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What was the role of an oracle in greece
What was the role of an oracle in greece
Relation to the gods in ancient Greece
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“Knowledge is power” (Francis Bacon); the ancient Greeks believed in the tellings of oracles; the knowledge they received from them was considered sacred. Oracles play a great part in many myths involving both mortals and gods. There were many different oracles throughout the ancient Greek history. The oracles play their part in each myth and the characters base most of their choices on what they are told. The Greeks thought very highly of the oracles. They used them to make important life decisions and to declare their fate.
The origin of the word oracle is from the Latin root “oraculum” meaning to speak or to pray. The oracles were a branch of divination. Divination comes in many different means, depending on the culture. Each group of people believe in the fortunetellers and take their advice differently, some not as seriously as others. The Greek oracles were different than other culture’s fortunetellers because they were associated with a specific person, place and god. The oracles had shrines built for the gods to help them communicate with the oracles. Oracles in Greek mytholo...
This quote references the age old theme of power versus knowledge. In The Epic of Gilgamesh, a young king named Gilgamesh strives for immortality. Gilgamesh acted for his own glory, and was a tyrant over his own people. This made him act less like a person, and his greed was his hubris. Gilgamesh was power hungry, never straying from his hoarding habits, even in the wake of a friend’s death. Gilgamesh was an example of human corruption through power. some texts from ancient times, such as the Bible, have many common themes, such as how to rule, and what kind of choices one should make. Like Ebeneezer
Ancient Greek society treated women as secondary citizens. Restrictions were placed on the social and domestic actions of many aristocratic women in ancient Athens. The women depicted in Homer's Odyssey, on the other hand, are the ideal. Penelope, Clytaemestra, Athena, and Helen are all women with exceptional liberty and power.
Divine intervention is often an integral part of ancient epic poetry as seen in Homer's The Odyssey. The role of the goddess Athena was an essential part of Odysseus's journey back to Ithaka. Athena also played a vital part in Telemakhos's life before the return of his father. Even Penelope is impacted by the help of the "grey-eyed" goddess, often inspiring Penelope to hold off the suitors as well as putting her to sleep when a situation became too difficult. Athena demonstrates that she is a critical component of development within the father Odysseus and his son Telemakhos as well as guiding Penelope as a beautiful mother waiting for the return of her husband.
The God's impact and personality had a direct influence on daily life in Greek society. The Gods can give things "A cruel turn, this. Never had I thought to see this land, but Zeus let me see it." (Book 5, Line 426-427 The Odyssey unabridged), however, they can also take things away and curse their people "Take yourself out of this island, creeping thing...Your voyage here was cursed by heaven" (Book 10, Line 82-85 The Odyssey unabridged). Greek citizens had to always be considering what the Gods were thinking of them. The Greeks knew that whatever the Gods gave them, they will just as easily take everything away. By knowing the nicknames of the Gods, readers are able to determine their personalities. Throughout The Odyssey, Athena, Roman name Minerva, is often referred to as the "Grey-eyed goddess". This explanation can account for her cleverness and her bright, scheming eye. Athena is constantly changing shapes and disguises, but the cunning eye, stays constant. Another example of one of the God's personalities, is in the myth of Athena's birth. The personality of Zeus shines. It displays Zeus' constant lust after female mortals. There are many other displays of Zeus' lust. Many half mortals are the offspring of Zeus, due to his flirtatious attitude.
Athena was the Greek Goddess of many ideas, but she was famous mostly for her superior wisdom, her cunning skills in times of war, and her implausible talent for household tasks, such as weaving and pottery. She was celebrated more than any other God in ancient mythology, was the supposed inventor of countless innovations, and her figure gave reason for Greek women to gain rights long before others of their time. The goddess of war, the guardian of Athens, and the defender of Heroes; Athena’s impact on the lives of Ancient Greeks is outstanding. As a resident on Mount Olympus, Athena rightfully represents both intelligence and strategy (Grant, Hazel 83). Symbols that identify with the goddess include the owl for wisdom and the olive branch for peace (Athena or Minerva. 1).
The people of Greece believed in mythology and believed they were blessed by the deity which inspired the artists’ creation of the spectacular sculptures including Athena Parthenos, the goddess of wisdom. Wisdom during this period was highly regarded. Most of the sculptures in Athens were made of different types of bronze. (See Figure 1.)
Athena was one of the twelve gods in Greek mythology that lived on Mount Olympus. She was the daughter of Zeus the ruler of all the gods and the god of the sky. Athena had many titles is Greek mythology but her two most influential were the goddess of war and the goddess of wisdom. Some of the stories that will be discussed in this paper have multiple versions to them depending on who is telling them or what culture is telling them.
Socrates high respect for himself also may have started with the oracle from Delphi, when Chaerephon, “…asked the oracle to tel...
oracle in Greek religion, priest or priestess who imparted the response of a god to a human questioner. The word is also used to refer to the response itself and to the shrine of a god. Every oracular shrine had a fixed method of divination. Many observed signs, such as the motion of objects dropped into a spring, the movement of birds, or the rustle of leaves. Often dreams were interpreted. A later and popular method involved the use of entranced persons whose ecstatic cries were interpreted by trained attendants. Before an oracle was questioned consultants underwent rites of purification and sacrifice. There were many established oracles in ancient Greece, the most famous being those of Zeus at Dodona and of Apollo at Delphi and at Didyma in Asia Minor. Other oracular shrines were located in Syria, Egypt, and Italy.
The Greek gods and goddess have sparked my interest ever since seventh grade when I read The Percy Jackson Series. All throughout the books my attention was grasped by their power and demanding personalities, one specific goddess that stood out to me was Athena. Her charm and dominant personality fascinated me and definitely caught my attention. Before reading The Percy Jackson Series, I knew very little about Athena or the gods and goddess’ in general. Later, I took it upon myself to find out more about who the gods were and why they are important to the series I was reading at the time. My knowledge came in handy during the research I did to complete my paper. During my research I found that Athena was very important in not only The Odyssey, but in Greek mythology. She was one of the most confident and practical goddess’, and she was very well respected by the Greek people because of how she helped them.
“Oracles (or prophecies) themselves are messages from the gods in human language concerning the future or the unknown and are usually received in response to specific inquiries, often through the agency of inspired mediums” (Aune). For the people of Ancient Greece, Oracles were intermediaries between man and the G-ds. People would ask the Oracle questions about the future and/or ask for advice. Because the Oracles’ responses were always ambiguous, the answers could never be wrong. Regardless of the ambiguousness of the answers, the Ancient Greeks still relied heavily on the Oracles to make important life decisions.
It was because of the Oracle that Socrates began to question his wisdom and the wisdom of others. He was not trying to corrupt the youth nor did he believe in false gods. Socrates was a man who believed that the Oracle’s message, “There was no one wiser than Socrates.”, was misguided and tried to prove it wrong. He went about doing that by questioning people. Socrates realized that he truly know nothing, of importance. So he tried to seek the truth. To be able to do this he ahd an open mind, and told his followers they should also have open minds. This is why Socrates was falsely accused by a culture that was both strict and hypocritical.
Religiously the Greeks thought highly of their gods and goddesses. Greek mythology is comprised of tales that describe adventures of the Gods and how they came to be. The Greek people believed that their deities controlled their destiny. If they did all that the Gods asked them to then their lives would be fruitful and rewarding. If the people did not do as the Gods
Socrates acknowledges the fact that he knows nothing, at least in areas which he is unlearned in. By knowing this, he has obtained true wisdom, according to the above maxim. So, in essence, he maintains that he is not a smart man, but the Oracle was not flawed in its testimony.
- Chappell, Timothy. "Plato on Knowledge in the Theaetetus." Stanford University. Stanford University, 07 May 2005. Web. 08 May 2014.