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

The prophesier of Apollo at Delphi is shrouded in romance and mystery, exactly one thing is certain, their prophetic influence stretched far and wide and was evil in shaping Greece. Neither war nor boundary was determined without conferring the enigmatic prophesier 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 classical 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 Hellenic legacy is riddled with her prophecies. Delphi, Greeces relative geographic location is in the totality of Greece. According to Richard Haywood, its location could literally be the reason that the Delphic Oracle was near the concentrate of Greek life for centuries (11 2). Delphi was inhabited as early(a) 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 chronicle of Delphis genesis in a different light.According to the Homeric tale, Apollo traveled throughout Greece in search of the perfect site for his temple. H... ...s future, creating a clouded line between the real and fantastical. Fact and fiction continues to cohabitate in the workaday debate and rituals of Modern Greece and it is quite possible that the Delph ic Oracle is to sycophancy and/or to blame. Works CitedBroad, William J. The Oracle The Lost Secrets and Hidden Message of antiquated 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 may 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.