Pythia and the Oracle at Delphi

The Oracle at Delphi was an ancient shrine on the mainland of Greece, a cult sanctuary to the god Apollo where for over 1,000 years, people could consult the gods. A seeress known as Pythia was the religious specialist at Delphi, a priestess/shaman who enabled supplicants to understand their dangerous and disorderly world with the direct help of a celestial guide and lawgiver.   Key Takeaways: Pythia, the Oracle at Delphi Alternate Names: Pythia, Delphic oracle, Delphic Sibyl  Role: The Pythia was an ordinary woman chosen at the Festival of the Stepteria from the village of Delphi by the Amphictyonic League. The Pythia, who channeled Apollo, served for life and remained chaste throughout her service.Culture/Country: Ancient Greece, perhaps Mycenaean through the Roman empirePrimary Sources: Plato, Diodorus, Pliny, Aeschylus, Cicero, Pausanias, Strabo, Plutarch  Ã‚  Realms and Powers: Most famed and important Greek oracle from at least the 9th century BCE to the 4th century CE Delphic Oracle in Greek Mythology The earliest surviving story about the founding of the Delphic oracle is in the Pythian section of the Homeric Hymn to Apollo, probably written in the sixth century BCE. The tale says that one of the first tasks of the newborn god Apollo was to set up his oracular shrine. Ruins of Delphi, home of the most famous oracle of ancient times, with the Phocis Valley in the background. Ed Freeman / Getty Images In his search, Apollo first stopped at Telphousa near Haliartos, but the nymph there didnt want to share her spring, and instead, she urged Apollo on to Mount Parnassos. There, Apollo found the place for the future Delphic oracle, but it was guarded by a fearsome dragon named Python. Apollo killed the dragon, and then returned to Telphousa, punishing the nymph for not warning him about Python by subordinating her cult to his.   To find a suitable priest class to tend the shrine, Apollo turned himself into a massive dolphin and leaped onto the deck of a Cretan ship. Supernatural winds blew the ship into the Corinthian gulf and when they reached the mainland at Delphi, Apollo revealed himself and ordered the men to establish a cult there. He promised them that if they performed the right sacrifices, he would speak to them—basically, he told them if you build it, I will come.   Who Was Pythia? While most of the priests at Delphi were men, the one who actually channeled Apollo was a woman—an ordinary woman chosen when necessary at the Festival of the Stepteria from the village of Delphi by the Amphictyonic League (an association of neighboring states). The Pythia served for life and remained chaste throughout her service. On the day when visitors came to get her advice, the priests (hosia) would lead the current Pythia from her secluded home to the Castalia spring, where she would purify herself, and then she would slowly ascend to the temple. At the entrance, the hosia offered her a cup of holy water from the spring, then she entered and descended to the adyton and took a seat on the tripod.   Entranceway (Cella) to the Adyton at Delphi. MikePax / iStock / Getty Images Plus The Pythia breathed in the sweet and aromatic gasses (pneuma), and achieved a trance-like state. The head priest relayed questions from the visitors, and the Pythia responded in an altered voice, sometimes chanting, sometimes singing, sometimes in wordplay. The priest-interpreters (prophetai) then deciphered her words and provided them to the visitors in hexameter poetry.   Achieving an Altered Consciousness The Roman historian Plutarch (45–120 CE) acted as the head priest at Delphi and he reported that during her readings, the Pythia was ecstatic, sometimes considerably agitated, bounding and leaping about, speaking in a harsh voice, and intensely salivating. Sometimes she fainted, and sometimes she died. Modern geologists investigating the fissures in Delphi have measured the substances emanating from the crack as a potent combination of ethane, methane, ethylene, and benzene.   Other possible hallucinogenic substances that might have helped the Pythia achieve her trance have been suggested by various scholars, such as laurel leaves (probably oleander); and fermented honey. Whatever created her connection to Apollo, the Pythia was consulted by anyone, rulers to common people, anyone who could make the journey, provide the necessary monetary and sacrificial offerings, and perform the required rituals.   Traveling to Delphi Pilgrims would travel for weeks to get to Delphi on time, mostly by boat. They would disembark at Krisa and climb the steep path to the temple. Once there, they participated in several ritual procedures.   Each pilgrim paid a fee and offered a goat to be sacrificed. Water from the spring was sprinkled on the goats head, and if the goat nodded or shook its head, that was seen as a sign that Apollo was willing to pass along some advice.   Pythias Role in Mythology The oracle at Delphi was not the only oracle in Greek mythology, but it was the most important and appears in several related tales including that of Herakles who visited and got into a battle with Apollo when he attempted to steal the tripod; and Xerxes who was driven off by Apollo. The site wasnt always considered sacred—Phocians plundered the temple in 357 BCE, as did the Gallic chieftain Brennus (d. 390 BCE) and the Roman general Sulla (138–78 BCE). The Delphic oracle remained in use until 390 CE when the last Roman emperor Theodosius I (ruled 379–395) shut it down. Architectural Elements at Delphi   The religious sanctuary at Delphi contains the ruins of four major temples, multiple sanctuaries, a gymnasium and amphitheater where the quadrennial Pythian games were performed, and several treasuries where offerings to the Pythia were stored. Historically, statues of the gods and other works of art were at Delphi, including golden images of two eagles (or swans or ravens), plundered from Delphi by Phocian invaders in 356 BCE.   Aerial drone overview photo of the Temple of Apollo and the switchbacked pathway up the hill. Delphi, Voioitia, Greece. abdrone / Getty Images Plus The archaeological remains of Apollos temple where the Pythia met Apollo were built in the 4th century BCE and earlier temple remnants date to the 6th and 7th centuries BCE. Delphi is tectonically active—there were major earthquakes in the 6th century BCE, and in 373 BCE and 83 BCE.   The Oracles Structures According to the myth, Delphi was chosen because it was the site of the omphalos, the navel of the world. The omphalos was discovered by Zeus, who sent out two eagles (or swans or ravens) from opposite ends of the earth. The eagles met in the sky above Delphi, and the location was marked by a conical stone shaped like a beehive. The Omphalos (Navel of the World) of Delphi, ancient site of Delphi, Greece. zinchik / Getty Images Plus Inside Apollos temple was a hidden entryway (cella) in the floor, where the Pythia entered the adyton (forbidden place) in the basement of the temple. There, a tripod (three-legged stool) stood over a fissure in the bedrock that emitted gases, the pneuma, sweet and aromatic emanations that led the Pythia into her trance.   The Pythia sat on the tripod and breathed in the gases to reach an altered state of consciousness where she could commune with Apollo. And in a trancelike state, she answered enquirers questions.   When Was the Oracle at Delphi Active? Some scholars believe that the Delphic oracle was established long before the 6th century, a cult at least as old as the end of the 9th century BCE, and perhaps dated to the Mycenaean period (1600–1100 BCE). There are other Mycenaean ruins at Delphi, and the mention of slaying a dragon or snake has been interpreted as documenting the overthrow of an older, female-based cult by the patriarchal Greek religion. In later historical references, that story is wrapped into a tale of the oracles origins:  Delphi was established by the earth goddess Gaia, who passed it to her daughter Themis and then to the Titan Phoibe, who passed it on to her grandson Apollo. There are multiple strands of evidence that a woman-centered mystery cult existed in the Mediterranean region long before the Greeks. A late remnant of that cult was known as the ecstatic Dionysian Mysteries.   Appearance and Reputation   The religious sanctuary of Delphi is perched on the south slope of the foothills of Mount Parnassos, where limestone cliffs form a natural amphitheater above the Amphissa valley and the Gulf of Itea. The site is approached only by a steep and winding path from the shoreline.   The oracle was available for consultation one day each month for nine months in a year—Apollo did not come to Delphi in the winters when Dionysus was in residence. The day was called Apollos Day, the seventh day after the full moon in spring, summer, and fall. Other sources suggest different frequencies: every month, or only once a year.  Ã‚   Sources Chappell, Mike. Delphi and the Homeric Hymn to Apollo. The Classical Quarterly 56.2 (2006): 331–48.  de Boer, Jelle Z. The Oracle at Delphi: The Pythia and the Pneuma, Intoxicating Gas Finds, and Hypotheses. Toxicology in Antiquity. 2nd ed. Ed. Wexler, Philip: Academic Press, 2019. 141–49.  Hard, Robin. The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology. London: Routledge, 2003.  Harissis, Haralampos V. A Bittersweet Story: The True Nature of the Laurel of the Oracle of Delphi. Perspectives in Biology and Medicine 57.3 (2014): 351–60.  The Homeric Hymn to Apollo. Trans. Merrill, Rodney. A Californian Hymn to Homer. Ed. Pepper, Timothy. Washington, DC: Center for Hellenic Studies, 2011.  Salt, Alun, and Efronsyni Boutsikas. Knowing When to Consult the Oracle at Delphi. Antiquity 79 (2005): 564–72.  Sourvinou-Inwood, Christiane. Delphic Oracle. The Oxford Classical Dictionary. Eds. Hornblower, Simon, Antony Spawforth and Esther Eidinow. 4th ed. Oxford: Ox ford University Press, 2012. 428–29.

Building A House Or A Building - 1713 Words

Building a family is, in many ways, similar to building a house or a building. It needs to be made of a strong material, like bricks, to protect the family. In addition, the building needs to have a good support material to keep the bricks from a falling out of places, like mortar or cement. Families have similar needs to make them work as well. The father figure is seen as the bricks because they are generally classified as the provider and protector of the family; the person to earn the paycheck and to keep them for starving. The mother figure is one to keep everyone together and take care of the children making sure they know how to behave. Members of today’s families fall less into these gender based roles but they still operate in much the same manner unless like one of the pillars of the family is absent. More commonly it is the mother who raises the family with the father being absent but in the case of my twin cousins’ family it is the mother who is absent and t he father has to raise his children by himself. As he raised my cousins, he had to learn that his strong dominant ways were not always the best way to go about certain situations; it was trial and error for him to learn how to act as both a father and a mother. My cousin Jakob’s wife, Minna, disappeared when their twin son and daughter, Rafael and Zelda, were nine years old; I was 10 at the time and was, and still am, very close to the twins. Minna, from my understanding, was not abducted and didn’t abandonShow MoreRelated BUILDING A HOUSE Essay664 Words   |  3 Pages Building A House nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The process of building a house is a very complex and difficult task. In the following paragraphs, I will be explaining the many different steps that are required to build a house. 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International Student Organization Free Essays

International student organization. East Carolina University is a university with enrollment around 30,000 students; 299 of them is international students from 67 countries. When students choose to attend the university; they begin a new part of life. We will write a custom essay sample on International Student Organization or any similar topic only for you Order Now Many students go to study in other cities, and some students go to other countries. America is a very popular and high-class education that is valued all over the world, and of course a lot of students from other countries want to get a degree here. People in different countries behave differently: religion, ethnicity, geographic location and quality of life plays an important role in the behavior of people. Therefore, students that come to America from other countries have more difficulty than those who were born and raced here. Foreign students need time to adjust to a different culture, a different language, and many other things. A possible way for international student to deal with the complexities of ECU joins the International Student Organization (ISA). The ISA help international students understand American culture and feel more like at home by having festivals, shopping and field trips and a lot of different events. The ISA , one of over 200 student organizations at ECU, is mostly composed of foreign exchange students, or students who were not born in America although. The meetings and club are open to anyone who wants to join. The main reason it was setup was to give international students an opportunity to gain a greater understanding of the American culture in part through a campus experience, and also to offer non-international ECU students, with an interest in one cultures, knowledge and experience in working with individuals from other backgrounds. It also allows international and American students to share experience and learn about other cultures at personal point of view. The ISA cooperating with International House provides a special orientation for international students through the â€Å"First friend program† (FFP) so that new students do not feel lonely. International Ports O’Call stage of PirateFest The International student organization was involved in many activities and events. One of the biggest events in which ISA was involved in was the Pirate festival. PirateFest gives international students a chance to share their culture to help others understand them etter. This â€Å"annual event celebrates eastern North Carolina’s rich history steeped with famous pirates, including the infamous Blackbeard and Greenville’s own Pirates of ECU† (Mike Davis), and encourages people to wear pirate regalia-hats, swords, and eye patches. The festival is held over two days and is composed of different stages, each of which represents a different event. The event feature food, art and crafts vendors and also musical and stage performers. Historical trolley tours stage is a very useful and interesting part of the festival because it’s a great way to move around the festival especially for international students who do not know the location of streets in the city. One of the most interesting stages for international students was the â€Å"International Ports O’Call† because includes music, food, and attractions from nations around the world, and it will definitely help international students to feel more like at home and make it hard to forget about their culture. For international students who are coming to study in another country it is hard to find friends. It is not easy to get used to the different behavior of people and be open to new acquaintances. Therefore, and in cooperation with ISA the international house created the program called â€Å"First friend program†(FFP). To be involved in FFP both mentor and mentee must fill out an application, which has questions that help determine the background, interests, preferences and other information needed to help decide the best mentee-mentee match. The FFP is really easy because by filling out an application you know that you’ll meet someone who has same interests as you. The FFP helps international students to adjust to life at ECU as quickly and smoothly as possible, and also enhance satisfaction with their academic and social experience. This program is very useful for students because they will not feel lonely and homesick, they are able to meet new friends and also international students can learn the nuances of culture from the inside, as well as be more successful in learning. Besides homework, tests and grades, a student social life is fun, but it is not always easy to find entertainment that are always enjoy. Many international students don’t have a car and therefore their possibilities are limited, but the international house â€Å"every Friday makes shopping trips†(William Mallett). Drivers take students where they want to go and take them back to residence after shopping. Also every Thursday students can go to greenway excursions. Playing sports and socializing in the fresh air, very useful and at the same time you can see new parts of the city as well as make new friends. Most people believe that studying in a different country is a privilege because they are able to experience other cultures, and learn from them. However, in the United States it is not as good as they thought because International students have much more pressure being in this country, and sometimes they cannot handle it very well. Therefore, in the United States the life of an international student is very unfavorable if people compare it to the life of an American student. International students have to learn a new language to study, they cannot work while studying, and their tuition is much more expensive. When people moves to the United Stated to study they imagine that it will be very helpful, and they believe that learning a new language will not be a problem. However, when they really start studying their major, they find out that it is not easy since people have to really understand and appreciate the language. International students have to really learn English, and they have to know how to write it in order to have success. Also, for them to have success in university they have to participate in class, and analyze an amount of readings, and because they are international students, it is very difficult to achieve since they believe that Americans are going to laugh at them or make jokes of them if they say something incorrectly. For example, some Americans do not realize sometimes how hard is for international students being in a different country, with different people, learning a new language, and experiencing different cultures, so some of them do not really appreciate the effort that international students put on being in the United States. It’s way more pressure for international students. They have to have good grades and work as hard as possible, because if not people back home going to put a lot of shame on them and their parents. Studying in different country it is always competition for international students, but if students choose right University where people care about international students and trying to help it shouldn’t be that hard. International student organization definitely helps students from other countries feel more comfortable and less homesick, so they can you do best in classes to compete with other student on the same level. Work cited. Mike,Davis. â€Å"Arrrgh you ready for Pirate Fest? † East Carolinian, 12 April 2012 . Web. 1 November. Mallet,William â€Å"International Student Organization. † 30 october. 2012 MALLETTW@ecu. edu Personal page Office of International Affairs www. ecu. edu/intlaffairs/ How to cite International Student Organization, Essay examples

My Romeo and Juliet Essay Example For Students

My Romeo and Juliet Essay Romeo and Juliet Married Happily Ever-After?!?Many will speculate about this question, others may guess., but you have to look at the facts in order to correctly judge these two young lovers fate. Let us start with the basics in solving this equation and some information about the characters. Romeo and Juliet have married, but what are the chances that they will live happily ever-after? RomeoJulietMONTAGUE- his father CAPULET- her fatherLADY MONTAGUE- his motherLADY CAPULET- her motherBENVOLIO- their kinsman NURSE to JulietABRAM- a Montague servingmanTYBALT- kinsman to the CapuletsBALTHASAR- Romeos servingmanPERCRUTIO- Tybalts companionMontagues and CapuletsBoth have their differencesBoth really hate each otherBut you know what they say about opposites dont you? Well this is a good example of that never forgotten theory. They were like a magnet and a paperclip when they first met each other, both have never seen anyone more beautiful than each other in their lives! It was love at first site. But Romeo has had his troubles with girls in the past. He has just gotten out of a terrible relationship with a Montague named Rosaline, she told him that she didnt loved him any more. This, of coarse, broke his heart. Romeos friends try to get him to find another girl and be free of this depression, so they go to a Capulets masquerade party disguised with their masks. There he meets the ever-so beautiful Juliet. Aahh yes, Juliet, she is as beautiful as the sun as Romeo says. Oh, but Juliet is having a little bit of trouble too. She is getting pressured by his family to start thinking about marrying someone and doing this, and doing that.she feels very confused right now. Her mom wants her to marry a man named Paris, but she really doesnt know yet Anyways, they meet in a masquerade party and they really like each other. They like each other so much that they really dont care that they are from different households. Later after the party, they meet each other again under Juliets balcony and decide to secretly get married the next day by a man named Friar Lawrence. Lawrence thinks that this marriage will finally bring the feuding families togetherThere, now you know the facts, but you must understand the hate that these two families have for each other. They have had many fights in the streets of Verona that Prince Escalus says that if they fight again, that he will kill them. Tybalt wants to kill Romeo and Juliet doesnt want to marry Paris, but Paris doesnt know that, so if he finds out about this secret love of hers, he will be outraged. Tybalt doesnt want Romeo around any more, and this hate may cause a conflict that might get someone killed. Friar Lawrence thinks that this is a good idea for them to get married because he thinks that this will end the feud between the families. So much can happen in a short amount of time that may end the relationship quicker than it started.Words/ Pages : 513 / 24