Posted on 07/25/2010 5:49:29 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
Researchers at the University of Leicester have unravelled a 2,700 year old mystery concerning The Oracle of Delphi -- by consulting an ancient farmer's manual. The researchers from the School of Archaeology and Ancient History sought to explain how people from across Greece came to consult with the Oracle... on a particular day of the year even though there was no common calendar... celestial signs observed by farmers could also have determined the rituals associated with Apollo Delphinios. Postgraduate student Alun Salt said: ..."I was playing around with a planisphere while suffering from insomnia. This is when I noticed that the constellation Delphinus would have been rising in the eastern sky in late December and early January. This is the same time that some cities were sacrificing to Apollo Delphinios. I wondered if ritual events could use the same system described by Hesiod. The problem was that January wasn't the time Apollo Delphinios was questioned at Delphi. Delphi was a month late compared to other cities. I knew the cliffs at Delphi would delay the rising of Delphinus there, but I didn't know by how much... The event still happens, about a month later these days because of the way the Earth's movement in the heavens has changed since ancient times. The big problem is light pollution. The stars of Delphinus are quite faint. You won't see them from Athens, and I don't know if the sky around Delphi is dark enough to make them out. It's a challenge for anyone at Delphi around the start of February."
(Excerpt) Read more at alunsalt.com ...
Dave Stotts is FUNNY too!
“This means that if you’re holding an early morning ritual like preparing to consult Apollo, and you want to see a constellation, you have to wait around a month after other cities with flat horizons.”
Which just goes to show that --
The Oracle at Delphi shall posterity confound.
What the researcher is saying is, that people who were nowhere near Delphi could use this method. :’) But thanks, it’s good to hear from someone who’s been there.
The starting point for understanding oracles and prophecy is still Julian Jaynes’ “Origin of Consciousness”.
Probably something to do with sandwiches, or soup, or maybe just cold cuts.
My pleasure. On Saturday I saw a car or maybe a small SUV with a personalized plate, something about Galt.
I always said that if I ever got married again, it would be to someone who knew the constellations.
Croseus was told there would be great victory.
In the breakdown of the bicameral mind ?
According to legend Alexander visited the Oracle before undertaking his great conquests. She refused a direct answer. Supposedly, he grabbed the Pythia by the hair and dragged her from her chamber. When she screamed, "let go of me; you're unbeatable," he let go and said, "now I have my answer."
We report, you decide.
Right, nobody normally remembers the whole title of that one.
The Origin of Consciousness
in the Breakdown
of the Bicameral Mind
by Julian Jaynes
Hardcover
Hardcover
Hardcover
Paperback
Paperback
Paperback
Unknown Binding
Pretty sure he wasn’t going to ravish her. :’)
I can’t say that I know them, but we have been introduced. ;’)
I agree there’s a problem in thinking the whole thing was always ‘auditory hallucinations’ but Jaynes at least gives us some idea of what prophecy meant and how it worked. There WAS a time when it actually worked but it stopped working before Alexander and has never worked again since then. Same thing with the Greek oracles.
Are you implying I'm not normal. :)
(time index set to the Delphi segment)Mysteries of the Ancient World - Myths and Legends (at 43:15)
March 13, 2016 | Questar Entertainment
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