Oracle

An oracle is a person or persons considered to be the source of wise counsel or prophetic opinion; an infallible authority, usually spiritual in nature. It can also be a prediction of the future, from deities, that is spoken through another object or life-form. In the ancient world many sites gained a reputation for the dispensing of oracular wisdom: they too became known as "oracles", as did the oracular utterances themselves, whose very name is derived from the Latin verb orare, to speak.

Ancient civilizations

China

Oracles were common in many civilizations of antiquity. In China, the use of oracle bones dates as far back as the Shang Dynasty, (1600 BC - 1046 BC). The I Ching, or "Book of Changes", is a collection of linear signs used as oracles that dates from that period. Although divination with the I Ching is thought to have originated prior to the Shang Dynasty, it was not until King Wu of Zhou (1046 BC-1043 BC) that it took its present form. In addition to its oracular power, the I Ching has had a major influence on the philosophy, literature and statecraft of China from the time of the Zhou Dynasty (1122 BC - 256 BC).

Egypt

Another oracle of note lay in Egypt, in a temple dedicated to Amun, whom the Greeks associated with Zeus. Alexander the Great once visited it, and although no record of his query remains, the oracle is thought to have hailed him as Ammon's son, influencing his conceptions of his own divinity.

Greece

File:Pythia1.jpg

Aegeus, a mythical king of Athens, a supplicant to the Pythia, the Delphic Oracle, who sits on a tripod. An inscription on the cup identifies the Pythia as the goddess, Themis. Tondo of an Attic red-figure kylix, by the Kodros painter, ca. 440-430 BCE, now in the Berlin Museum (Berlin Mus. 2538), This is the only contemporary image of the Pythia.

After a long tradition began in prehistoric times, serving as an oracle for previous deities derived from the great goddess, the pre-eminent ancient oracle—the Delphic Oracle—operated at the temple of Delphi. The temple was changed to a center for the worship of Apollo during the classical period of Greece and priests were added to the temple organization although the tradition regarding prophecy remained, and the apparently always-female priest continued to provide the services of the oracle.

She exerted considerable influence throughout Hellenic culture. The Greeks consulted her prior to all major undertakings, wars, the founding of colonies, and so forth.

The semi-Hellenic countries around the Greek world, such as Lydia, Caria, and even Egypt also respected her and came to Delphi as supplicants. Croesus of Lydia consulted Delphi before attacking Persia, and according to Herodotus was told, "If you do, you will destroy a great empire." Believing the response favorable, Croesus attacked, but it was his own empire that was ultimately destroyed by the Persians.

She also allegedly proclaimed Socrates to be the wisest man in Greece, to which Socrates said that, if so, this was because he alone was aware of his own ignorance.

In the 3rd century, the oracle (perhaps bribed) declared that the god would no longer speak there.

Dodona another prehistoric oracle devoted to the Mother Goddess identified at other sites with Rhea or Gaia, but here called Dione. The shrine of Dodona was the oldest Hellenic oracle, according to the fifth-century historian Herodotus and, in fact, dates to pre-Hellenic times, perhaps as early as the second millennium BC. It became the second most important oracle in ancient Greece, which later was dedicated to Zeus and to Heracles during the classical period of Greece.

During the period, on Crete lay another important oracle, sacred to Apollo. It ranked as one of the most accurate oracles in Greece.

Mexico

In the migration myth of Aztec mythology, a mummy-bundle (perhaps an effigy) is carried by four priests who regard it as an oracular consciousness. Many interpret the corpse as representing an aspect of the mythical deity Huitzilopochtli.

Scandinavia

In Norse mythology, Odin took the severed head of the mythical god Mimir to Asgard for consultation as an oracle.

Tibet

In Tibet, oracles have played, and continue to play, an important part in religion and government. The word "oracle" is used by Tibetans to refer to the spirit that enters those men and women who act as media between the natural and the spiritual realms. The media are, therefore, known as kuten, which literally means, "the physical basis".

The Dalai Lama, who lives in exile in northern India, still consults an oracle known as the Nechung Oracle, which is considered the official state oracle of the government of Tibet. Another oracle he consults is the Tenma oracle, for which a young Tibetan woman is the medium. The Dalai Lama gives a complete description of the process of trance and possession in his book Freedom in Exile. [1].

External link

Documentary about Tibetan oracles by David Cherniack