Sibyl

Sibyl is an example of another priestess in the ancient Greek world. She was an historical and mythological figure. Even in her oracles, she states who her parents are. Her mother was an immortal, Ida, who was a nymph and her father was a mortal. However, the Greeks say that she was the daughter of Zeus and Lamia. The Greeks also say that she spent most of her life in Samos.

Like Pythia, Sibyl also had the power of giving oracles to the Greeks. She foretold the defeat of the Athenians at Aegospotami (Perseus Encyclopedia). She also told the Spartans and Argives of the dispute over their districts saying that the battle will be drawn (Perseus Encyclopedia). In this case, the Argives decided to give Delphi a bronze horse. She even foretold what mother nature would do to the people of Rhodes: "Many, indeed, are the cities of which he has levelled the strongholds" (Paus. 2.7.1). She also "foretold the rise and fall of Macedonia under the two Philips" who were defeated by the Romans (Paus. 7.8.8). These examples of her oracles comes to show that she was very much like the Pythia in Delphi. Her oracles were taken seriously and with special care.



Contents  |  Hometown  |  Office  |  Resume  |  Clients|  Colleagues |  Bosses |  Divine Inspiration |  Bibliography 

Please note: all student papers hosted by the Perseus Project are offered "as is." Papers are the work of students: the project does not edit, revise, update, or otherwise endorse the content of these pages. These papers may not be copied or reproduced elsewhere; see our copyright page for more information. Please feel free to link to these materials. We do not retain contact information for the authors.