecrops contains within it, and the recesses of divine Citharon, wide-seeing Zeus gives a wooden wall to the Triton-born goddess, to be alone impregnable, which will preserve you and your children. Nor do you quietly wait for the cavalry and infantry advancing in multitudes from the continent, but turn your back, and withdraw. You will still be able to face them.

"O divine Salamis, thou shalt cause the sons of women to perish, whether Ceres is scattered or gathered in.”1

In view of the interpretation of this oracle, as construed by Themistocles, although the enemy had burned the sacred temples on the Acropolis and taken their city of the Violet Crown, the people were still persuaded that their fleet was invincible. No possible harm could befall Salamis, which the Gods had declared was divine.

1 Herod. vii, 140-143.