Oracle

An Oracle is traditionally a locus where divine or supernatural beings speak to mortals and may give answers to their questions. The term was sometimes applied to the deity or being associated with a particular site and occasionally to the seer or priest of that entity.

The most famous Oracle was that of Delphi in Greece, where a seeress, called the Pythoness, sat on a tripod over a chasm from which noxious vapors emerged. The original oracular being here was the Python, a supernatural entity which dwelt in the chasm and spoke through the Pythoness. Later the Python was defeated by the god Apollo, who took its place as the oracular deity. This change probably reflects a tribal conquest, as the Indo-European light god Apollo also presided over prophecy for the first Greeks, while the Python was an indigenous pre-Greek deity. In the Winter months the Mycenaean / Minoan deity Dionysus became the oracular deity in place of Apollo who departed for Hyperborea.

Other Greek Oracles included that of Zeus at Dodana, and a chthonic oracle at Ephirus, an artificial 'cave', where the shades of the dead were evoked through Necromancy and questioned by priests. This latter example was probably the oldest, and may have derived from neolithic ancestor worship. The most famous Egyptian Oracle was that of Amun. Oracles such as these were primarily a Mediterranean phenomenon where over 50 major Oracle centers have been identified.

In modern terms the term oracle has been extended to refer to any system of divination in which questions can be asked and answers swiftly received.