Olympians
AphroditeApolloAresArtemisAthenaHadesHephaestusHeraHermesHestiaPoseidonZeusAll Olympians
Titans
AsteriaAstraeusAtlasClymeneCriusCronusDioneEosEpimetheusEurybiaEurynomeHyperionAll Titans
Greek Gods
AeolusAetherAmphitriteAnemoiApateAsclepiusAuraBiaChaosCirceDeimosDemeterAll Greek Gods
Myths
CreaturesElementsFiguresGigantesGreek MythsHeroesMonstersMortalsMoviesPlacesPlanetsPopularAll Myths
Plays
AeschylusAristophanesEuripidesSophoclesAll Plays
Ancient Sources
ApollodorusHomerHesiodAeschylusSophoclesEuripidesAristophanesApolloniusOvidPausaniasPindarAll Ancient Sources
Olympians
Olympians
AphroditeApolloAresArtemisAthenaHadesHephaestusHeraHermesHestiaPoseidonZeusAll Olympians
Titans
Titans
AsteriaAstraeusAtlasClymeneCriusCronusDioneEosEpimetheusEurybiaEurynomeHyperionAll Titans
Greek Gods
Greek Gods
AeolusAetherAmphitriteAnemoiApateAsclepiusAuraBiaChaosCirceDeimosDemeterAll Greek Gods
Myths
Myths
CreaturesElementsFiguresGigantesGreek MythsHeroesMonstersMortalsMoviesPlacesPlanetsPopularAll Myths
Plays
Plays
AeschylusAristophanesEuripidesSophoclesAll Plays
Ancient Sources
Ancient Sources
ApollodorusHomerHesiodAeschylusSophoclesEuripidesAristophanesApolloniusOvidPausaniasPindarAll Ancient Sources

Plutarch · c. AD 46-after 119

The Oracles at Delphi (On the Pythian Priestess)

Περὶ τοῦ μὴ χρᾶν ἔμμετρα νῦν τὴν Πυθίαν
Ancient Sources / Plutarch / The Oracles at Delphi (On the Pythian Priestess)

In Plutarch's dialogue on the Pythia (De Pythiae oraculis), a stranger from Greece, Diogenianus, is shown the offerings at Delphi by Philinus, Theon, Serapio and Boethus, and asks why the Pythian priestess no longer gives her oracles in verse. The tour of the treasuries, with their bronze palm, their statues and their stories, gives way to a discussion of how the god uses the prophetess, why the ancient oracles were poetic and obscure, and why the oracle of Plutarch's own day speaks plainly. It is cited for Delphic cult, the Sibyl, the Pythia and the offerings dedicated at the sanctuary.

Read from the start
Text
Greek original with English translation, 8 passages, about 11400 words in English.
Translator
John Philips (1874)
Edition
William W. Goodwin (ed.), Plutarch's Morals, translated from the Greek by several hands, vol. 3, Boston: Little, Brown and Company; Cambridge: Press of John Wilson and Son, 1874 (Greek text: Gregorius N. Bernardakis, Plutarchi Chaeronensis Moralia, vol. 3, Leipzig: Teubner, 1891, as digitised by Perseus)
Cite as
Plutarch, The Oracles at Delphi (On the Pythian Priestess) 1 (by chapter)

Contents · 8 passages

  1. 1–4A walk round the offerings at Delphi; the colour of the bronze1285 words
  2. 5–7The rough verses of the old oracles961 words
  3. 8–11Portents at Delphi, the Sibyl and the meaning of predictions1638 words
  4. 12–16The bronze palm of the Corinthians, Rhodopis and Croesus' baker1877 words
  5. 17–20Why the oracles are no longer in verse: prose oracles and the Pythia1521 words
  6. 21–23The soul as the god's instrument; the temper of the ancient prophetesses1617 words
  7. 24–27Speech like coin: why the old oracles were obscure1482 words
  8. 28–30The oracle of today: plain speech and the greatness of Delphi992 words

More by Plutarch

English translation by John Philips (1874). Original text: William W. Goodwin (ed.), Plutarch's Morals, translated from the Greek by several hands, vol. 3, Boston: Little, Brown and Company; Cambridge: Press of John Wilson and Son, 1874 (Greek text: Gregorius N. Bernardakis, Plutarchi Chaeronensis Moralia, vol. 3, Leipzig: Teubner, 1891, as digitised by Perseus).

Greek text and translation from the Perseus Digital Library, Tufts University, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Perseus Digital Library); translation public domain. Introductions, summaries and notes © GreekMythology.com.