Pythia or Pythoness (Greek) Pytho was an older name for Delphi, and from it was formed the adjective Pythius, in the feminine Pythia. This was applied to the priestess or seeress who gave the oracles of Apollo at Delphi. "On the authority of Iamblichus, Plutarch and others, a Pythia was a priestess chosen among the sensitive of the poorer classes, and placed in a temple where oracular powers were exercised.

There she had a room secluded from all but the chief Hierophant and Seer, and once admitted, was, like a nun, lost to the world. Sitting on a tripod of brass placed over a fissure in the ground, through which arose intoxicating vapours, these subterranean exhalations, penetrating her whole system, produced the prophetic mania, in which abnormal state she delivered oracles. Aristophanes in 'Vaestas' [Vespae]

I., reg. 28, calls the Pythia ventriloqua vates or the 'ventriloquial prophetess,' on account of her stomach-voice. The ancients placed the soul of man (the lower Manas) or his personal self-consciousness, in the pit of his stomach. . . . The navel was regarded in antiquity as 'the circle of the sun,' the seat of divine internal light. Therefore was the oracle of Apollo at Delphi, the city of Delphus, the womb or abdomen -- while the seat of the temple was called the omphalos, navel" (TG 266-7).

Pythia also refers to the Pythian Games, celebrated every four years at Pytho (Delphi) in honor of the Pythian Apollo.

(See also: Pythia, Pythoness, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Pythia or Pythoness (Ancient Greek). Modern dictionaries inform us that the term means one who delivered the oracles at the temple of Delphi, and "any female supposed to have the spirit of divination in her - a witch" (Webster).

This is neither true, just nor correct. On the authority of Iamblichus, Plutarch and others, a Pythia was a priestess chosen among the sensitives of the poorer classes, and placed in a temple where oracular powers were exercised. There she had a room secluded from all but the chief Hierophant and Seer, and once admitted, was, like a nun, lost to the world. Sitting on a tripod of brass placed over a fissure in the ground, through which arose intoxicating vapours, these subterranean exhalations, penetrating her whole system, produced the prophetic mania, in which abnormal state she delivered oracles. Aristophanes in Vestas " I., reg. 28, calls the Pythia ventriloqua vates or the "ventriloquial prophetess", on account of her stomach-voice.

The ancients placed the soul of man (the lower Manas) or his personal self-consciousness, in the pit of his stomach. We find in the fourth verse of the second Nabhanedishta hymn of the Brahmans: "Hear, 0 sons of the gods, one who speaks through his name (nabha), for he hails you in your dwellings!" This is a modern somnambulic phenomenon.

The navel was regarded in antiquity as "the circle of the sun", the seat of divine internal light. Therefore was the oracle of Apollo at Delphi, the city of Delphus, the womb or abdomen - while the seat of the temple was called the omphalos, navel. As well-known, a number of mesmerized subjects can read letters, hear, smell and see through that part of their body. In India there exists to this day a belief (also among the Parsis) that adepts have flames in their navels, which enlighten for them all darkness and unveil the spiritual world. It is called with the Zoroastrians the lamp of Deshtur or the "High Priest"; and the light or radiance of the Dikshita (the initiate) with the Hindus.

(See also: Pythia, Pythoness, Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary, )

Pythius.

See PYTHIA

(See also: Pythius, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Rassilon's rise to power was explored in the Virgin New Adventures novel Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible. It is revealed in the novel that Ancient Gallifrey was ruled by the Pythia. Rassilon led a revolution against the Pythia, eventually causing her to kill herself and send her followers to the planet Karn. However, before she died she cursed Rassilon and all future Time Lords to sterility. In later New Adventures we are introduced to the concept of the genetic ...

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Rassilon, Rassilon - Other appearances

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The first oracle at Delphi was commonly known as Sibyl or Pythia, though her name was Herophile. She sang her predictions, which she received from Gaia. Later, "Sibyl" became a title given to whichever priestess manned the oracle at the time. The Sibyl sat on the Sibylline Rock, breathing in vapors from the ground1 and gaining her often puzzling predictions from that. Pausanias claimed that the Sibyl was "born between man and goddess, daughter of sea monsters and an immortal nymph". Others said she was sister or daughter to Apollo. Still others claimed the Sibyl received her powers from Gaia originally, who passed the oracle to ...

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Delphi, Delphi - Location, Delphi - Apollo, Delphi - Oracle, Delphi - Footnote, Delphi - Treasuries, Delphi - Tholos, Delphi - Modern Delphi, Delphi - Reference

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Sibyl [from Greek sibylla probably from sios bylla Doric for dios boule she that tells the will of Zeus]

Often confused with the Greek Pythia, Sibyls are reputed to have been possessed of occult knowledge, the power of prophecy and divination, and the inner sight. Practically nothing is known about their occult life, though in many cases they seem to have been initiates. Greek and Latin writers name ten, of whom the most famous is the Sibyl of the Cave of Cumae whom Aeneas consulted just before going down to Avernus (Aen 4:10) -- a veiled record of one stage in the initiation journey. Others were the Delphian, Babylonian, Libyan, Cimmerian, Erythraean, Samian, Hellespontine, Phrygian, and Tiburtine Sibyls.

The Emperor Augustus consulted in the time of stress not only the Sibylline Books, but also a certain sibyl who dwelt in seclusion near Rome; as Numa, the second of the so-called legendary kings, consulted his consort Egeria, a wise woman who dwelt in seclusion in a forest, on all affairs of state. She is no more legendary than he, and it is upon the institutions he founded and the calendar he placed in order that the religious and civic institutions and the calendar of later Rome were built.

Such wise women or initiates are known in the Orient and also among ancient Germanic tribes with their amazing priestesses, without whose counsel and consent war could not be declared, who received deputations, at times dictated alliances and treaties, and were consulted as oracles in matters of state and religion both -- Albruna, Ganna, Aurima, Veleda, and others. Such oracular or prophetic power is limited to no people and to no time, or to either sex, for what the sibyls and their Sibylline Oracles were in Greece and Rome the prophets and oracular priests and priestesses were to other countries. As far as Greece is concerned the Pythia or Prophetess of the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi was a sibyl, but of a somewhat different type, her functions being officially recognized by the Greek States and her responses received in accordance with traditional methods of interpretation.

See also SIBYLLINE BOOKS; SIBYLLINE ORACLES

(See also: Sibyl, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary)

In Greek mythology, Cresphontes was a son of Aristomaches and brother of Temenus and Aristodemus. He was a great-great-grandson of Heracles and helped lead the fifth and final attack on Mycenae in the Peloponnesus. He became King of Messene. Cresphontes and his brothers complained to the oracle that its instructions had proved fatal to those who had followed them (the oracle had told Hyllas to attack through the narrow passage when the third fruit was ripe). They received the answer that by the "third fruit" the "third generati ...

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For the 5th century BCE Spartan by the same name, see Aristodemus (Spartan). In Greek mythology, Aristodemus was a son of Aristomaches and brother of Cresphontes and Temenus. He was a great-great-grandson of Heracles and helped lead the fifth and final attack on Mycenae in the Peloponnesus. Aristodemus and his brothers complained to the Oracle that its instructions had proved fatal to those who had followed them (the Oracle had told Hyllas to attack through the narrow passage when the third fruit was ripe). They r ...

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Croesus (pronounced CREE-sus, IPA [ˈkɹisəs], the Latin transliteration of the Greek Κροίσος, in Persian قارون Qârun), who was legendary for his enormous wealth, was king of Lydia from 560/561 BC until his defeat by the Persians in about 547 BC. Born in 626 BCE, he was the son of Alyattes and continued his father's policy of conquering the Ionian cities of Asia Minor, but was friendlier to the Greeks than his father had been, giving refuge at one point to the ...

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Trophonius (the Latinate spelling) or Trophonios (in the transliterated Greek spelling) was a Greek hero or daimon or god - it was never certain which one - with a rich mythological tradition and an oracular cult at Lebadaea in Boeotia. Trophonius - Etymology and parallel cults. The name is etymologically derived from trepho, "to nourish". Strabo and several inscriptions refer to him as Zeus Trephonios. Several other chthonic Zeuses with similar titles are known from the Greek world, including ...

Including:

• Trophonius - Etymology and parallel cults
• Trophonius - Trophonius in myth
• Trophonius - Trophonius in cult
• Trophonius - Trophonius in the classical tradition

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Apollo (Greek: Απόλλων, Apóllōn; Απελλων) is a god in Greek and Roman mythology, the son of Zeus and Leto, and the twin of Artemis (goddess of the hunt), one of the most important and many-sided of the Olympian divinities. In later times he became in part confused or equated with Helios, god of the sun, and his sister similarly equated with Selene, goddess of the moon in religious contexts. But Apollo and Helios/Sol remained quite separate beings in literary/mythological texts. In Etruscan mythology, he was know ...

Including:

• Apollo - Worship
• Apollo - Etymology of the name
• Apollo - Apollo in art
• Apollo - Appellations
• Apollo - Birth
• Apollo - Youth
• Apollo - Apollo and Admetus
• Apollo - Apollo During the Trojan War
• Apollo - Niobe
• Apollo - Apollo's romantic life and children
• Apollo - Heterosexual relationships
• Apollo - Homosexual relationships
• Apollo - Apollo and the Birth of Hermes
• Apollo - Other stories
• Apollo - Musical contests
• Apollo - Miscellaneous
• Apollo - Spoken-word myths - audio files
• Apollo - Apollo in popular culture

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The Ancient Olympic Games were an athletic and religious celebration held in the Greek town of Olympia from (historically) as early as 776 BC to 393 AD. Ancient Olympic Games - Origin. The historical origins of the Ancient Olympic Games are lost in the fog of time, but several legends and myths survive. One of these involved Pelops, king of Olympia and eponymous hero of the Peloponnesus, to whom offerings were made during the games. The Christian Clement of Alexandria asserted that "[The] Olympian games are ...

Including:

• Ancient Olympic Games - Origin
• Ancient Olympic Games - History
• Ancient Olympic Games - Events
• Ancient Olympic Games - Famous athletes

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Michael archangel - Michael in the canonical New Testament. In the Epistle of Jude of the New Testament in verse 9, Michael disputes with Satan over the body of Moses. In Apocalypse 12:7, "And there was a great battle in heaven, Michael and his angels fought with the dragon." St. John speaks of an event which shows Michael fighting a seven-headed dragon, representative of Satan, in a battle in heaven. Michael archangel - Michael in the Christian Apocrypha. In the Apocalypse of Moses (book 1) of the Christian Apocrypha, it i ...

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Michael archangel, Michael archangel - Michael according to Jewish tradition and the Hebrew Bible, Michael archangel - Michael in the Book of Daniel, Michael archangel - Michael in the Book of Joshua, Michael archangel - Michael in rabbinic traditions, Michael archangel - Michael in Hebrew Apocrypha, Michael archangel - Michael in the Book of Enoch, Michael archangel - Michael in Kabbalistic traditions, Michael archangel - Michael according to Christian tradition, Michael archangel - Michael in the canonical New Testament, Michael archangel - Michael in the Christian Apocrypha, Michael archangel - Michael in Christian legend, Michael archangel - Michael in other Christian denominations, Michael archangel - In occultism, Michael archangel - Shrines of St. Michael, Michael archangel - Michael in Islam, Michael archangel - Michael in Milton's Paradise Lost, Michael archangel - Michael in popular culture, Michael archangel - Michael's role in The Exorcist, Michael archangel - The movie Michael, Michael archangel - The DC Lucifer comics Michael, Michael archangel - Bibliography

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Sages and sagacity descend from remote prehistoric times. They appear in the first Greek literature, the Iliad, with the same meaning as later or with overlapping meanings. The claims of the Greek writers that the seven sages or any sages represent a first in sagacity are brashness. Seven Sages of Greece - The context of sagacity. The Iliad (3.146) has its sages, such as Oukalegon and Antenor, two Trojan demogerontes ("senators") who were "both sage", pepnumeno ampho, in the dual number. Pepnumeno is relat ...

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Seven Sages of Greece, Seven Sages of Greece - The wisdom of the sages, Seven Sages of Greece - The context of sagacity, Seven Sages of Greece - The sagacity of action, Seven Sages of Greece - The instutution of sagacity, Seven Sages of Greece - Bibliography

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Michael archangel - Michael in the canonical New Testament. In the Epistle of Jude of the New Testament in verse 9, Michael disputes with Satan over the body of Moses. In Revelation 12:7, "And there was a great battle in heaven, Michael and his angels fought with the dragon." John speaks of an event which shows Michael fighting a seven-headed dragon, representative of Satan, in a battle in heaven. Michael archangel - Michael in the Christian Apocrypha. In the Apocalypse of Moses (book 1) of the Christian Apocrypha, it i ...

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Michael archangel, Michael archangel - Michael according to Jewish tradition and the Hebrew Bible, Michael archangel - Michael in the Book of Daniel, Michael archangel - Michael in the Book of Joshua, Michael archangel - Michael in rabbinic traditions, Michael archangel - Michael in Hebrew Apocrypha, Michael archangel - Michael in the Book of Enoch, Michael archangel - Michael in Kabbalistic traditions, Michael archangel - Michael according to Christian tradition, Michael archangel - Michael in the canonical New Testament, Michael archangel - Michael in the Christian Apocrypha, Michael archangel - Michael in Christian legend, Michael archangel - Michael in other Christian denominations, Michael archangel - In occultism, Michael archangel - Shrines of St. Michael, Michael archangel - Michael in Islam, Michael archangel - Michael in Milton's Paradise Lost, Michael archangel - Michael in popular culture, Michael archangel - Michael's role in The Exorcist, Michael archangel - The movie Michael, Michael archangel - The DC Lucifer comics Michael, Michael archangel - Bibliography

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Apollo is considered to have dominion over plague, beauty, light, healing, colonists, medicine, archery, poetry, prophecy, dance, reason, intellectualism, Shamans, and as the patron defender of herds and flocks. Apollo had a famous oracle in Delphi and other notable ones in Clarus and Branchidae. Apollo is known as the leader of the Muses ("musagetes") and director of their choir. His attributes include: swans, wolves, dolphins, bows and arrows, a laurel crown, the cithara (or lyre) and plectrum. The sacrificial tripod is anoth ...

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Apollo, Apollo - Worship, Apollo - Etymology of the name, Apollo - Apollo in art, Apollo - Appellations, Apollo - Birth, Apollo - Youth, Apollo - Apollo and Admetus, Apollo - Apollo during the Trojan War, Apollo - Niobe, Apollo - Apollo's romantic life and children, Apollo - Heterosexual relationships, Apollo - Homosexual relationships, Apollo - Apollo and the Birth of Hermes, Apollo - Other stories, Apollo - Musical contests, Apollo - Miscellaneous, Apollo - Spoken-word myths - audio files, Apollo - Apollo in popular culture

Read more here: » Apollo: Encyclopedia II - Apollo - Worship

List of DC Cosmic Entities - 0-9. 3600 the 853rd Century The 3 Demons The 5th Dimensional Imps List of DC Cosmic Entities - A. the A Abaddon the Destroyer Abnegazar Adramelech African Gods Agony & Ectacy Agamemno Air Elementals Ale The Aleph Alexander Luthor Amenadiel Amethyst Angel Host the ...

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List of DC Cosmic Entities, List of DC Cosmic Entities - List of DC Cosmic Entities, List of DC Cosmic Entities - 0-9, List of DC Cosmic Entities - A, List of DC Cosmic Entities - B, List of DC Cosmic Entities - C, List of DC Cosmic Entities - D, List of DC Cosmic Entities - E, List of DC Cosmic Entities - F, List of DC Cosmic Entities - G, List of DC Cosmic Entities - H, List of DC Cosmic Entities - I, List of DC Cosmic Entities - J, List of DC Cosmic Entities - K, List of DC Cosmic Entities - L, List of DC Cosmic Entities - M, List of DC Cosmic Entities - N, List of DC Cosmic Entities - O, List of DC Cosmic Entities - P, List of DC Cosmic Entities - Q, List of DC Cosmic Entities - R, List of DC Cosmic Entities - S, List of DC Cosmic Entities - T, List of DC Cosmic Entities - U, List of DC Cosmic Entities - V, List of DC Cosmic Entities - W, List of DC Cosmic Entities - X, List of DC Cosmic Entities - Y, List of DC Cosmic Entities - Z

Read more here: » List of DC Cosmic Entities: Encyclopedia II - List of DC Cosmic Entities - List of DC Cosmic Entities

Apollo is considered to have dominion over plague, beauty, light, healing, colonists, medicine, archery, poetry, prophecy, dance, reason, intellectualism, Shamans, and as the patron defender of herds and flocks. Apollo had a famous oracle in Crete and other notable ones in Clarus and Branchidae. Apollo is known as the leader of the Muses ("musagetes") and director of their choir. His attributes include: swans, wolves, dolphins, bows and arrows, a laurel crown, the cithara (or lyre) and plectrum. The sacrificial tripod is anothe ...

See also:

Apollo, Apollo - Worship, Apollo - Etymology of the name, Apollo - Apollo in art, Apollo - Appellations, Apollo - Birth, Apollo - Youth, Apollo - Apollo and Admetus, Apollo - Apollo During the Trojan War, Apollo - Niobe, Apollo - Apollo's romantic life and children, Apollo - Heterosexual relationships, Apollo - Homosexual relationships, Apollo - Apollo and the Birth of Hermes, Apollo - Other stories, Apollo - Musical contests, Apollo - Miscellaneous, Apollo - Spoken-word myths - audio files, Apollo - Apollo in popular culture

Read more here: » Apollo: Encyclopedia II - Apollo - Worship

In Greek mythology, Trophonius was a son of Erginus. According to the Homeric Hymn to Apollo, he built Apollo's temple at the oracle at Delphi with his brother, Agamedes. Once finished, the oracle told the brothers to do whatsoever they wished for six days and, on the seventh, their greatest wish would be granted. They did and were found dead on the seventh day. The saying "those whom the gods love die young" comes from this story. Alternatively, according to Pausanias they built a treasure chamber (with secret entrance only they knew ...

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Trophonius, Trophonius - Etymology and parallel cults, Trophonius - Trophonius in myth, Trophonius - Trophonius in cult, Trophonius - Trophonius in the classical tradition

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Unlike the Modern Olympic Games, only men who spoke Greek were allowed to participate in the Ancient Games. They were to some extent "international", though, in the sense that they included athletes from the various Greek city-states. Additionally, participants eventually came from Greek colonies as well, extending the range of the games to far shores of the Mediterranean and of the Black Sea. In order to be in the games one had to qualify and one's name written down in the lists. It seems that only young people were allowed to ...

See also:

Ancient Olympic Games, Ancient Olympic Games - Origin, Ancient Olympic Games - History, Ancient Olympic Games - Events, Ancient Olympic Games - Famous athletes

Read more here: » Ancient Olympic Games: Encyclopedia II - Ancient Olympic Games - Events