List of oracular statements from Delphi

Some early oracular statements from Delphi may have been delivered to Lycurgus, the semi-legendary Spartan lawgiver (fl.

Some say that the Pythia also declared to him the constitution that now exists at Sparta, but the Lacedaemonians themselves say that Lycurgus brought it from Crete when he was guardian of his nephew Leobetes, the Spartan king.

[1]Both Xenophon and Plutarch also attribute to Lycurgus the introduction of a very cumbersome coinage made from iron (in order to prevent attachment to wealth).

In 594 BC, Solon, the Athenian lawgiver, seeking to capture the island of Salamis from Megara and Cirrha was told by the oracle: First sacrifice to the warriors who once had their home in this island, Whom now the rolling plain of fair Asopia covers, Laid in the tombs of heroes with their faces turned to the sunset,He did, and taking as volunteers 500 young Athenians whose ancestors came from Salamis, was successful in capturing the island that was to prove so important in later Athenian history.

Grasp the helm fast in your hands; you have many allies in your city.As a result, Solon refused the opportunity to become a revolutionary tyrant, and created a constitution for which he, and Athens, were justly honoured.

Through trial by jury, a graduated tax system and the forgiveness of debts he prevented a growing gap between the "haves" and the "have-nots".

He secured an Oath from the Athenian Council of Magistrates that if they violated these laws, they would dedicate a gold statue to the Oracle of Delphi of equal weight to themselves.

ὀδμή μ᾽ ἐς φρένας ἦλθε κραταιρίνοιο χελώνηςἑψομένης ἐν χαλκῷ ἅμ᾽ ἀρνείοισι κρέεσσιν,ᾗ χαλκὸς μὲν ὑπέστρωται, χαλκὸν δ᾽ ἐπιέσται.

The Pythia answered: ἀλλ᾽ ὅταν ἡμίονος βασιλεὺς Μήδοισι γένηται,καὶ τότε, Λυδὲ ποδαβρέ, πολυψήφιδα παρ᾽ Ἕρμονφεύγειν μηδὲ μένειν μηδ᾽ αἰδεῖσθαι κακὸς εἶναι.

[9] In Bacchylides' ode,[10] composed for Hiero of Syracuse, who won the chariot race at Olympia in 468, Croesus with his wife and family mounted the funeral pyre, but before the flames could envelop the king, he was snatched up by Apollo and spirited away to the Hyperboreans.

[12] Porphyry repeats the claim that she was the teacher of Pythagoras:[13] He (Pythagoras) taught much else, which he claimed to have learned from Aristoclea at Delphi.Herodotus at 1.66 in his history of the Persian Wars reports that the Spartans consulted Delphi about their plans to invade the lands of their neighbors, the Arcadians and their city of Tegea.

When the Prytanies' seat shines white in the island of Siphnos, White-browed all the forum – need then of a true seer's wisdom – Danger will threat from a wooden boat, and a herald in scarlet ..."In 480 BC, when Xerxes, the son of Darius the Great of Persia, returned to finish the job of conquering the Greeks in which his father had failed, the Athenians consulted the oracle.

When Athena approached her father to help her city, Zeus responded that he would grant that "a wall of wood alone shall be uncaptured, a boon to you and your children.

"[5] The oracle again advised the Athenians to flee: Await not in quiet the coming of the horses, the marching feet, the armed host upon the land.

Refusing to retreat, the entire Spartan contingent, including their King (as foretold), lost their lives, but in so doing gained immortal fame.

On the grounds that the oracle referred to the nearby island of Salamis as "holy", he claimed that those slain would be Greece's enemies, not the Athenians.

This claim is related to first of the Delphic maxims inscribed on the forecourt of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, Gnothi Seauton (γνῶθι σεαυτόν), "know thyself!".

"[19] In 403 BC, Lysander, the Spartan victor of the Peloponnesian War was warned to beware: Also the dragon (serpent), earthborn, in craftiness coming behind thee.

Troubles unlooked for long shall vex thy shore, And rolling Time his tide of carnage pour.

In roughly the same year, Xenophon, a student of Socrates, was encouraged to visit the Oracle for advice on whether to accompany 10,000 mercenary Greek soldiers on an expedition to overthrow the king of Persia.

[21] In 359 BC, Philip II of Macedon consulted the Oracle and was told: With silver spears you may conquer the world[citation needed] The king then sought to control the silver mines in the neighbouring Thracian and Illyrian kingdom, and using them to bribe his way to early victories, playing one Greek state off against the others, and isolating his enemies by bribes to potential allies.

Philip punished the Krissans, and consequently in 338 BC defeated the combined armies of the Athenians and the Spartans, thus becoming the dominant force in Greek affairs.

Alexander the Great visited the Delphic Oracle wishing to hear a prophecy that he would soon conquer the entire ancient world.

[23] Diogenes Laërtius recorded that when Zeno of Citium "consulted the oracle, as to what he ought to do to live in the most excellent manner, the God answered him that he ought to become of the same complexion as the dead, on which he inferred that he ought to apply himself to the reading of the books of the ancients.

Accordingly, he attached himself to Crates of Thebes...."[24] In 279 BC, plundered by a Celtic invasion, the oracle declared: Care for these things fall on me!The Celts were met by earthquakes, avalanches, and a massive snow storm, forcing them to retreat.

In 191 BC, the sanctuary of Delphi fell into the Roman sphere of influence, and the oracle generally supported the rise of Rome henceforth.

In 83 BC, Delphi was razed by an attack from the Thracian tribe of Maedi who extinguished the sacred fire which had been burning uninterrupted for centuries.

The Emperor Diocletian on consulting the oracle on the advice of Galerius was told that the sect of Christianity would lead to the destruction of the Empire.