The Oracle at Delphi

An important part of Greek culture that we briefly went over in class was the Oracle at Delphi.  I had some knowledge of the oracle before this class that I mostly learned about through Greek literature.

One Greek tragedy that involves speaking to the oracle is Oedipus Rex.  In the play, Oedipus learns from the oracle that he is destined to marry his mother and kill his father.  While learning about the play in high school, my teacher went over some of the science that was behind the oracle and her prophecies.  My teacher explained that the oracle would often inhale several hallucinogenic substances which caused the oracle to speak in a way that the Greeks interpreted as cryptic prophecies.

This interested me because in ancient Greece the oracle's prophecies were mysterious and were interpreted as messages from the gods themselves.  However, today we can explain these "prophecies" and figure out the science behind it.  Today we can make the assumption that the prophecies were most likely just the ramblings of someone under the influence of hallucinogens which were thought to have some deeper meaning.

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