Delphic Oracle Sparknotes
Most of the information about the history and the origins of the Delphic Oracle comes from the work of Parke and Wormell, which is considered to be the most representative on this field; this does not mean that work of other scholars is not being presented.
To begin with, according to an ancient myth, one day Zeus wanted to determine the exact centre of the earth. So, he released two eagles from opposite ends of the world. The place where the two eagles would meet would be the centre of the earth, the omphalos or the navel of Gaia. And this place was Delphi, on the south – western spur of mount Parnassus in the valley of Phocis, in Greece.
Ancient Greek literature gives us information about the foundation of the Oracle. In particular, the …show more content…
His work Eumenides begins with the Priestess of Apollo praying before entering the sanctuary. After that, she narrates how Apollo came from Delos to occupy his temple, in peaceful mood. Here there is no mention of previous owners of the place, not of monstrous serpent that the god had to slay in order to be the ultimate ruler. As Parke observes, «this account is chosen by Aeschylus because it exactly suits the tone of his play.» The main theme of the play is the triumph of law over violence and therefore, Apollo’s slaying of the serpent and the forcible occupation of the shrine by him would seem inappropriate for the prologue.
On the other hand, the violent and forcible occupation of the shrine by Apollo is presented in Euripides’ Iphigenia in Tauris, where the author wishes to glorify Apollo, without exalting his dignity. The Chorus describes how Apollo, still a baby, slaughtered the monstrous serpent, entered the holy shrine and sat on the golden tripod, distributing prophesies from gods to mortals. But when Apollo had driven Themis, the daughter of Earth, from the sacred place, Earth decided to take revenge by sending in the night prophetic dreams to humans. Then Apollo asked Zeus for help and he stopped Earth’s dream oracles by restoring Apollo’s domination in the place.
At in all, the myth of Apollo slaying the monstrous serpent underwent various changes and there
To begin with, according to an ancient myth, one day Zeus wanted to determine the exact centre of the earth. So, he released two eagles from opposite ends of the world. The place where the two eagles would meet would be the centre of the earth, the omphalos or the navel of Gaia. And this place was Delphi, on the south – western spur of mount Parnassus in the valley of Phocis, in Greece.
Ancient Greek literature gives us information about the foundation of the Oracle. In particular, the …show more content…
His work Eumenides begins with the Priestess of Apollo praying before entering the sanctuary. After that, she narrates how Apollo came from Delos to occupy his temple, in peaceful mood. Here there is no mention of previous owners of the place, not of monstrous serpent that the god had to slay in order to be the ultimate ruler. As Parke observes, «this account is chosen by Aeschylus because it exactly suits the tone of his play.» The main theme of the play is the triumph of law over violence and therefore, Apollo’s slaying of the serpent and the forcible occupation of the shrine by him would seem inappropriate for the prologue.
On the other hand, the violent and forcible occupation of the shrine by Apollo is presented in Euripides’ Iphigenia in Tauris, where the author wishes to glorify Apollo, without exalting his dignity. The Chorus describes how Apollo, still a baby, slaughtered the monstrous serpent, entered the holy shrine and sat on the golden tripod, distributing prophesies from gods to mortals. But when Apollo had driven Themis, the daughter of Earth, from the sacred place, Earth decided to take revenge by sending in the night prophetic dreams to humans. Then Apollo asked Zeus for help and he stopped Earth’s dream oracles by restoring Apollo’s domination in the place.
At in all, the myth of Apollo slaying the monstrous serpent underwent various changes and there