The ancient oracles : making the gods speak / Richard Stoneman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Stoneman, Richard, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Divination--Greece.

Divination.

Oracles, Greek.

Greece--Religion.

Greece.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiv, 270 p. ) ill., maps ;

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New Haven, [Connecticut] ; London, [England] : Yale University Press, 2011.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

For more than a thousand years, Greeks from all walks of life consulted oracles for guidance received directly from the gods. This colorful and wide-ranging survey encompasses the entire history of Greek oracles and focuses fresh attention on philosophical, psychological, and anthropological aspects of oracular consultation. It also examines how Greek oracles' practices were distinctive compared to those of their neighbors, especially in Egypt, Babylon, and Israel. Richard Stoneman weaves a fascinating historical tapestry, taking into account the different kinds of oracles (healers, advisors, prophets, and others), their most important sanctuaries, debates about them among ancient thinkers, and Christian attacks on them. Delving into the reasons behind the oracles' enduring position at the heart of Greek culture, Stoneman offers fresh insights into pagan religious practice and the history of Greek intellectual and spiritual life.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents List

Illustrations and Maps

Preface

Abbreviations

Introduction

1. Why Did the Greeks Consult Oracles?

2. Possession or Policy: The Case of Delphi

3. The Riddles of the Pythia

4. From Egypt to Dodona

5. The Gods, the Heroes and the Dead

6. The Oracle Coast: Sibyls and Prophets of Asia Minor

7. Dreams and Healing

8. Dicing for Destiny

9. Foreknowledge, Fate and Philosophy

10. Sceptics, Frauds and Fakes

11. New Questions for the Oracles: Platonism and Theology

12. 'Ecstatic Predictions of Woe': The Sibylline Oracles

13. Silencing the Oracles

14. Conclusion

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

0-300-17213-3

OCLC:

884499385