Cumaean Sibyls
The Priestess of Apollo
Somewhere
between 534 and 510 BC, Shortly after the founding of the City of
Rome, an old woman arrived incognita in Rome. She came to the King with a
proposition to sell him nine books in Greek hexameters for three hundred pieces
of gold. The king couldn't believe his ears. Nor his eyes. "Books?
What books?" !
"I want to sell you
nine books, They contain the destiny of the world."
The king still could not believe his ears. "The
what?" he asked.
"The future of the
world," she told him in simpler terms. "My
books contain the destiny of the world."
"Even so," said the king. "The
price seems too high..."
Weeks later -- for the old woman made the long journey all the way from
Rome to Cumae, which is on the north hook of the Bay of Naples, and back again,
she presented herself again at the audience chamber of King Tarquinius Superbus
"What now?" he asked.
"I offer you six
books for sale," she answered.
"How much?" he asked.
"I told you. Three hundred
pieces of gold."
"Too much."
Some time later, for the old woman was not as young as she used to be,
and the roads between Cumae and Rome are very long roads in any century, she
presented herself again at the court of King Tarquin.
"I can offer you
three books," she told the king.
"How much?" he inquired.
"Same price. Three hundred pieces of gold,"
she said.
"What happened to
the other six," he asked.
"I burnt them," she said.
King Tarquin bought the three remaining books, which the Old woman
claimed contained the Worlds destiny, for three hundred pieces of gold, from the
old woman. She was the original Cumaean Sibyl . The name of
the Cumaean sibyl was Amalthaea.
Then he asked her to rewrite, or to have reconstituted, the other six
books.
"No,"
was her reply.
After he had read his three books, he asked her again. "No,"
she repeated.
Rome subsequently went on to be a kingdom and later a republic. Rome
expanded for Centuries and finally collapsed.
The books were stored in a closely guarded vault
beneath the temple of Jupiter in Rome they were consulted by the
Pagan college of priests . Julius Caesar gave a copy of the Books to
his high priests, who were the only public servants permitted to
read them . {Priestesses--by Norma Lorre Goodrich }
The books were preserved until a disastrous fire swept through Rome
in 83 BC, during a Roman Civil War. These were the first
Sibylline Books
Afterwards, the Senate under Augustus Caesar sent envoys to various
oracles to collect similar prophecies, along with fragmentary remains of
the first Sibylline Books they assembled a collection that became
the second Sibylline Books.
They
survived for several centuries until it was reportedly destroyed by
Flavius Stilicho , a Roman General of German decent. [At one point
virtual ruler of Rome] Copies, and fragments of some Sibylline works were preserved and
have found their way into Christian Apocryphal Literature
The Cumaean Sibyl located near the Greek city of Naples, whom
Virgil's Aeneas consults before his descent to the lower world (Aeneid
book VI: 10). It was she who supposedly sold to Tarquinius
Superbus, the last king of Rome, the original Sibylline books .
"She changes her features and the color of her countenance; her
hair springs up erect, her bosom heaves and pants, her wild heart
beats violently, the foam gathers on her lips, and her voice is
terrible." And when she was possessed, Virgil added, "She paces to
and fro in her cave and gesticulates as if she would expel the gods
from her breast."
The Aeneid of Virgil |
One of the Sibyl's peculiarities, was that when consulted she would
write her predictions on leaves and lay them at the edge of her cave,
from which they were blown hither and yon by the wind and often
confusedly mixed up, making them all but unintelligible to their
readers, {Sounds like the Quatrains of Nostradamus }.
The Cumaean Sibyl was held in high
esteem by early Christians, she was considered a prophet of the
birth of Christ, because the
Virgil's 4th Eclogue appears to contain a Messianic prophecy by
this Sibyl. Michelangelo also prominently featured the Cumaean Sibyl
in his Sistine Chapel paintings.
The Delphic Sibyls
Delphi is located 110 mi. northwest of
Athens and is situated on a steep mountain slope that descends into the
Pleistos Valley. There were a number of Sibyls who bore the title "The
Delphic Sybil" derived from this locale.
Soon after becoming Emperor of Rome in 54 AD,
Nero murdered his own mother, then
went on vacation. When he visited the Oracle at Delphi, the
Soothsayer
screamed at him
"Your presence here
outrages the god you seek. Go back, matricide! The number 73 marks the hour of
your downfall!"
Nero was infuriated and had the Delphic Sibyl buried alive in the cavern, along
with the temple priests after their hands and feet had been chopped off. Nero
thought the number 73 would be his age at death. He was only 30 years old then,
so he did not worry about it. The number actually related to
Servius
Sulpicius Galba, [ruled 68
-69 AD] who was 73 years old when he succeeded Nero in 68 AD.
Before he became
Roman Emperor
Hadrian [ruled 117-130 AD] visited the Delphic Oracle and drank from
the sacred fountain Kassotis. And believed that he learned firsthand
of his destiny. Upon becoming Emperor he ordered the fountain to be
plugged up to prevent anyone else from getting the same idea from
the same source. Emperor Julian had the well unblocked removed
during his reign (361-363 AD) because he believed it should be
available to everyone.
"Through
the Oracles of Apollo, the greater part of civilization had
come into being because they had revealed the will of the
gods in the sphere of politics, as well as religion, which
they regulated wisely for those who kept their advice."
Roman Emperor Julian
|
Heraclitus wrote, "The god of Delphi neither revealeth,
nor concealeth, but hinteth."
While most of this oracle
advice was ambiguous, She also gave exact answers on occasion.
Croesus, King of Lydia
[6th
century BC was concerned about the threat posed by
Cyrus the Elder, King of Persia and Babylon Seeking
divine counsel, King Croesus tested several of the best known
psychics of his time.
The Delphic Oracle was the only one whom
correctly answered the test question posed by Croesus... "What
was King Croesus engaged in at the moment of the query (which was on
the hundredth day since they had departed from Sardis)? She answered
"I can count
the sands and I can measure the Ocean, I have ears for the silent,
and know what the dumb man meaneth.
Lo, on my sense there striketh the smell of shell-covered tortoise,
boiling now in fire with the flesh of lamb in a cauldron, brass in
the vessel below and brass the cover of it."
The
messengers reported the answer, which was completely correct and
satisfactory to Croesus. The king then made a huge sacrificial
offering to Apollo and presented the Oracle with many priceless
gifts. He asked,
- "Whether Croesus should march against the
Persians, and if so, whether he should join himself with any army of
men as his friends." The Oracle replied,
- "After crossing the Halys,
Croesus will destroy a great empire."
- Croesus also inquired if he would have a long
reign, to which the Pythia answered
- "Nay, when a mule becometh king
of Medes, flee, soft-soled Lydian, by pebbly Hermus, and stay not, nor feel
shame to be a coward."
- Finally, he asked about his deaf-mute son
- The Oracle replied: "Son of Lydia, ruler of men,
Croesus, thou prince of fools, desire not to hear in thy halls the voice long
prayed for of a son speaking. He will speak first on a day that is not
propitious.."
The answers did not please Croesus, but since
it seemed impossible for a mule to be king. Croesus crossed the river Halys to
invade Cappadocia, but withdrew to his own capitol at Sardis after a fierce
battle . Croesus then disbanded his army, but Cyrus followed him with
the Persian army and besieged Sardis, which fell.
Croesus did indeed destroy a great empire --- his own.
A "mule" did become monarch of
Media insofar as Cyrus was born of mixed parentage, as are
mules; his mother was a princess of Media, and his father was a
Persian.
The final prophecy was
fulfilled when a Persian soldier attacked Croesus without
recognizing him. Croesus' deaf-mute son suddenly cried out,
"Man, do not kill Croesus!" The Delphic Sybils endured until 390
AD, when Emperor Theodosius{394-395} closed the temple; his
successor, Arcadius { 395-408}, , demolished it.
The Delphic Sibyl has sometimes
been confused with the
Pythia, who gave prophecies at the Delphic Oracle.
The Persian Sibyl
The Persian Sibyl was said to be prophetic priestess , she is said to have foretold the exploits of Alexander the
Great.
The Original Persian Sibyl, by name Sambethe, was reported to be of the
daughter in law of Noah. Variant traditions list her name as
Sabba, Sambethe, Noegla, Oliva, Naaltamiki ...
"O the great Joy that I had when I
escap’d the great Destruction, when my Husband with me, and
his Brothers, and Father, and Mother, and their
Daughters-in-law, suffer’d much by being long toss’d by the
Flood! .... for when the World was drowned, and only one Man
of worth was left in his wooden House, swimming on the
Waters with the wild and tame Beasts, that the World might
replenish again by them; I was his Daughter-in-Law, and of
his Blood. "
Discourses
on the Secret Sciences and Mysteries in Accordance with the
Principles of the Ancient Magi and the Wisdom of the
Kabalistic Philosophers -
Comte de Gabalis |
According to the Sibylline Oracles
the wives of Noahs sons - Shem, Ham and Japheth endured incredibly
long lives, living for many centuries. Each subsequent generation
they coexisted with received their prophetic visions .
The Hebrew Sibyl
The Hebrew Sibyl , and the Persian Sybil may have been
one and the same. She is believed by some to have been the author of
several of the extant Twelve Sibylline oracles, not the Greco-Roman Sibylline books, which were
lost in antiquity, but rather writings dating from Second Century
BC up till the Fifth Century AD. Some Oracles also
identify this Sybil as the daughter in law of Noah.
The Libyan Sibyl
The Libyan Sibyl has been identified as the prophetic priestess
presiding over an ancient
Zeus Amon oracle at the Siwa Oasis in the
Egyptian Desert of . This oracle was consulted
by Alexander after his conquest of Egypt.
Euripides mentions the Libyan Sibyl in the prologue to his tragedy
Lamia. The mother of the Libyan Sibyl was Lamia, meaning Serpent or Medusa.
In an ancient Description of Greece, the sibyl names her parents ...
I am
by birth half mortal, half divine;
An immortal nymph was my mother, my father an eater of
corn;
On my mother's side of Idaean birth, but my fatherland
was red
Marpessus, sacred to the Mother, and the river Aidoneus.
(Pausanias
10.12.3)
|
Some Greek legends state that she was the daughter of Zeus and Lamia
, a Libyan queen loved by Zeus. Euripides mentions the Libyan Sibyl
in the prologue of the Lamia. The Greeks further state that she was
the first woman to chant oracles, she lived most of her life in
Samos. She may be one and the same as the Samian Sybil.
The Samian Sibyl
The
Samian Sibyl's oracular site was at the Isle of Samos. She is
said to have prophesied the Birth of Jesus, although this is most
likely a later interpolation by medieval Christian monks
“The
Rich One shall be born of a pure virgin.” |
The Erythraean Sibyl
The Erythraean
Sibyl, mentioned by Plato, was
based in a town Erythrae, in Asia Minor. She is said to have predicted the Trojan War and
prophesized to
the Greeks who were moving against Ilium both that Troy would be
destroyed and that Homer would write falsehoods.
The word acrostic was applied to the Erythraean
Sibyl prophecies , which were written on leaves and arranged so that
the first letters of the leaves always formed a word.
What makes
The Erythraean Sibyl important to Christians is her prediction of
Christ, given in the form of a cryptic poem which formed the
words, 'Ihsous Xristos Qeou uios spthr, which means,
"Jesus Christ the Son of God, the Saviour." See "The City of
God" .
The Hellespontine Sibyl
The Hellespontine, Trojan
or Phrygian Sibyl resided at the Apollonian
oracle at Dardania.
The sibylline collection at Gergis was attributed to the
Hellespontine Sibyl and was preserved in the temple of Apollo at
Gergis. Thence it passed to Erythrae, where it became famous.
The Phrygian Sibyl
The Phrygian Sibyl appears to be another name for the Hellespontine Sibyl.
The Tiburtine Sibyl
To the classical sibyls of the Greeks, the Romans added a
tenth, the Tiburtine Sibyl, whose seat was the ancient Etruscan town
of Tibur.
The Pseudo-Tiburtine prophecy, dated ca 380, with
additions
Sibylline Oracles or
Sibylline Books
Pseudo-Sibylline
Oracles
The original Sibylline Books were zealously guarded
scrolls written by priestesses in the Etruscan and pre-Christian
Roman Era as far back as the 6th Century BC. These were the
first Sibylline Books purchased by
King Tarquin from the Cumean Sybil. They were for
the most part destroyed during a
Roman Civil War in 83 BC.
The second Sibylline Books were
fragmentary remains of the first Sibylline Books along with a
collection assembled under Augustus Cesar .
They
survived for several centuries until it was reportedly destroyed by
Roman General Flavius Stilicho , [At one point
virtual ruler of Rome]
Copies, and fragments of some Sibylline works were preserved and
have found their way into Christian Apocryphal Literature. Some genuine
Sibylline verses from the frist books are preserved in the
Book of Marvels or Memorabilia of Phlegon of Tralles
(2nd century AD).
The extant collection known as the Sibylline
Oracles , also known as the pseudo-Sibylline Oracles
are a collection that was composed in various times and places from
the mid second century BC to the 5th century AD.
In places the oracles are believed to have undergone extensive editing,
and re-writing for the exploitation of various political and
religious agendas.