The Pythia and the Delphic Oracle
- Date of account
- c. 8th century BCE–4th century CE
- Location
- Delphi, Phocis, Greece
- Source
- model_recalled_reference
- Record updated
- 2026-10-10
Record summary
At Delphi, the Pythia delivered responses for petitioners in a highly structured sanctuary setting. Classical authors describe prophetic states, divine inspiration, ambiguous utterances, and political consultation, making Delphi central to research on anomalous experiences attached to a specific place. Modern claims about intoxicating geological gases have been debated and should not be assumed from the ancient evidence. The surviving record combines inscriptions, historical narratives, later criticism, and religious interpretation, with substantial uncertainty about ordinary ritual procedure.
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