Oracle

From ArticleWorld

The term Oracle is derived from the Latin word orare meaning ‘to speak’. An oracle is a wise person or a visionary with deep spiritual inclinations having absolute authority. It may also be in the form of a verbal future prediction, given by the Gods, through an object or any life-form. In ancient times, certain places bestowed wisdom to the seeker and hence came to be known as oracles.

Prominent Oracles

The most important and influential oracle of classical Greece (Hellenic times) was Sibyl (or Pythia) who functioned from Delphi (at the Temple of Apollo). The second prominent oracle was Dodona, who believed in Zeus, Heracles and Dione. One of the most precise oracles of ancient Greece was on Crete (dedicated to Apollo).

In Egypt, a noteworthy oracle was at a temple sacred to Ammon. Alexander the Great is alleged to have visited it once and the oracle claimed that Alexander was Ammon’s son.

Oracles play an integral role in religion and even the Government in Tibet. For Tibetans, oracles are supernatural spirits who communicate the future by entering a human body. The medium is called a kuten, meaning “a physical basis”. The celebrated Dalai Lama, exiled from Tibet, is still said to consult an oracle called Nechung Oracle. He has given a detailed account of his sessions in his book ‘Freedom from Exile’.

History

The earliest documented oracles existed in China during the Shang dynasty (1600 B.C. – 1046 B.C.). The “Book of Changes”, called I. Ching, is an assortment of linear signs of that period, which were used as oracles. The present form of these signs used for divination purposes were first used under the reign of King Wu of Zhou (1046 B.C. – 1043 B.C.). The literature, philosophy and even the statecraft of China were influenced by these signs during the Zhou Dynasty (1122 B.C. – 256 B.C.).