The Legends
There are some very famous myths about the Oracle of Delphi. Delphi itself has many legends centered around it- like being the center of the world; Apollo's sacred city. But the legend about how the chain of Oracles started- around 1400 BC- says that the Oracle of Delphi had godly power.
Apollo was a popular god. There were always people bringing him gifts and praying to him, and he was just about as exhausted by the people as he was honored. He simply could not keep giving these prophecies- it was taking too much out of him. Apollo decided he needed someone to speak the prophecies for him, to be his voice to the people, to share his power of the future... someone like an Oracle. The Greeks had many Oracles, but never one that Apollo himself gave power to. Apollo shared his power with a maiden that would begin the line of the Oracles of Delphi. It came with a catch, though: the woman would basically live in the temple, always offering prophecies that she could never answer yes or no to. Her prophecies were often vague. It was hard to tell what the Pythia meant.
Other myths state that Apollo had just killed a python when the oracle chain began. He had rid the world of the horrible monster causing chaos on earth. After Apollo slew the demon, he cast the body into a river. He then brought his high priestess to breath in the fumes coming from a chasm that was the "center of the universe" and she went into a frenzied state, but she could then see the future. He called this priestess, and the Oracles to come the Pythia, in honor of the python he had slain. It was said that the fumes coming from the chasm were the python's remains.
Another myth about Apollo's temple at Delphi was that, along with the Oracle, one of the most important things there was a stone. The stone was supposedly the rock that Kronos, lord of the titans, swallowed whole instead of baby Zeus.
As myth goes, when Rhea ( a titian goddess) gave birth to her six children- the Olympian gods- Kronos took them and swallowed them whole because he heard a prophecy that his son would overthrow him. He wasn't going to let that happen. Rhea was disgusted by this, so when she gave birth to Zeus, her youngest, she fed Kronos a rock wrapped in blankets and hid Zeus away until adulthood. Being immortal gods, Zeus's siblings (Poseidon, Hades, Hera, Demeter and Hestia) were growing up in Kronos's stomach. When Zeus was fully grown, he tricked Kronos into drinking a mixture of mustard and wine. He regurgitated his children and the rock that Rhea fed him when he thought he was eating Zeus. Legend has it, that very rock was and still is at the temple of Apollo at Delphi.
There are some pretty strange myths about the Oracle of Delphi. Some locals may still tell you they are true---that the Oracle's spirit was reincarnated from life to life...
Apollo was a popular god. There were always people bringing him gifts and praying to him, and he was just about as exhausted by the people as he was honored. He simply could not keep giving these prophecies- it was taking too much out of him. Apollo decided he needed someone to speak the prophecies for him, to be his voice to the people, to share his power of the future... someone like an Oracle. The Greeks had many Oracles, but never one that Apollo himself gave power to. Apollo shared his power with a maiden that would begin the line of the Oracles of Delphi. It came with a catch, though: the woman would basically live in the temple, always offering prophecies that she could never answer yes or no to. Her prophecies were often vague. It was hard to tell what the Pythia meant.
Other myths state that Apollo had just killed a python when the oracle chain began. He had rid the world of the horrible monster causing chaos on earth. After Apollo slew the demon, he cast the body into a river. He then brought his high priestess to breath in the fumes coming from a chasm that was the "center of the universe" and she went into a frenzied state, but she could then see the future. He called this priestess, and the Oracles to come the Pythia, in honor of the python he had slain. It was said that the fumes coming from the chasm were the python's remains.
Another myth about Apollo's temple at Delphi was that, along with the Oracle, one of the most important things there was a stone. The stone was supposedly the rock that Kronos, lord of the titans, swallowed whole instead of baby Zeus.
As myth goes, when Rhea ( a titian goddess) gave birth to her six children- the Olympian gods- Kronos took them and swallowed them whole because he heard a prophecy that his son would overthrow him. He wasn't going to let that happen. Rhea was disgusted by this, so when she gave birth to Zeus, her youngest, she fed Kronos a rock wrapped in blankets and hid Zeus away until adulthood. Being immortal gods, Zeus's siblings (Poseidon, Hades, Hera, Demeter and Hestia) were growing up in Kronos's stomach. When Zeus was fully grown, he tricked Kronos into drinking a mixture of mustard and wine. He regurgitated his children and the rock that Rhea fed him when he thought he was eating Zeus. Legend has it, that very rock was and still is at the temple of Apollo at Delphi.
There are some pretty strange myths about the Oracle of Delphi. Some locals may still tell you they are true---that the Oracle's spirit was reincarnated from life to life...