The Oracle: Real or Myth?

Valerie Willis
Aug 8, 2024
6 min read

Oracles have been some of the most mesmerizing characters in roleplaying games like Dungeons & Dragons, in books who foretell events within Fantasy and Science Fiction work like The Last Oracle by James Rollins, and even in the movie 300 where she warned of the fall of Sparta. At the core of it all, many will say the traditions of the oracle was part of Greek and Roman mythology. Visitors to Delphi, Greece are honored to visit the physical location of where long ago The Oracle of Delphi sat upon the Sibyl Stone to give her predictions. Was she real or myth? Upon writing my novel, The Oracle, book three of The Cedric Series, I stumbled upon some amazing discoveries!

The word oracle is a late 14th century term, which makes its creation almost a thousand years late after the fall of the last known oracle(2,6). The term as we know it today implies a median or messenger from god or fortune teller. Chasing the origins of the word, pass its Old French starts as a temple or house prayer, beyond the Latin oraculum to mean divine announcement and find ourselves at the root of a long forgotten out of date language. Here we uncover the foundation, orare, though still found in the Spanish language, which is defined as to plead or beg. Old or Archaic Latin, a foundation in which Latin and Romance languages were built upon, has vocal usage which predates its earliest known written forms dating in the seventh century BC on a belt buckle(3).

This leads me to reveal the correct title during the age in which they existed, never called them oracles. Instead, the proper word would be sibyl. If we venture back into the word itself, the ancient Dorian (Yes, older than Archaic Latin) word siobolla meaning “divine wish” which was adapted to being sibylla in ancient Greek as the official term for a woman possessed by powers of prophecy (7). Ah, so now we are getting to the proper root of the matter. Oracle is a new term, far from the proper title given to them during the time they loved.

In the Beginning…

One of the more well-known oracles would be The Oracle of Delphi where a shrine to her dates as far back as 1400 BC. This fact is rather throwing since Greek Mythology was first introduced orally during the “Age of Heroes” during the 11th century BC during the Bronze Age(4). A three-hundred-year gap stands between Oracles and Greek Mythology! She had a shrine and devoted followers along with an established system for successors. We can only ponder as to why she wasn’t deemed a goddess herself, and wonder how the oracle in Delphi is devoted to Apollo? Wouldn’t that mean Apollo predates his own mythos? Honestly, it puts him being created in Delphi at the same time he is created in Celtic Mythology, but this obscure fact on Apollo will have to be saved for a later article!

Delphi, Greece

This location was first settled by small tribes in the Bronze Age, between 14-11th BC at around the same time the language which gave birth to the word itself was developed. If you feel like this name feels familiar, note that this is one of the pivotal locations for the Olympics since the 20th Century, and before that, the Pythian Games. The location became subject to Roman rule in 191 BC(5), and it was here that the location was targeted for ransacking of treasuries and the scrutiny of Christian practices. Visiting the area today, you can see Mt. Parnassus and remnants of the temples on its plateau. The two significant locations here is the Sibyl Stone and Treasury of Apollo. At one point, Delphi was the center of the world for many ancient people and at its core was the oracle or sibyl. By the 8th century BC, the oracle was an internationally known, the most famous of Oracles being Pythia, or at least best documented.

Vapors would seep out of the earth and springs, chemicals inducing a hallucinogenic state and even ecstasy. The fumes were cold, boiling out of the Castalian Springs at her feet, under her tripod stool in which she sang, mumbled, and spoke her prophecies. It was sealed, or blocked off, after the temple fell apart the last Roman raid. This is the speculated reason why many believe the oracle finally lost her hold on the world when the fumes lost their potency. Volcanic activities are not uncommon deep under the ground in this area with even Mt. Vesuvius just across the Ionian Sea notorious for wiping out Pompeii and Herculaneum. Regardless, modern geologists have confirmed intoxicating fumes seeping up through the limestone and springs in the area.

The First Oracle & the Sibyl Stone

The stone is named in compliments of the first oracle, referred to as the Sibyl. Her real name was Herophile(6) though she is associated with several more. It was here in the beginning when the oracle was originally a speaker on behalf of Gaia herself. Herophile, the great prophetess who lived on the plateau of Mt. Parnassus had earned herself quite the reputation for her accuracy. She stood upon a chunk of stone where she would dictate her predictions and later the sacred stone would be rightfully named the Sibyl Stone. Sadly, most of the books and tomes in which recorded the many predictions were destroyed in fires. Many of them had been kept in Rome, but the fires in 84 BC and 69 AD would later devour what would have been left behind by the first oracle Herophile.

Despite it, there are some written pieces within the Sibylline Collection(8) which has a wonderful translated digital file who can download. She was a priestess of Gaia, and who knows if she was aware her home would turn into a landscape of temples and treasuries. Her famous abilities shocked the world countless times and even now, many speculate her words are dubiously places within the pages of the religious books in which have withstood time (8). These buildings depicted Apollo and his sister Artemis battling giants and monsters alike. One can’t help but wonder if Herophile was Artemis herself. Mind you, she predates the Christianity and written Greek Mythology.

Greek & Roman Influences

During the Dark Ages and into Ancient Greece (12th century BC to 1st century BC), an alliance of tribes in Greece tasked themselves with defending the oracles in Delphi. The oracles shifted their own devotion from Gaia to Apollo to appeal to their protectors at this stage. Their influence was so great, they were depicted on Greek money early on in their ascension. Many kings and rulers travelled far and wide to see the oracle on the Sibyl stone and later within the Temple of Apollo. It was perhaps a way the tribes had kept under the radar or waived from being completely pummeled by the turmoil unfolding.

Herophile and her successors were noted to have written nine books and a Sibyl had brought it to the Roman King Tarquinius. She demanded three hundred pieces of gold for them. When denied, the Romans unsure of what the books were, she threw three into the fire. Later, she approached again with the other six, demanding the same price. It was here the king humored her, looking over the tomes only to be astonished by the predictions. Thus began Rome’s relationship with the oracle and the rise of a new wave of honoring and relishing them. Again, these six tomes and those commissioned after the initial buy were later loss in fires. Regardless, the oracle once again proved she was fully capable of securing her own future with her own ability. This was an epitome of feminine power in a time where very little seemed to be evident.

Downfall of the Oracle

The biggest discrepancy and conflict is when did the oracle fade from the world. One fact remains consistent: the sibyls were wiped out by Julian the Apostate, the Christian emperor who flipped back to paganism and then turned to them to aid him in his efforts. Not just one, but several sibyls refused to aid him or provide one prophecy to him. In the translated Sibylline Collection, Book 12, line 316 predicts the coming of Julian and his destruction of many men. Perhaps this prior prophecy is why the oracles of his time had refused to aid him (8). Outraged, Julian funded a campaign to wipe out all known sybils and their temples. The reign of the oracle fell, the last shrine emptied in 390 AD by the order of the Christian Emperor Theodosis(6) where the shrine was leveled.

The sibyls were an order of soothsayers who shook the world, spanning the Bronze Age, the Dark Ages, Ancient times, and traversed through the Age of Antiquity. Their followers came from a mixture of backgrounds from paganist Sabine tribes to Persian royalty to Christian Emperors. The Oracle of Delphi should be seen as an umbrella term for the nameless faces who foretold and forewarned the world of what was to come. If you wish to discover more, I highly encourage you visit Sacred Texts and download the translated Sibylline books for yourself. The information provided in this article is a collaboration of many sources from history, myth, translations, and even the very etymology of the words involved.