Essay About Spontaneous Natural Events And Natural Phenomena

Greece and Rome
Greece and Rome
CLAS 100
January 30, 2008
The Will of the Gods: Omens and Oracles
Omen
Observed, spontaneous natural events (i.e. lightning strike, seen as ultimate omen from the gods)
Can also be provoked
Interpreted as having divine significance (i.e. comets seemed random and divine, especially since sky was seen as realm of gods)
Oracle: 3 meanings
1) Place of prophecy
Site specific (i.e. Apollo at Delphi)
2) Speaker of the prophecy
3) Prophecy itself
Oracles are sought out: human initiated activity
Answer to specific question; asking the oracle
Answers given: yes, no, “by sacrificing to X”
Sometimes answers are set in poetic verse
Omens + oracles = divination
Aka prophecy (foretelling the future)
“the art of determining the future by supernatural means
Everyone has always wanted it
By-product of human forethought
Still evident today? Still around today (psychics, tarot cards, etc)
Divination: 2 types
1) Inductive divination(artificial)
Interpretation of omens
Indirect: requires human interpreter (diviner)
Technician, not always a priest
No prophecy without omen
High profile: advisors to rulers
Some omens good, others bad, others more specific
Natural phenomena: stars, eclipses, comets, thunderstorms
Divination in Nature: Animals
Prophetic: snakes, frogs, birds
Sometimes prophetic: dogs and horses
Never prophetic: fish
Humans: channels for the divine
Chance remarks
Sneezing
Epileptic fits
Small child’s speech