Apollos Oracle at Delphi Essay -- ancient Greek beliefs and prophecies

The prophesier of Apollo at Delphi is shrouded in figment and mystery, but one thing is certain, their prophetic influence stretched far and wide and was bad in shaping Greece. Neither war nor boundary was determined without conferring the Delphic illusionist first. The Oracle of Apollo was held in high regard by the likes of Plutarch, Plato, Aristotle, and Diodorus (Broad 10). The Trojan war and Theban War were in part responses to the Oracles forecasts (Fontenrose 4). The Delphic Oracle shaped the decision of Spartans and consulted the Hellenic states at the time of the Persian War (Fontenrose 6). For well over a millennium, devotees would continue to seek the Delphic Oracles counsel. The Grecian legacy is riddled with her prophecies. Delphi, Greeces relative geographic location is in the philia of Greece. According to Richard Haywood, its location could literally be the reason that the Delphic Oracle was near the halfway of Greek life for centuries (112). Delphi was inhabited as archaean as the Bronze Age. The Oracles existence is believed to have appeared as early as the 8th century BCE (Scott 11). Several stories exist to explain the origins of Delphi. One myth says that Zeus released two eagles from opposite ends of the world and they met at Delphi signifying the geographic center of the earth (Scott 36). Another myth claims the word Delphi was obtained directly from a Greek word meaning womb, indicating the birthplace of the world (Scott 36). However, the Homeric anthem to Apollo written between the late 7th century BCE and mid-sixth century BCE tells the tale of Delphis genesis in a different light.According to the Homeric tale, Apollo travelled throughout Greece in search of the perfect site for his temple. H... ...s future, creating a bleary-eyed line between the real and fantastical. Fact and fiction continues to cohabitate in the effortless debate and rituals of Modern Greece and it is quite possible that the Delphic Oracle is to cheers and/or to blame. Works CitedBroad, William J. The Oracle The Lost Secrets and Hidden Message of antediluvian patriarch Delphi. New York Penguin, 2006. Print.Fontenrose, Joseph Eddy. The Delphic Oracle, Its Responses and Operations. Berkeley U of California. Print.Haywood, Richard. THE DELPHIC ORACLE. Archaeology 5.2 (1952) 110-18. JSTOR. Web. 25 whitethorn 2014. .Lehoux, Daryn. Drugs and the Delphic Oracle. Classical World 101.1 (2007) 41-56. Web.Scott, Michael. Delphi a History of the Center of the antique World. Princeton Princeton UP, 2014. Print.