The was a legendary figure who gave prophecies in the sacred precinct of Apollo at Delphi , located on the slopes of Mount Parnassus . The Delphic Sibyl was not involved in the operation of the Delphic Oracle and should be considered distinct from the Pythia , the priestess of Apollo.
There were several prophetic figures called Sibyls in the Graeco-Roman world. The most famous Sibyl was located at Cumae .
There are several, not necessarily consistent, legends about the Delphic Sibyl:
- ". Others said she was the sister or daughter of Apollo. Still others claimed the Sibyl received her powers from Gaia originally, who passed the oracle to Thetis , who passed it to Phoebe .
- The Sibyl came from the Troad to Delphi before the Trojan War , "in wrath with her brother Apollo", lingered for a time at Samos , visited Claros and Delos , and died in the Troad, after surviving nine generations of men. After her death, it was said that she became a wandering voice that still brought to the ears of men tidings of the future wrapped in dark riddles.
- Goodrich, Norma Lorre, ''Priestesses'', 1990.
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- Mitford, William, ''The History of Greece'', 1784. Cf. Chapter II, Religion of the Early Greeks.
- Parke, Herbert William, ''History of the Delphic Oracle'', 1939.
- Parke, Herbert William, ''Sibyls and Sibylline Prophecy'', 1988.
- Pausanias , ''Description of Greece'', (ed. and translated with commentary by Sir James Frazer ), 1913 edition. Cf. v.5
- Potter, David Stone, {Link without Title} , ''Prophecy and history in the crisis of the Roman Empire: a historical commentary on the Thirteenth Sibylline Oracle'', 1990. Cf. Chapter 3.
- West, Martin Litchfield , ''The Orphic Poems'', 1983. Cf. especially p.147.
- Suda: Delphic Sibyl from Suda On-Line. The Suda is a 10th century Byzantine encyclopedia, incorporating earlier material.
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