The Pythia

AKA: The Oracle at Delphi. (The Bus 3.28)

Jul 03, 2023

Welcome aboard The Bus!

The Stop

Located on the slopes of Mount Parnassus in central Greece, for centuries the Oracle at Delphi was a major religious and cultural centre. Dedicated to Apollo, people from all over the Greek world and beyond would travel to the site in search of messages delivered by the god through his priestess, the Pythia. Though the oracle’s prophecies and proclamations could be vague and even nonsensical, they were nevertheless highly respected and valued for their insights into the divine mind.1

Lycurgus Consulting the Pythia, Delacroix, 1835/45

Affecting everything from the outcome of wars to when farmers would plant their crops, the Oracle’s importance was established at its founding around 1400 BCE. Built around a sacred spring, from its earliest days Delphi was believed to be the omphalos – the centre (literally, the navel) - of the world. Chosen for her purity and piety, the Pythia would sit on a tripod spanning a chasm and inhale the vapours rising from it. Believed to be inspired by Apollo, the vapours would cause the Pythia to fall into a trance and she would then deliver the god’s messages. Frequently cryptic and ambiguous – explained as the result of her inability to always understand Apollo’s messages – the oracle’s answers often required translations from official interpreters who, of course, could easily obscure and twist the meaning of the Pythia’s pronouncements.

Derived from Pytho - the original name for Delphi, and referring to the sickly sweet smell emanating from the decomposing body of the serpent Python who was believed to live at the centre of the Earth before being killed by Apollo - the Pythia was believed to enter her trance ‘through the influence of volcanic fumes or hallucinogenic gases.’ Although the Delphic sanctuary lay ‘directly above two geological fault lines and the spring near the sanctuary contains ethylene, which can provoke hallucinations,’ there is no conclusive evidence as to whether the Pythia’s trances were induced through chemical exposure or were self-induced.

Regardless of the cause, for centuries successive Pythia would respond to questions from the faithful and ‘pronounce judgment and prophecy.’ Offerings of laurel branches, gold, and a sacrifice of a black ram, would be presented in the hope of obtaining a positive result. Arguments over the correct interpretations were common, but the ‘Oracle was always happy to give another prophecy if more gold was provided’ - one reason why Delphi became a ‘fantastic showcase of art treasures’ as the various Greek states would send rich gifts and build temples and outbuildings to ‘keep the Oracle on their side.’

Due to a lack of strict religious dogma, scholars would congregate at Delphi, and it ‘became a focal point for intellectual enquiry,’ as well as a place where rivals could meet for negotiation. Around the 4th century BCE, the importance of the Oracle began to wane when Delphi was conquered by the Romans, and though they allowed the Oracle to continue operating, it would never regain its original influence. This slow decline continued until finally, in the 4th century CE, the Oracle was closed when the Christian Roman Emperor Theodosius I proscribed paganism.

The Detour

Today’s Detour is to a short documentary from Vox (9:34): How Wes Anderson uses miniatures. It’s a great discussion with Simon Weisse, prop and model maker who worked with Anderson on his latest film, Asteroid City, about the renewed interest amongst filmmakers for miniatures rather than CGI. In a nutshell, the reason is scalability. It’s an interesting, fun watch - and, of course, contains some lovely behind-the-scenes look at some great special effects.

How Wes Anderson uses miniatures (Vox)

The Recommendation

Today’s Recommendation is Alasdair MacIntyre’s After Virtue: A Study in Moral Theory (1981). A survey of the state of modern ethical discourse, MacIntyre’s general thesis is that modern ethics fails because it is irrational and fails to admit as such. His suggested solution is to look to older forms of morality, in particular the Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle’s moral philosophy, as a way to fix this problem. A fascinating book (it was a favourite of mine in graduate school), it’s not an easy read, but is nevertheless interesting - especially his treatment of how heroic societies such as the Ancient Greeks defined virtue. Give it a try, if you’re so inclined!

From the back:2 When After Virtue first appeared in 1981, it was recognised at once as a significant and potentially controversial critique of contemporary moral philosophy. Reviewing it in the New York Review of Books, J. M. Cameron wrote, ‘It is something to have a book, devoted to certain quite central technical philosophical questions, which is likely to produce so passionate a response.’

After Virtue did provoke a passionate response. Robert N. Bellah, writing for Commonweal, called it ‘one of the most import books of the decade’; Richard Rorty: ‘a remarkable synthesis’; Newsweek: ‘a stunning new study of ethics’; John Gardner: ‘the best book of philosophy in years.’

Now, in a new chapter, Alasdair MacIntyre responds to the questions and considerations raised by the many admirers and critics who made After Virtue such a widely read and discussed work of philosophy. Taking into the account the dialogue generated by his book over the past three years, he elaborates his position on: the relationship of philosophy to history, the virtues and the issue of relativism, and the relationship of moral philosophy to theology. In doing so, MacIntyre sustains the claims of his central conclusions to rational justification and demonstrates further the accountability of philosophy to the world and times it seeks to describe.

The Sounds

Today’s playlist is a selection of five tracks which share an oracular theme: ‘False Prophet’ (Bob Dylan, 2020), ‘Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures)’ (The 5th Dimension, 1969), ‘The Tea Leaf Prophecy (Lay Down Your Arms)’ (Herbie Hancock and Joni Mitchell, 1988), ‘In the Year 2525’ (Zager & Evans, 1969) and ‘Future Proof’ (Massive Attack, 2003). Enjoy!

The Thought

Today’s Thought about the future is from the British economist, John Maynard Keynes (1893-1946):3

‘In the long run we are all dead.’

If you have a thought on this Thought - or any part of today’s issue - please leave a comment below:

The Bus