Delphic Sibyl

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Michelangelo's rendering of the Delphic Sibyl on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel

The Delphic Sibyl was a woman who was a prophet associated with early religious practices in

Gaia, the mother goddess connected with fertility rituals that are thought to have existed throughout the ancient Mediterranean world. As needed to maintain the religious tradition, the role of sibyl
would pass to another priestess at each site.

The Delphic Sibyl was dated to as early as the eleventh century BC by Pausanias[1] in his writings from the second century AD about local traditions. This Sibyl would have predated Pythia, the oracle and priestess of Apollo during the period of the religious traditions of Archaic Greece, who is dated to the eighth century BC.[2]

Throughout the ancient Mediterranean world, there were several prophetic women called

Naples, Italy, was located at Cumae and she had a strong influence upon the Romans. Delphi was well known in these ancient times and was a location at which the Sibyls were venerated.[3]

Pausanias claimed that this Sibyl was "born between man and goddess, daughter of sea monsters and an immortal

Samos, visited Claros and Delos
, and died in the Troad after surviving nine generations of humans. As religious traditions changed and the cult of Apollo gained prominence at Delphi, it was said that after her "death", she became a wandering voice who still brought tidings of the future to the ears of humans, while wrapped in dark riddles.

The Delphic Sibyl experienced a revival in cultural depictions during the

Christ. In her prophesy a savior is prophesied who will be misjudged and shamed by unbelievers with a crown of thorns. Michelangelo's rendering of the Delphic Sibyl is located opposite to the depiction of the drunkenness of Noah, which also is said to have foreshadowed the shaming of Christ.[3]

Male prophets, called Bakis, also existed in the Graeco-Roman world and the most famous Bakis was at Boeotia.

See also

References

  1. ^ Pausanias 10.12.1
  2. ISBN 0-521-53081-4
    . Cf. p.14. "They may learn about the mysterious Delphic Sibyl, a mythical prophetess unrelated to the traditions of the oracle itself."
  3. ^ a b "Audio Guide of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition". 20. The Delphic Sibyl. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  4. ^ Pausanias 10.12.3

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sibyl of Delphi.
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