Oracle at Delphi - A trip to Apollo's Oracle at Delphi

Oracle at Delphi In layman's terms, the oracle at Delphi was a temple dedeicated to the ancient greek god Apollo, home to a priestess called Pythia, whom ancient Greeks consulted to get answers to their questions (in exchange for gold, cows and this kind of stuff). So, how exactly did the oracle at Delphi function? Pythia got stoned from the vapors rising from the Earth and by chewing laurel leaves (sorry, couldn't think of a more elegant way to say this) and after a while, she started to mumble stuff. The priests around her somehow managed to make out important stuff hidden in the waffle and told the message to whoever had asked. However, the messages given out by the oracle at Delphi were usually ambiguous. Example: Will I return victorious from the war? A great country will be destroyed (either your enemies' or yours!). See? Smart people. The oracle at Delphi was never accused of giving out false prophecies. It was the people that had "misinterpreted" them that were to blame. Ancient greeks also believed that the oracle at Delphi was situated in the exact center of the Earth. (hence the name "omphalos", that is, navel of the Earth). These guys at the oracle at Delphi were a tad bit off it seems, but hey, look what a nice "omphalos" thingey they had made. The musem where we learned all this cool stuff about the oracle at Delphi had lots of statues as well. This cute guy is Antinoos! And this is part of a ruined pillar. Visit the oracle at Delphi sometime, even if it's just to listen to the docents trying to find a polite way of saying that Pythia got high. ^_^ Relevant paid links about the Oracle at Delphi