Divination In Ancient Greece

Divination was perhaps the main way that Greeks could access the absolute knowledge of the gods. There is a notion that Greek divination served a trivial role within Greek society. Where does this conception come from? There are a variety of observances that promote this conception. In many cases, the validity of the oracles is often used to put the role of divination into question. For example, the fact that Croesus tested the reliability of the gods by sending numerous envoys to separate Greek oracles has left an impression of deceit that has coloured the perceptions of Greek oracles to the present day. Why put such consideration into divination if even those who were immersed in the culture doubt the process? The impact of mythical figure

The fact that decision-making in democratic Athens was heavily influenced by the concern to establish and follow the will of the Gods is contra to this modern conception. Therefore, religion was embedded in all aspects of Greek society, including politics. Despite the lack of a sacred religious Greek text, the marks on animal’s livers or words spoken by oracles could be thought of as a type of stand-in for the authority religious texts may provide, seeing as there were collections of written oracles circulating which would be consulted and referred to in political debates. These “published” versions of oracular responses reinforced notions of acceptable behaviour. The modern conception of “swearing on the bible” is comparable in this case seeing as oracular conveyances were consulted in the political process. In this way, the religious activity can provide a means for resolving disagreements; divination made political decisions easier by providing an external authority. Simply, for them, it would be easier to reconcile a decision that is authorized by the gods. On another note, hepatoscopy (liver reading) was a regular ritual at every stage of a military campaign: when setting off, when crossing a frontier, before the start of a battle, and when a change of action was proposed. At the Battle of Plataea in 479 BC, the Spartans did not advance while waiting for the appropriate divinatory reading, which put

It is then of little coincidence that the Athenians consulted the shrine on numerous occasions. The Oracle at Delphi was incontestably the most consulted oracle, and as such personal and political interests converged there. There are 28 documented consultations with Delphi before 300 BCE. The subject matter of these consultations varied, for instance, in one case Athens sought the support from Apollo concerning a change of constitution. Authors often pair the sanctuaries of Delphi and Dodona together as well, seeing as they were the two most prominent of their kind. Xenophon advised the Athenians who wanted to go forward with plans to improve the city to “send to Dodona and Delphi and ask the gods whether such a plan will benefit the state both now and in the future.” Delphi and Dodona are repeatedly mentioned in terms of their great political influence, but what else was there if not for politics? Delphi presented itself as the omphalos of the Greek world; according to many, Dodona was where the very first oracle of all had been established. Both shrines had taken the trouble to develop themselves into spectacular sites, with theatres, stadiums and other attractions. Rivaling the Olympics, the Pythian Games that were held every four years at Delphi. Under these circumstances, it follows that the shrines immersed themselves in