In order to be an oracle, however, she/he would have to choose a location that could be subject to interpretation of the priesthood. Priests would tell the event and the interpretation of events to their patron god or goddess. For example, oracles of Zeus chose areas where they could interpret the winds rustling in the forest.
The spirits of the dead could also be consulted, particularly at certain sites around the ancient world where there were said to be entrances to the underworld. People would pay for oracles to translate the will of the gods by reading the signs of animal entrails, the flight of birds, the ripples of water or by using books of prophecy amongst a myriad of other mechanisms. |
From the dictionary, the word oracle can mean a priest or priestess acting as a medium through whom advice or prophecy was sought from the gods in classical antiquity.
They can be a god/goddess who can predict the future. An oracle was a gateway to knowing the will of the gods, getting cosmic information for understanding what lay ahead. The Greek Oracles were very skillful in their “psychic skills”. To ask a question for the oracle, people had to stay in the temple and talk to the priest to get to know the root of the question. An advantage the oracle had was he/she was seeing & hearing the asker. Another advantage was people came to the same oracle and even compared notes with other oracles. It was a beneficial way to gain money in the times of ancient Greece. Image taken from Delphic Oracle
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