At the temple of Apollo located in Delphi, there was one of the most famous soothsayers, called the Delphic Oracle.
The myths of ancient Greece claim that the temple was founded by Apollo himself to commemorate his victory over the terrible serpent Python. The priestess, called Pythia, was one of the main soothsayers of the Hellenic world.
The Temple of Apollo was erected on the southern slope of Parnassus at an altitude of about seven hundred meters above sea level. Pilgrims arriving in Delphi either walked there from Athens, or, having sailed by ships, disembarked at a port on the northern coast of the Gulf of Corinth, and from there headed for Parnassus.
In ancient times, divinations were given only once a year - on the birthday of Apollo. But from the 6th century BC, they began to be held monthly on the seventh, excluding the three winter months. Still later, the Pythia began to receive visitors every day, except for "unclean days." The Oracle had the right to refuse to divine a person. For example, if he was defiled by a crime he committed.
Admitted to the Pythia sitting on a golden tripod, the pilgrim asked his question, having previously paid a certain fee, having performed the rite of purification and sacrifice. The question was written down on a waxed tablet, and the answer of the Pythia was transmitted through the temple minister in the poetic interpretation of the priests.
The ancient Greeks believed that all human life events are determined by fate, and you can look into your future by turning to the oracle for help. The oracle's sayings were considered the revelation of the deities. Therefore, huge crowds of the suffering sought to get to the meeting with the oracle.
The Pythia was chosen from among the inhabitants of Delphi, regardless of social affiliation. The only requirement was personal devotion to Apollo and chastity. Therefore, the first Pythias were virgins. But, after the case when one of the visitors seduced the Pythia during a reception, they began to be chosen from among married women and even old women.
Before the divination, the Pythia was dressed in luxurious clothes, allowed to drink water from the spring of Cassotida and chew the leaves of the sacred laurel. Then they put them on a golden tripod. The Pythia prophesied, falling into ecstasy from inhaling fumes, intoxicating consciousness. And these vapors were unhealthy. One of the Pythias, divining, fell from the golden tripod and died.
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The effect of vapors on human consciousness was discovered by chance. Somehow people noticed that the goats wandering along the rocks of Parnassus approached the hole, from which the vapors emanated and, having breathed, began to move strangely and convulsively. The people who came to the rescue, inhaling the vapors, went mad and began to utter incoherent words. These words were taken for predictions, and the steam coming out of the hole for divine revelation.
Many ancient Greek sages testified that the Pythias prophesy while under the influence of vapors. Pliny, Plato, Cicero, Plutarch and many others wrote about this. From their texts it follows that the tripod on which the Pythia was planted was located above a deep and narrow hole from which gas or steam rose. Inhaling it, the Oracle began to prophesy. Plutarch wrote that the gas exuded the smell of a "sweet scent", which was felt not only in the chamber of prophecies, but also in the adjoining room where the priests gathered. Already in the time of Plato, the release of gas was weak and irregular, which, in his opinion, reduced the reliability of the prophecies issued by the Pythia. Moreover, according to Plato's testimony, the Pythias were broadcasting in altered voices.
The prophecies given out by the Pythias were unconditionally believed until the 5th century BC. The reputation of the impassive Delphic oracle was greatly shaken after the interpreters of the Pythia's speeches began to act in the interests of this or that city or state. And in the II century BC, the power of Rome spread to Delphi, and the beautiful temple gradually began to collapse, and the influence of the oracle weakened.
At the beginning of the nine hundredth years of the last century, the English geologist Adolph Paul Oppé, having arrived in Delphi, could not find a single crack or hole at the site of the Temple of Apollo, from where the vapors could escape. Oppé has severely criticized all statements concerning the prophecies of the Delphic Oracle.
A heated debate erupted among scientists. The UN-sponsored Science Development Program put an end to the dispute by funding a study of geological faults in Greece. Studies have found that the faults approach the Delphic sanctuary, both from the west and from the east. Later it turned out that the temple stands above a vertically rising stream of toxic gases, in which carbon dioxide is also present in large quantities.
The Temple of Apollo was closed in 385 AD by order of the Roman Emperor Theodosius. Gradually, the remains of the temple structure disappeared under the ground that brought them in. A small village appeared on the site of the once well-known building. In 1892, its inhabitants were relocated, and the buildings were demolished. As a result of excavations carried out by the French archaeologist Theophile Omol, the ruins of the temple were discovered, which are now shown to tourists visiting Greece.