List of oracular statements from Delphi

Statements which have survived from various sources referring to the oracle at Delphi

Pythia was the priestess presiding over the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi. There are more than 500 supposed oracular statements which have survived from various sources referring to the oracle at Delphi. Many are anecdotal, and have survived as proverbs. Several are ambiguously phrased, apparently in order to show the oracle in a good light regardless of the outcome. Such prophecies were admired for their dexterity of phrasing. The following list presents some of the most prominent and historically significant prophecies of Delphi.

Some early oracular statements from Delphi may have been delivered to Lycurgus, the semi legendary Spartan lawgiver (fl. 8th century BC). According to the report by Herodotus (Histories A.65, 2–4), Lycurgus visited and consulted the oracle before he applied his new laws to Sparta,

Both Xenophon and Plutarch also attribute to Lycurgus the introduction of a very cumbersome coinage made from iron (in order to prevent attachment to wealth). In the account of Plutarch and Diodorus, this was also based on an oracular statement,

The supposed oracular statement in retrospect was interpreted as being fulfilled, as the gold and silver Sparta's soldiers sent home after the Peloponnesian War were to prove to be Sparta's undoing, according to Plutarch. It is not likely that this oracle was delivered, if it is at all historical, to Lycurgus himself, as coinage had not been introduced in his time.

In 595 BC, the affairs of the Oracle were felt too important to be left to the Delphians alone, and the sanctity of the site came to be protected by the Amphictyonic League, a league of 12 cities in existence since 1100 BC. In that year, nearby Kirra levied a toll on pilgrims, which ushered in the First Sacred War. After 5 years of struggle, the Oracle decreed that the site of Kirra be left fallow, sacred to Apollo. This ushered in a period of great prosperity.

In 480 BC, when Xerxes, the son of Darius the Great of Persia, returned to finish the job of conquering the Greeks in which his father had failed, the Athenians consulted the oracle. They were told:

The Spartans withdrew in consternation, wondering which fate was worse. The Delphians themselves then asked how Persia could be defeated. The oracle replied:

Events overtook the prophecy when the Persian army assaulted Thermopylae, where a Spartan led coalition (popularly called the "300" after the number of Spartans sent (who were, excepting one man with an eye infection, killed to a man)) and allies held the pass against them. The Spartans under King Leonidas (The Lion) resisted the Persian advance at Thermopylae until betrayed. Refusing to retreat, the entire Spartan contingent, including their King (as foretold), lost their lives, but in so doing gained immortal fame. The Persian armada then sailed to nearby Cape Artemisium, where they were met by the Athenian fleet. The Athenian ships fought against great odds, but in three battles managed to hold their own. A tremendous storm then arose at Artemesium, with the most violent winds attacking the ships for three days. The Persians lost about 20% of their warships and perhaps the same number of transport vessels to the storm. The stormy winds and huge waves did not harm the Athenian ships. Back in Athens Themistocles argued that the wall of wood referred to the Athenian navy and persuaded the Athenians to pursue their policy of using wealth from their Attic silver mines at Laurium to continue building their fleet. On the grounds that the oracle referred to the nearby island of Salamis as "holy", he claimed that those slain would be Greece's enemies, not the Athenians. For these the oracle would have said "O cruel Salamis". His voice carried the day, Athens was evacuated to Salamis and in a following naval battle the Athenian fleet and its allies destroyed the Persian fleet at Salamis, while watched by Xerxes. Despite the fact that Athens was burned by the Persians, her occupants were saved, the Persian threat was ended and the authority of the Oracle was never higher.

Circa 440 BC the Oracle is also said to have claimed that there was no one wiser than Socrates, to which Socrates replied that either all were equally ignorant, or that he was wiser in that he alone was aware of his own ignorance ("what I do not know I do not think I know"). This claim is related to first of the Delphic maxims inscribed on the forecourt of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, Gnothi Seauton (γνῶθι σεαυτόν), "know thyself!". The second maxim is Meden agan (μηδὲν ἄγαν): "nothing in excess". Socrates was perhaps only about 30 years old at the time, his fame as a philosopher was yet to come. One version of the claim stated that a friend of Socrates, Chaerephon, went before Pythia asking, "Is there any man alive wiser than Socrates?" The answer that he received was simply, "None." Another version is:

At the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War the Spartans sent a delegation to Delphi to inquire whether it would be wise to go to war against Athens. According to Thucydides, "It is said that the god replied that if they fought with all their might, victory would be theirs, and that he himself would be on their side, whether they invoked him or not."

Alexander the Great visited the Delphic Oracle wishing to hear a prophecy that he would soon conquer the entire ancient world. To his surprise the oracle refused a direct comment and asked him to come later. Furious, Alexander dragged Pythia by the hair out of the chamber until she screamed "You are invincible, my son!" (ἀνίκητος εἶ ὦ παῖ.). The moment he heard these words he dropped her, saying, "Now I have my answer".

Diogenes Laërtius recorded that when Zeno of Citium "consulted the oracle, as to what he ought to do to live in the most excellent manner, the God answered him that he ought to become of the same complexion as the dead, on which he inferred that he ought to apply himself to the reading of the books of the ancients. Accordingly, he attached himself to Crates of Thebes "

In 83 BC, Delphi was razed by an attack from the Thracian tribe of Maedi who extinguished the sacred fire which had been burning uninterrupted for centuries. In 79 BC Cicero consulted the Oracle as to how he should find greatest fame and was told:

Cicero cultivated his oratory and his skills in the courts in preserving Rome from the Catilinarian conspiracy, earning undying fame.

Before 117 AD the Emperor Hadrian visited Delphi before he reached the throne. After drinking from the Castalian Spring, his destiny as Emperor was proclaimed. When he had acceded to the throne, he ordered it blocked up so no one else could get the same idea in the same way.

The Emperor Diocletian on consulting the oracle on the advice of Galerius was told that the sect of Christianity would lead to the destruction of the Empire. This led to the Diocletianic Persecution where Christians were persecuted for not agreeing to the sacrifices to the Greek and Roman gods. After the Edict of Toleration by Constantine and especially after the reign of Theodosius, Christians retaliated by persecuting the Pythia.