The Oracles of Jupiter. Of these oracles two are most worthy of notice, viz. the oracle of Dodona, and that of the Olympian Jupiter at Elis. There was another very ancient oracle of Jupiter, in Crete, mentioned by Strabo; from this oracle Minos is said to have received the outline or ground plan of his legislative system. Ancient authors are much divided in their opinions with respect to the situation of Dodona; by some it is thought to have been a city of Thessaly, by others it is placed in Epirus: others to reconcile the two opinions, assert that there were two Dodonas, one in Thessaly and another in Epirus. It is in vain to follow these authors in their controversies on this subject, since their arguments are founded on such gross absurdities, as the fictions that acknowledge the existence of sea gods and sea nymphs, together with trees and stones that spake with the human voice, nor indeed is the object of sufficient importance to spend so much time upon, as the perusal of these adverse opinions would require: one thing however must not be silently passed over, that is, they almost all agree in referring the origin of these oracles to Egypt: Herodotus has given us two accounts of the oracle of Dodona, the first he received from the priests of Jupiter at Thebes in Egypt, who asserted that the Phoenicians had carried away two priestesses from that place, one of which was sold into Lybia, the other into Greece: that each of these had erected the first oracle in those places, the one of Jupiter Ammon, the other of Jupiter Dodonaus; the other was given him by the priestesses at Dodona, and confirmed. by all those that ministered in the temple; viz. that two black pigeons, taking their flight from Thebes, in Egypt, one of them came to Lybia, where she commanded that an oracle should be erected to Hammon: the other at Dodona, where she sat upon an oak tree, and, speaking with a human voice, ordered that an oracle should be erected to Jupiter. Near the temple of the oracle there was a sacred grove full of oaks or beeches, in which the Dryades, Fauni, and Satyri, were thought to inhabit, and were frequently seen dancing under the shades of the trees. The true meaning of Fauns and Satyrs has already been given. The oracle of Dodona is considered as that which was, of all others, the most ancient. The Oracles of Apollo. These oracles were not only the most numerous, but in the greatest repute of any, and amongst these the Delphian claimed pre-eminence, not only for its antiquity, in which it stood equal with Dodona, but for the veracity and perspicuity of its responses: the magnificence of its temple, the number and richness of its presents, and the multitude of its votaries, who resorted to it for counsel. In these respects, it was not only superior to all the oracles of the other deities, but even to those sacred to Apollo himself. The place in which the oracles were delivered was called Pythium, and the priestess Pythia. The games instituted in honour of Apollo were named Pythean, and Apollo himself was called Pythius, from the serpent Python, which he conquered; with the true meaning of which my reader is, by this time, well acquainted, and consequently as well prepared duly to appreciate the nonsensical stories adduced by the ancient writers in the illustration of the word Python, and the epithets derived from it. The oracles, like the most ancient communications of every description, were delivered in verse. In latter ages, when oracles began to fall into disrepute, the custom of versifying was left off; yet neither was the practice of delivering the oracles in verse so closely adhered to as not to allow of the use of prose occasionally, nor was the practice of delivering the oracles in prose so tenaciously adhered to as not to admit of some exceptions to this general rule; since the oracle concerning the birth of Christ was delivered in heroic voice. The Delphian oracles, if compared with some others, might justly be called plain and perspicuous, so that it was not uncommon for those that had received an obscure answer at Dodona, to desire Apollo at Delphi to explain the meaning of it: Apollo is said to have interpreted a great many of these obscure sentences. At best these oracular sentences were very obscure and ambiguous, so that Heraclitus says of Apollo, that he "neither openly declared the truth, nor yet wholly concealed it," giving only slight hints, so that if any event happened, contrary to the conclusion drawn from the oracle, the person, who had consulted the oracle, might rather blame himself for misinterpreting, than Apollo for want of knowledge or veracity. Next to the Delphian Oracle for the celebrity of its answers, was the Oracle at Delos, the most celebrated of the Cyclades, a knot of islands in the Ægean sea. This island was famous among the poets for being the birth-place of Apollo. This oracle was therefore so sacred and inviolable, that the Persians, when they pillaged and destroyed almost all the other Grecian temples, durst not attempt to meddle with this. Another celebrated oracle was that of Apollo Didymaus, so named from the double light that he imparted to mankind; the one emanating immediately from himself, the other reflected from the moon. The place where it was delivered was called Didyma, and belonged to the Milesians, whence Apollo is called Milesius. Besides these, were several other oracles of Apollo, that it would be tedious and unnecessary to particularize. The Oracle of Trophonius. Trophonius, the son of Eresinus, and brother of Agamades, a person possessed of an insatiate thirst for glory, built himself a mansion under ground at Lebadaa, a city of Boeotia, into which when he entered, he pre N tended to be inspired with an extraordinary knowledge of future events; but at length, either out of design to raise in men an opinion that he was translated to the gods, or from some other cause, he perished in his cave. Whatever was the real cause of the death of Trophonius, he had divine honours paid him after his decease, and was worshipped by the name of Jupiter Trophonius. It being no uncommon thing for the personal name to be added to that of the deity, as among the Egyptians, we observe the names Osiris Necho, Osiris Psammis, &c. and among the Greeks we have an instance of the same, in the person of Agamemnon, who was wor shipped at Sparta, under the name of Jupiter Agamem non. The history of the origin of this oracle; of the structure of the internal part of the cave; of the preparatory rites that those passed' through who wished to consult this oracle; and of the solemn and terrific scenes that occurred, during the visit to the dread abode of the oracle, is not less tedious than it is absurd and contemptible: whoever has patience sufficient for the undertaking, may peruse it in the writings of Pausanias and Plutarch. Such were the effects on the countenances of those who had been to consult this oracle, that it was customary to say of a person when he looked thoughtful or dejected, that he had been consulting the oracle of Trophonius. But these remarks apply only to the time immediately following the consultation, for we are informed by Pausanias, that the enquirers recovered their former cheerfulness in the temple of good genius, or good fortune. There were many more oracles that were of greater or less importance among the Grecians, but these already noticed are sufficient for the purpose of exemplifying this species of divination; we will therefore proceed to illustrate the different species of artificial divination, that is, predictions made by men, partly through the sacred inspiration immédiately communicated, and partly by artificial means. One difference between the oracles and the artificial divinations is, that the fo ner were limited to particular times and places, the latter not so; for the Pythia could not be inspired in any other place but Apollo's temple, and upon the sacred Tripus; whereas other professors of divination were unconfined to time or place, but after sacrificing and performing the due rites, they could prophecy at any time, or in any part of the world. The kind of artificial divination that held the first rank was called Theomancy, in which persons possessing the spirit of divination, could exercise it, after performing the necessary preparatory ceremonies. This kind of divination approached nearest to that of the oracles themselves. The effects on the persons inspired, appear to have been much the same, whether the diviners were attached to the oracles, or acted independently; for not only the Pythia, but the Sibyls also, with many others, were possessed with divine fury, and swelled with rage, like persons distracted. Virgil thus describes the Sibyl. "Thus at the entrance spake the sacred maid, Few that pretended to inspiration, but raged after this manner, foaming and making a strange and terrible noise, gnashing with their teeth, shivering and trembling, and using a variety of antic gestures; sometimes they wore a chaplet of laurel, the favourite tree of Apollo, believing it to be conducive to inspiration; and sometimes they cut laurel leaves, and carried a branch or twig of this plant in their hand. It was also customary for the diviners to feed upon the principal parts of the prophetical animals; such were the hearts of crows, vultures and moles; thinking, that by this means, they |