Did the Greeks Really Trust the Delphic Oracle?

Trust, skepticism, and political maneuvering all shaped the Ancient Greek's interactions with their most revered institution: the Oracle at Delphi. The Oracle's pronouncements influenced decisions on everything from war and colonization to personal dilemmas and landscaping issues. Together we will undertake an in-depth analysis of the types of questions the oracle would accept, the norms and customs governing the worship, manipulation and understanding of the oracle.

Greek myth explained:

Greek Religious Practice:

Chapters

00:00 - Intro
00:20 - How much power did the Oracle have really?
01:47 - The Mechanics of Truth
04:28 - Types of Questions to Ask
06:42 - Oracular Bias
07:53 - Resistance and Deniability
11:24 - Decline

[delphinidin]

As a diviner, I can say that a lot of divination systems are based on a good deal of vagueness. If there's interpretation involved, then you can always say that the oracle wasn't wrong, but the interpretation of it was! "By attacking Cyrus you will destroy a great empire" - If Croesus had won, they would have said, yay! the Oracle was right! But when Croesus lost, they decided that he had just misinterpreted the oracle. "Oh no! the Oracle was right!" Seriously, I tried to put together a divination system with a lot of specificity once, and it did NOT work. It was too specific: it kept getting things wrong! :P

[Anonymous-qw]

Good to see this channel active again.

[ignis]

Great video! Nice to see your cat too. Just out of curiosity, what’s their name?

[WagesOfDestruction]

I do not see why the rise of democracy would reduce the need for an oracle, as the oracle would be seen as convincing.

[fatzrabbits]

Democracy was born from the oracles. Democracy was given to the world by Medea .
Medea gave us the mysteries, medicine and democracy.

[praisingsunshine]

Dressed like a young girl?? THEY WERE YOUNG GIRLS! Learn the Greek or watch those that know it!