Delphic Sibyl
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The Delphic Sibyl was a legendary figure who gave prophecies in the sacred precinct of Apollo at Delphi, located on the slopes of Mount Parnassus. According to a late source, her mother was Lamia, daughter of Poseidon[link]/ The Delphic Sibyl was not involved in the operation of the Delphic Oracle and should be considered distinct from the Pythia, the priestess of Apollo.
There were several prophetic figures called Sibyls in the Graeco-Roman world. The most famous Sibyl was located at Cumae.
Legends
There are several, not necessarily consistent, legends about the Delphic Sibyl:- Pausanias claimed ([10.14.1]) that the Sibyl was "born between man and goddess, daughter of sea monsters and an immortal nymph". Others said she was the sister or daughter of Apollo.
- The Sibyl came from the Troad to Delphi before the Trojan War, "in wrath with her brother Apollo", lingered for a time at Samos, visited Claros and Delos, and died in the Troad, after surviving nine generations of men. After her death, it was said that she became a wandering voice that still brought to the ears of men tidings of the future wrapped in dark riddles.
References
- Goodrich, Norma Lorre, Priestesses, 1990.
- Mitford, William, The History of Greece, 1784. Cf. Chapter II, Religion of the Early Greeks.
- Parke, Herbert William, History of the Delphic Oracle, 1939.
- Parke, Herbert William, Sibyls and Sibylline Prophecy, 1988.
- Pausanias, Description of Greece, (ed. and translated with commentary by Sir James Frazer), 1913 edition. Cf. v.5
- Potter, David Stone, [link], Prophecy and history in the crisis of the Roman Empire: a historical commentary on the Thirteenth Sibylline Oracle, 1990. Cf. Chapter 3.
- West, Martin Litchfield, The Orphic Poems, 1983. Cf. especially p.147.
External links
- [Suda: Delphic Sibyl] from Suda On-Line. The Suda is a 10th century Byzantine encyclopedia, incorporating earlier material.
- [Tim Spalding, "The Oracle of Delphi and ancient oracles"] An annotated guide.
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