Introduction
In 549 BC, Croesus, king of Lydia, felt a sense of danger when Cyrus of Persia attacked Media and increased his power, so he dispatched envoys to various oracles and obtained oracles. The oracles were Croesus, Delphi, Abae, Dodona, Amphiaraus, Trophonius, Branchidae. Among them, Delphi was Croesus's most credible. [1]
Other famous oracles were Clarus and Mount Ptous.
1. Oracle of Abae
Pausanias tells us that Abae was the sacred place of Apollo, and that it had an oracle from ancient times. [2]
If there was an oracle before the founding of Abae, the date of its founding is unknown.
After the founding of Abae, if an oracle was founded, it would be after 1408 BC.
However, the oracle of Abae first appears in history during the time of Croesus in the 6th century BC.
It is believed that the oracle of Apollo was founded in Abae in the period after the Trojan War.
2. Oracle of Amphiaraus
The oracle of Amphiaraus was at Psaphis in Oropus, near the border of Boeotia and Attica. [3]
Oropus was the first to regard the prophet Amphiaraus as a god, after which it spread among the Greeks. [4]
Croesus, king of Lydia, presented a golden shield and a golden spear to the shrine of Amphiaraus. These offerings were in the temple of Ismenian Apollo at Thebes in Herodotus' time. [5]
Amphiaraus, son of Oecles, son of Mantius, son of Melampus, was killed in battle while participating in Adrastus' siege of Thebes.
Amphiaraus died between Thebes and Potniae. [6]
3. Branchidae Oracle
(1) Establishment of an oracle
In 1186 BC, after the fall of Troy, the Magnesians from Thessaly, who joined the Troy expedition, did not return to his homeland, but settled in Delphi after dedicating one-tenth of their booty to Delphi. [7]
The Magnesians then migrated to Asia Minor with the Delphians led by Machaereus, son of Daetas, who killed Neoptolemus, son of Achilles, who had ravaged Delphi. [8]
In 1173 BC, the Magnesians and Delphians founded Magnesia at Lydia. [9]
The Magnesians lived near the Didyman hills on the Dotium Plain of Thessaly before their expedition to Troy. [10]
Smicrus, the son of Democlus, a descendant of Machaereus, migrated from Magnesia to Miletus and had a son, Branchhus. [11]
Branchus established the oracle of Apollo at Didyma near Miletus. The Branchidae oracle was the second most prestigious oracle after the Delphi oracle. [12]
(2) Year of foundation
Pausanias notes that the founding of the oracle predates the settlement of the Ionians. [13]
Pausanias seems to have surmised, seeing that the historian Leander of Miletus notes that Cleochus was buried in the Didymaeum of Miletus. [14]
Cleochus was the father of Aria, mother of Miletus who was chased by Minos and migrated from Crete to Asia Minor and founded Miletus, and was a figure in the 14th century BC. [15]
However, the existence of Cleochus' tomb is no proof that the Didymaeum existed in the 14th century BC.
Branchus was entrusted with a captive mother and child by Leodamas, descendant of Neileus, son of Codrus, ruler of Miletus. The captive was taken by Leodamas in a battle against Carystus in Euboea, during the Lelantine War. [16]
Branchus was a figure from the monarchical period before the appearance of a tyrant in Miletus, and the founding of the oracle of Apollo at Didyma is estimated around 720 BC.
(3) Destroyed by Xerxes
Xerxes the Great of Persia destroyed the temples and oracle of the Branchidae at Didyma near Miletus. [17]
Branchidae, having surrendered the temple's goods, left Didyma and emigrated to Sogdiana, following Xerxes. [18]
The Temple of Branchidae was dedicated with riches that would allow Miletus to build a fleet sufficient to gain naval supremacy from the Persian Empire. [19]
At this time, not all of Didyma's Branchidae had emigrated, but some remained. Around 300 BC, Seleucus returned the statue of Apollo from Ecbatana to the Branchidae of Miletus. [20]
(4) Destruction of the Branchidae of Sogdiana
In 327 BC, Sogdiana's Branchidae was destroyed by Alexander the Great.
Their ancestors betrayed the people by handing over the treasures of the temple to Xerxes, which was the reason for their destruction. [21]
Branchidae may have been descended from Machaereus, son of Daetas, who killed Alexander the Great's maternal ancestor Neoptolemus. [22]
Considering this connection, the legend that Alexander the Great received a prophecy from the Branchidae of Miletus during his stay in Egypt in 331 BC, which pleased the great king, seems to be fictional. [23]
4. Oracle of Clarus (or Claros)
In 1196 BC, Epigoni's captives, including Tiresias' daughter Manto, emigrated to Asia Minor, where they were accepted and cohabited by Rhacius, son of Lebes of Colophon. [24]
Manto founded the oracle of Apollon at Clarus by the sea near Colophon, the first to land there. [25]
After the fall of Troy, when Calchas, son of Thestor, arrived at Colophon, the oracle of Apollon was inherited by Mopsus, son of Manto and Rhacius. [26]
Therefore, the founding of the Clarus oracle is estimated around 1194 BC.
In 334 BC, the inhabitants of Smyrna received an oracle from the oracle of Clarus for the construction of a new city. [27]
Mopsus then migrated to Cilicia with his half-brother Amphilochus and founded Mallus, and the oracle of Clarus is thought to be inherited by Mopsus' son. [28]
Mopsus' daughter Rhode was the eponymous Rhodia (Rhodiapolis) of Lycia, and the prophet Aristander, who was from nearby Telmessus and who served in Alexander the Great's expedition, is also thought to be a descendant of Mopsus. [29]
5. Oracle of Delphi
(1) Founding of Lycoreia
In 1750 BC, when the Great Flood of the Ogygus Era occurred, some of the people who lived near the Cephisus River in Phocis fled to Mount Parnassus and founded Lycoreia. [30]
The founder of Lycoreia was Lycorus (or Lycoreus). [31]
Some of Lycoreia's inhabitants later settled Delphi. [32]
(2) Founding of Delphi
According to the genealogy given by Pausanias, Delphi's godfather Delphus was the son of Celaeno, daughter of Hyamus, son of Lycorus.
In other words, it is estimated that Delphus founded Delphi around 1690 BC. [33]
(3) Founding of the Delphi oracle
The first to be established in Delphi was the oracle of Earth, prophesied by Daphnis. [34]
The oracle was then shared by Poseidon and Earth, who was served by Pyrcon. [35]
The oracle was then passed from Earth to Themis, and from Themis to Apollo. [36]
(4) Founding of Apollo's Oracle
Olen of Lycia, one of the founders of the Oracle of Apollo, predates the poet Orpheus. [37]
Olen is the son of Lycus, son of Pandion, who migrated from Athens to Lycia, and is presumed to have been born around 1280 BC. [38]
The oracle's first female prophet, Pemonoe, predates Orpheus by 27 years. [39]
This Orpheus was not a famous poet, but one of the Argonauts, and Pemonoe is presumed to have been born around 1290 BC.
The first winner of the competition to sing the Pythian Apollon hymn was Carmanor's daughter Chrysothemis, who purified Apollo. [40]
Chrysothemis was the wife of Staphylus, son of Ariadne, daughter of Minos, and is presumed to have been born around 1270 BC. [41]
Comprehensively judging from the marriage of Apollo, whom Carmanor purified, and Acacallis, the daughter of Minos, it is estimated that Apollo's oracle was established around 1255 BC. [42]
(5) Oldest visitor
The earliest recorded person to have received an oracle at the Delphi oracle was Maceris, the father of Sardus. [43]
Maceris' visit to Delphi is estimated around 1420 BC.
Maceris was a hero called the Egyptian Heracles or the Phoenician Heracles. [44]
6. Oracle of Dodona
(1) Oracle of Thessaly
In 1560 BC, a great famine broke out in Argos, and Larisa, daughter of Pelasgus, son of Triopas, king of Argos, emigrated to Arcadia with Pelasgus, son of Agenor, son of Triopas.
Pelasgus, son of Agenor, discovered edible oak nuts and taught the people. [45]
Larisa then emigrated to Thessaly with a group of Pelasgians. [46]
The Pelasgians built the oracle of Zeus near Scotussa in Thessaly, planting the oak trees brought from Arcadia. [47]
(2) Relocation to Dodona
In 1480 BC, part of the sacred oak trees of the oracle was destroyed by fire. The Pelasgians were to follow the oracle and move the oracle to Thesprotia. [48]
Thessalus, son of Haemon, planted in Dodona oak trees brought from Scotussa of Thessaly, and built the oracles of Zeus and temples. [49]
Most of the women of Scotussa accompanied the oracle's move. The priestesses responsible for prophecy in the oracles of Dodona were descended from them. [50]
Thessalus' father Haemon was the son of Pelasgus, son of Larisa. [51]
(3) Relations between Dodona and Pelasgians
In 1390 BC, the Pelasgians living in Thessaly migrated, pursued by Deucalion's sons, but most of them settled around Dodona. [52]
The people who lived around Dodona accepted the Pelasgians who fled from Thessaly as their kind. [53]
In 1126 BC, when the Pelasginans, who had occupied Coroneia in Boeotia, and the Boeotians, who had returned from Arne in Thessaly, were at war, both received an oracle at Dodona. The Boeotians reportedly doubted the oracle they had received because the priestesses of Dodona were of the Pelasginans. [54]
It was widely known in those days that the Pelasginans were the founders of Dodona.
(4) Oldest Greek oracle
Herodotus notes that Dodona is the oldest Greek oracle. [55]
Herodotus apparently did not know that the oracle had been moved from Thessaly to Dodona.
If Herodotus had known it, he would have written that the oldest was the oracle at Thessaly before being transferred to Dodona.
Or perhaps there was already an ancient oracle in Dodona before it was removed from Thessaly. In that case, the founding date of the Dodona oracle is completely unknown and cannot be compared with other oracles.
7. Oracle of Mt. Ptous
In 1330 BC, Tenerus, son of Melia (or Metope), founded an oracle on Mount Ptous, east of Lake Copais in Boeotia. [56]
Melia was the daughter of Ladon, son of Udaeus, who emigrated to Boeotia with Cadmus in 1420 BC. [57]
Tenerus was a lineage of seers, followed by Teiresias, Manto, and Mopsus.
In 1205 BC, Teiresias died and his daughter Manto taken prisoner in Epigoni's siege of Thebes. [58]
Manto emigrated to Ionia in the Asia Minor and founded the oracle of Apollon at Clarus on the seaside near Colophon, inherited by her son Mopsus. [59]
During the Persian War, the Priestess of Mt. Ptous, who delivered an oracle in Caria, is also a descendant of Tenerus, and is thought to have interacted with the descendants of Mopsus, son of Manto in the Asia Minor. [60]
The oracle on Mount Ptous lasted about 1000 years until Alexander the Great destroyed Thebes in 335 BC. [61]
8. Oracle of Trophonius
Lebadeia of Boeotia was a town dedicated to the god Trophonius. [62]
This Trophonius was the son of Erginus, king of Orchomenus, brother of Agamedes, and is said to have been a master craftsman who built the temples of Delphi. [63]
However, after Erginus' death, not Trophonius or Agamedes, but the descendants of Erginus' brothers, succeeded to the throne, so it seems that Erginus' sons are fictional figures. [64]
Trophonius had children, and his daughter's name was Hercyna. [65]
It is not known when the sanctuary of Trophonius existed, but it is certain that it was already a famous sanctuary at least in the 7th century BC.
During the Second Messenia War, Aristomenes is said to have recovered the lost shield from the sanctuary of Trophonius, and later dedicated it to Lebadeia. [66]
The oracle of Trophonius was also mentioned in the 6th century BC as one of the oracles to which King Croesus of Lydia sent messengers to test the oracles. [67]
In the 1st century BC, Rome's general Sulla ransacked Lebadeia and stole the treasure from the oracle. [68]
If the wooden statue of Trophonius in Lebadeia reported by Pausanias is the work of Daedalus, who lived at the same time as Minos, then Trophonius was already worshiped as a god in the 13th century BC. [69]
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