counsel or prophetic predictions or precognition of the future, inspired by the gods.as such it is
a form of divination.
The word oracle comes from the Latin verb 'orare' to speak, and properly refers to the priest or
priestess uttering the prediction. In extended use, oracle may also refer to the site of the oracle,
and to the oracular utterances themselves, called 'khresmoi' in Greek.
Oracles were thought to be portals through which the gods spoke directly to people, in this sense
they were different from seers who interpreted signs sent by the gods through bird signs, animal
entrails, and other various methods.
The most important oracles of Greek antiquity were 'Phythia' priestess to Apollo at Delphi, and the
oracle of Dione and Zeus at Dodona in Epirus. Other temples of Apollo were located in Didyma on
the coast of Asia Minor, at Corinth and Bassae in the Peloponnese, and th Islands of Delos and
Aegina in the Aegean Sea. The Sibyline Oracles are a collection of utterances written in Greek
hexameters ascribed to the Sibyls, prophetesses who uttered divine revelations in frenzied states.
called Dione who represents the earth-fertile soil, probably the chief female goddess of the PIE
pantheon. Python, daughter of Gaia was the earth dragon of Delphi represented as a serpent and
became the chthonic deity, enemy of Apollo, who slew and possessed the oracle.
The Pythia was the mouthpiece of the oracles of God Apollo.
The Pythia only gave prophecies the 7th day of each month, 7 being
the number most associated with Apollo, during the nine warmer months of the year; thus Delphi was
major source of divination for the ancient Greeks. Many wealthy individuals by passed the hordes
of people attempting a consultation by making additional animal sacrifices to please the oracle lest
their request go unanswered. As a result, seers were the main source of everyday divination.
The temple was changed to a centre for the worship of Apollo during the classical period of
Greece and priests, were added to the temple organisation, although the tradition regarding
prophecy remained unchanged and the priestesses continued to provide the services of the oracle
exclusively. It is from this institution that the English word, oracle, is derived.
Inscribed in the pronaos(forecourt) of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi according to the Greek
writer, Pausanias, was the aphorism that came from Luxor in Ancient Egypt.
"Man, know thyself"
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oracle
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oracle