The League of Delphi (The Delphi Trilogy #1) by Chris Everheart - Pythia, The Oracle of Delphi

The League of Delphi 

by Chris Everheart

 My review:

I liked this book very much! and luckily I could go strait into the 2nd one "The Delphi Deception" which I enjoyed too and now I am waiting for the next one to see to where Mr. Everheart will take me this time. The plot is so fast acting that you can't leave the book, cuz you really carious to find what next.

But before I'll go into the plot itself a few tings that i found and I think it really important facts before starting the reading itself:

*"The name Delphoi comes from the same root as delphys, "womb" and may indicate archaic veneration of Gaia, Grandmother Earth, and the Earth Goddess at the site. Apollo is connected with the site by his epithet Delphinios, "the Delphinian". The epithet is connected with dolphins .

**Apollo's sacred precinct in Delphi was a panhellenic sanctuary, where every four years, starting in 586 BC athletes from all over the Greek world competed in the Pythian Games, one of the four panhellenic precursors of the Modern Olympics.

***Delphi was the site of the Delphic oracle, the most important oracle in the classical Greek world, and became a major site for the worship of the god Apollo after he slew Python, a dragon who lived there and protected the navel of the Earth. Python (derived from the verb pythein, "to rot") is claimed by some to be the original name of the site in recognition of Python which Apollo defeated).

***Apollo spoke through his oracle: the sibyl or priestess of the oracle at Delphi was known as the Pythia- Though little is known of how the priestess was chosen, she had to be an older woman of blameless life chosen from among the citizens of the area.(e.g. can come from very well educated and noble family as well as from a poor or peasant family). The Pythia was probably selected, at the death of her predecessor, from amongst a guild of priestesses of the temple.

According to Plutarch said that the Pythia's life was shortened through the service of Apollo. The sessions were said to be exhausting. At the end of each period the Pythia would be like a runner after a race or a dancer after an ecstatic dance, which may have had a physical effect on the health of the Pythia. She sat on a tripod seat over an opening in the earth. When Apollo slew Python, its body fell into this fissure, according to legend, and fumes arose from its decomposing body. Intoxicated by the vapors, the sibyl would fall into a trance, allowing Apollo to possess her spirit. In this state she prophesied. It has been speculated that a gas high in ethylene, known to produce violent trances, came out of this opening, though this theory remains debatable. While in a trance the Pythia "raved" – probably a form of ecstatic speech – and her ravings were "translated" by the priests of the temple into elegant hexameters. People consulted the Delphic oracle on everything from important matters of public policy to personal affairs. The oracle could not be consulted during the winter months, for this was traditionally the time when Apollo would live among the Hyperboreans.

****Pneuma is an ancient Greek word for "breath," and in a religious context for "spirit" or "soul. In ancient Greek medicine, pneuma is the form of circulating air necessary for the systemic functioning of vital organs. It is the material that sustains consciousness in a body. This was the only thing that Mr. Everheart took some liberty and change the meaning.... and I don't care because its done so nicely with some good criticism to the pharmaceutical industry.

The book it very well written and as I said in the beginning it is a fast reading full of action the character of Zach is very likeable - smart young kiddo. The other figure that will intrigue you will be Larry.

As for females from some reason I found myself like Katie more then Ashley.

The Delphi Deception 

by Chris Everheart

My Review :

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Well I didn't change my mind - just love it....

It is smart fast enjoyable plot (please, read my previous review).... the characters that I like in the 1st book ... I still like....
and yes .... expect very interesting twists in the plot....
Mr. Everheart - I am glade that you use the fable of the frog and the scorpion.... and beside my love to fables it is so right to use them in connection to this book.

View all my reviews

11 May, 2014 - 11:55 dhwty

Perhaps one of the most famous prophecies uttered by the Oracle of Delphi is that of Croesus’ defeat by the Persian Empire. According to Herodotus, Croesus, the king of the Lydians wanted to know if he should wage war on the fledging Persian Empire. The reply he got was that he would destroy a great empire if he attacked Persia. Satisfied with this answer, Croesus prepared to invade Persia. Little did Croesus know that the ‘great empire’ referred to by the Oracle was not that of Persia, but his own. The rest, as they say, is history. While the authenticity of this story may be questionable, what is certain is that the Oracle of Delphi did exist.

Situated on the south-western spur of Mount Parnassus in the valley of Phocis, Delphi was associated with the Greek god Apollo. According to legend, the hill was guarded by a giant serpent called Python, who was a follower of the cult of Gaia (Earth), for hundreds of years. After killing Python, Apollo claimed Delphi as his own sanctuary. Perhaps this legend was a reflection of actual events. During the Mycenaean period (14^th-11^th centuries B.C.), there were small settlements in Delphi dedicated to the Mother Earth deity. Subsequently, the worship of Apollo was established between the 11^th and 9^th centuries B.C. By the 8^th century B.C., Delphi was already renowned internationally for the prophetic powers of the Pythia. Yet, it was only in the following century that the Oracle became a Panhellenic institution, when Apollo’s advice was sought by the Greek cities on important matters of state.

The Pythia was the name given to any priestess throughout the history of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. The priestess was a woman over fifty years of age, lived apart from her husband, and dressed in a maiden’s clothes. According to Plutarch, who once served as a priest at Delphi, the Pythia first enters the inner chamber of the temple (Adyton). Then, she sits on a tripod and inhales the light hydrocarbon gasses that escape from a chasm on the porous earth. This observation can be confirmed by modern geologists. After falling into a trance, she mutters words incomprehensible to mere mortals. These words are then interpreted by the priests of the sanctuary in a common language and delivered to those who had requested them. Nevertheless, the oracles were always open to interpretation and often signified dual and opposing meanings. This can clearly be seen in the case of Croesus. Yet, there are many other instances where the prophecies of the Pythia were ambiguous as well.

“Priestess of Delphi”, by John Collier. Photo source: Wikimedia.

For instance, according to Herodotus, one of the oracles given to the Athenians during the Persian invasion of 480 B.C. was “Far-seeing Zeus gives you, Tritogeneia (Athena) a wall of wood, / Only this will stand intact and help you and your children.” (Herodotus, The Histories, 7.141). While some Athenians interpreted this literally and concluded that the prophecy referred to the survival of the Athenian Acropolis (it was surrounded by a protective stockade in times past), other regarded the “wall of wood” as ships. However, the latter interpretation failed to make sense of the last two lines of the prophecy, “Blessed Salamis, you will be the death of mothers’ sons / Either when the seed is scattered or when it is gathered in”.

According to the official interpretation, if the Athenians were to engage the Persians in a naval battle, they were destined to lose. Despite this seemingly inauspicious omen, an Athenian commander called Themistocles decided to challenge the oracle by arguing that if the Athenians were doomed, the tone of the oracle would have been harsher. The Athenians were convinced, perhaps not by Themistocles’ interpretation, but by the fact that it would be better to fight the Persians, rather than not do anything, as seemingly suggested by the Oracle. As you may have guessed, the Athenians gained a decisive victory over the Persians, and was a turning point of the second Persian invasion of Greece.  

So, the next time you’re tempted to believe in prophecies, remember the story of Croesus, and the Athenian ‘wall of wood’. In the latter, the misinterpretation of a prophecy caused Croesus’ downfall, and demonstrates the challenges involved in interpreting prophetic statements. In the latter, by defying the prophecy of the Oracle and taking their fate into their own hands, the Greeks were able to turn the tide against the Persians, and saved themselves from destruction.

Featured image: "Delphic Oracle" Painting by Heinrich Leutemann. Image source: art-prints-on-demand.com
By Ḏḥwty

References

Ancient-Greece.org, 2014. Delphi. [Online]
Available at: http://www.ancient-greece.org/history/delphi.html
[Accessed 6 May 2014].
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2014. Oracle. [Online]
Available at: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/430708/oracle#ref207522
[Accessed 6 May 2014].
Herodotus, The Histories,
[Waterfield, R. (trans.), 1998. Herodotus’ The Histories. Oxford: Oxford University Press.]
Mark, J. J., 2009. Croesus. [Online]
Available at: http://www.ancient.eu.com/croesus/
[Accessed 6 May 2014].
Plutarch, Moralia,
[Babbitt, F. C. (trans.), 1936. Plutarch’s Moralia. London: Heinemann.]
Roach, J., 2001. Delphic Oracle's Lips May Have Been Loosened by Gas Vapors. [Online]
Available at: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/08/0814_delphioracle.html
[Accessed 6 May 2014].
Wikipedia, 2014. Delphi. [Online]
Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delphi
[Accessed 6 May 2014].
Wikipedia, 2014. List of oracular statements from Delphi. [Online]
Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oracular_statements_from_Delphi
[Accessed 6 May 2014].
Wikipedia, 2014. Pythia. [Online]
Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythia
[Accessed 6 May 2014].

- See more at: http://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends/pythia-oracle-delphi-001641#sthash.hCzPf0w3.dpuf