According to Herodotus' account, it was to the Necromanteion that Periander, the 6th century BC tyrant of Corinth, sent legates to ask questions of his dead wife, Melissa.
[4] Ritual use of the Necromanteion involved elaborate ceremonies wherein celebrants seeking to speak to the dead would start by gathering in the ziggurat-like temple[5] and consuming a meal of broad beans, pork, barley bread, oysters, and a narcotic compound.
[2][6] Following a cleansing ceremony and the sacrifice of sheep, the faithful would descend through a chthonic series of meandering corridors leaving offerings as they passed through a number of iron gates.
The nekromanteia would pose a series of questions and chant prayers and the celebrants would then witness the priest arise from the floor and begin to fly through the temple through the use of theatrical cranes.
[6] An archaeological site discovered in 1958 and excavated during 1958–64 and 1976–77 was identified as the Necromanteion by archaeologist Sotirios Dakaris based on its geographical location and its similarities to descriptions found in Herodotus and Homer.