Ovid's Metamorphoses consists of a
collection
of many mythological stories, retold in poetic form.
Voices of Ancient Greece and Rome_nodrm
--THE DELPHIC ORACLE
INTRODUCTION
Oracles were always an important part of Greek (and Roman) religion. The word "oracle" is related to the Latin word for "mouth" or "speech," and those associations capture the essence of what an oracle was: a god's reply to a question posed by a believer. Oracular shrines, hous- ing priests or priestesses who would assist in the relaying of the divine response to mortal ears, were common throughout the Greco-Roman world and much referenced in ancient literature. The most famous of these oracular shrines was undoubtedly the one located in the remote mountain town of Delphi, in Greece. The Delphic Oracle, sacred to the god Apollo, attracted pilgrims from all over the ancient world over the course of many centuries. The first document in this chapter provides an account of one of these pilgrimages.
KEEP IN MIND AS YOU READ
1. The Greek historian Herodotus (490-425 BCE) is our source for this document.
2. Croesus, the sixth-century BCE proverbially wealthy ruler of the kingdom of Lydia, in Asia Minor, had a problem. His land was facing an onslaught led by the powerful king of the Persians, Cyrus the Great, and Croesus was not quite certain about how to combat the threat. So he sent messengers to the Oracle at Delphi and to five other Greek oracles as well: "to Abae in Phocis, to Dodona, to the oracles of Amphiaraus and Trophonius, and to Branchidae," according to Herodotus, as well
as to the Libyan oracle of Ammon, hoping for help and information.
3. The Delphic Oracle had something of an international flavor; not only Greeks, but
also other peoples, consulted its priestesses for help and advice.
Document: An Oracular Consultation
Cyrus had destroyed the empire of Astyages, and the power of Persia was steadily increasing. This gave Croesus food for thought, and he wondered if he might be able to check Persian expansion before it had gone too far. [Next comes the account of the oracles he consulted, as described above in "Keep in Mind as
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You Read. "] His object was to test the knowledge of the oracles, so that if they should prove to be in possession of the truth he might send a second time and ask if he should undertake a campaign against Persia.
The Lydians whom Croesus sent to make the test were given the following orders: on the hundredth day, reckoning from the day on which they left Sardis, they were to consult the oracles, and inquire what Croesus . . . was doing at that moment. The answer of each oracle was to be taken down in writing and brought back to Sardis. No one has recorded the answer of any of the oracles except that of Delphi; here . . . the Priestess gave them . . . the following reply:
. . . The smell has come to my sense of a hard-shelled tortoise Boiling and bubbling with lamb's flesh in a bronze pot.
The cauldron underneath is of bronze, and of bronze the lid.
The Lydians took down the Priestess' answer and returned with it to Sardis. When the other messengers came back with the answers they had received, Croesus opened all the rolls and read what they contained. None had the least effect on him except the one which contained the answer from Delphi . . . [H]e accepted it with profound reverence, declaring that the oracle at Delphi was the only genuine one in the world, because it had succeeded in finding out what he had been doing. And indeed it had; for after sending off the messengers, Croesus had thought of something which no one would be likely to guess, and with his own hands, keeping carefully to the prearranged date, had cut up a tortoise and a
lamb and boiled them together in a bronze cauldron with a bronze lid . . . Croesus now attempted to win the favor of the Delphian Apollo by a magnificent sacrifice. Of every kind of appropriate animal he slaughtered three thousand; he burnt in a huge pile a number of precious objects--couches overlaid with gold or silver, golden cups, tunics, and other richly colored garments--in the hope of binding the god more closely to his interest. And he issued a command that every Lydian was also to offer a sacrifice according to his means. After this ceremony, he melted down an enormous quantity of gold into one hundred and seventeen ingots [each weighing over 100 pounds. Additionally, he ordered an image of a solid gold lion to
be fabricated; weight: 570 pounds]. . . .
This was by no means all that Croesus sent to Delphi;
there were also two huge mixing-bowls, one of gold which was placed on the right-hand side of the entrance to the tem- ple, the other of silver, on the left . . . In addition, Croesus sent four silver casks . . . and two sprinklers for lustral water, one of gold, the other of silver . . . There were many other gifts of no great importance, including round silver basins, but I must not forget to mention a figure of a woman, in gold, four and a half feet high, said by the Delphians to re- present the woman who baked Croesus' bread. Lastly, he sent his own wife's necklaces and girdles. These, then, were the offerings which Croesus sent to Delphi . . .
The Lydians who were to bring the presents to the tem- ples were instructed by Croesus to ask the oracles if he should
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Astyages: King of the Median Empire, who ruled for 35 years before being dethroned by Cyrus in 550 BCE. He was the grandfather of Cyrus, and had tried to put Cyrus to death when the latter was an infant because of an oracular prophecy. No wonder that many years later, Cyrus wanted to oust him from his kingship!
Priestess' answer: Answers to ques- tions put to the Delphic oracle were delivered via the priestesses who tended the shrine.
Sardis: Capital city of Lydia, famous for the quality of its handcrafted products and also noted for its gold and silver coins, the first city in the ancient world to produce such coinage.
stater: A commonly used gold coin.
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undertake the campaign against Persia . . . On their arrival, therefore, they offered the gifts with the proper ceremony and put their question in the following words: "Croesus . . . has given you gifts such as your power of divination deserves, and now asks if he should march against Persia . . . " To this question, [the oracle] . . . foretold that if Croesus attacked the Persians, he would destroy a great empire . . .
Croesus was overjoyed when he learned the answer . . . and was fully confi- dent of destroying the power of Cyrus. To express his satisfaction, he sent a fur- ther present to Delphi of two gold staters for every man . . . The Delphians in return granted in perpetuity to Croesus and the people of Lydia the right of cit- izenship for any who wished, together with exemption from dues, front seats at state functions, and priority in consulting the oracle. [Tr. Aubrey de Selincourt. Herodotus: The Histories. (1. 47-54. ). Penguin Books, 1954. Page numbers: 57, 58, 59, 60. ]
AFTERMATH
As Herodotus explains, "Croesus was overjoyed when he learned the answer which the oracles" gave, and so he make plans to attack the Persians, disregarding or forgetting the fact that Apollo's oracular responses were often ambiguous; by attacking the Persians, Croesus did destroy a great empire: his own! For Cyrus and his army ultimately besieged and occupied Sardis; Croesus was taken prisoner. According to the biographer Plutarch, Cyrus was about to have Croesus executed, when Croesus three times cried out the name "Solon," the famous Athenian legislator/philosopher/businessman. Solon had visited Croesus some time before and had tried to teach him that no one can be considered truly happy until death, because only then can an assessment be made of the quality of that person's life. Croesus had thought that that was ridiculous, and that money and possessions, temporal things, equate to happi- ness. But in the end, he had lost all of his fabulous wealth and was about to lose his life; too late, he saw the value of Solon's words. But Cyrus was so impressed with this idea, and with other things that Croesus told him, that he decided to spare the life of the Lydian king.
ASK YOURSELF
1. If the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi was the most prestigious Greek oracle, why do you suppose Croesus bothered also to send messengers to six other oracles?
King Croesus Consults--and Bribes? --the Delphic Oracle
? ? ? ? TWO NON-ORACULAR DELPHIC CLAIMS TO FAME
An uncertain number of maxims were carved into the columns and other portions of Apollo's temple at Delphi. Three of these sayings--often attributed to the Seven Sages--have achieved lasting fame: "Know yourself"; "Nothing in excess"; "Be a guarantor for debts (like a co-signer for a loan, in modern times), and ruin is at hand. "
Also, Delphi was famous for the quadrennial Pythian Games held within its precincts, an athletic competi- tion second only to the Olympics in fame and prestige. The stadium where the footraces were held is of particu- lar interest. It was carved into the side of a steep mountain in an area barely long enough to accommodate the stade race (about 220 yards). At the far end, where the finish line was located, there was very little space between that line and a solid wall of mountain rock, so sprinters must have had to put on the brakes very quickly at the end of the race to avoid slamming directly into the wall!
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2. Does Herodotus give us any indication of whether he believes in pronouncements from the Delphic Oracle, either on this occasion or any time?
3. Describe the contents of the "magnificent sacrifice" that Croesus ordered to be pre- pared in honor of Apollo. What does this tell us about the wealth of Croesus and his kingdom?
4. Why do you think Herodotus refers to "round silver basins," the golden statue of Croesus's bread baker, and the necklaces and girdles of Croesus's wife as "gifts of no importance"?
TOPICS TO CONSIDER
e Whatdoyousupposeaccountsfortheenduringlongevity,credibility,and popularity of the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi? After all, its often ambiguous responses could lead questioners astray, or even to ruin, as in the case of Croesus.
e When Croesus sent the messengers to the seven different oracles, with the test about his activities on the hundredth day, Herodotus tells us that the Oracle at Delphi was the only one to come up with the correct response. How could the priestesses, or the god, or whoever, possibly have known what Croesus had been doing on that day (boiling the turtle/lamb soup in a bronze cauldron)?
e HerodotusinformsusthatafterthemessengersreturnedfromDelphiwith the news that the oracle had correctly described Croesus's hundredth-day activities, Croesus immediately began busying himself with assembling "a magnificent sacrifice" in honor of Apollo. What do you suppose was his pur- pose in preparing such a treasure trove of expensive gifts? Could it have been a bribe for another favorable response? Or something else? Can you think of any modern examples or instances where a person might say a prayer to God or some other divine or supernatural being, along with an offer to perform some service, in exchange for the prayer being answered favorably?
Further Information
Broad, William J. The Oracle: Ancient Delphi and the Science Behind Its Lost Secrets. New York, 2006.
Burkert, Walter. Greek Religion (tr. into English by John Raffan. ) Cambridge, MA, 1985. Fontenrose, Joseph Eddy. The Delphic Oracle: Its Responses and Operations, with a Catalogue
of Responses. Berkeley, CA, 1978. Website
Delphi. www. delphi-site. com/mobile. html
Bibliography for Document
Blanco, Walter (tr. ). Herodotus: The Histories. New York, 1992.
de Selincourt, Aubrey (tr. ). Herodotus: The Histories. Baltimore, 1954.
Godley, A. D. (tr. ). Herodotus. Volume I. [LCL. ] Cambridge and London, 1920.
Matz, David. Ancient World Lists and Numbers: Numerical Phrases and Rosters in the Greco-
Roman World. Jefferson, NC, 1995.
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36. JULIUS CAESAR BECOMES A GOD
INTRODUCTION
The Roman poet Publius Ovidius Naso ("Ovid"; 43 BCE-17 CE) was the author of a wide variety of works, especially love poems. The document is excerpted from his long epic poem about Greek and Roman mythology: Metamorphoses.
KEEP IN MIND AS YOU READ
1.
Ovid's Metamorphoses consists of a collection of many mythological stories, retold in poetic form. Their common theme: some kind of transformation. Most of the entries in the collection are focused on Greek mythology, but the final few selec- tions are purely Roman. The document relates Ovid's description of the deification of Julius Caesar. This is the final scene portrayed in his Metamorphoses.
2. In the opening lines of his Metamorphoses, Ovid describes the work as a poem which encompasses all of human history.
3. The ancient Romans could and did adopt adults into their families, especially as sons. Julius Caesar did this with his grand-nephew, whose original name was simply Gaius Octavius. When Caesar's will was read after his assassination, it was revealed that he had adopted young Octavius (he was about 18 years of age at the time) as his son. As a result, Octavius acquired his adoptive father's full name--Gaius Julius Caesar--along with his own family name, Octavius, appended in a slightly different form, Octavianus. So his full name became Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus. The Roman Senate granted him the honorary title "Augustus" in 27 BCE, and it is by this name that he is probably most commonly known today.
Document: From Mortal to God
Caesar is a god in his own land. The first in wars and peace, he rose by wars, which closed in triumphs, and by civic deeds to glory quickly won, and even more his offspring's love exalted him as a new, a heavenly, sign and brightly flam- ing star. Of all the achievements of great Julius Caesar not one is more ennobling
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to his fame than being father of his glorious son. Was it more glorious for him to subdue the Britons . . . or lead his fleet victorious[ly in Egypt] . . . to have some triumphs and deserve far more, than to be the father of so great a man, with whom as ruler of the human race, O gods, you bless us past all reckoning?
And [to prevent that son from being considered a mere mortal], Julius Caesar must change and be a god. [Next, the goddess Venus appears; she fears that Caesar, a descendant of her son Aeneas, the long-ago founder of the Roman race, might fall victim to an assassination plot, and so she appeals to all the gods to prevent such a tragedy. The gods are sympathetic but helpless, because even they are not strong enough to alter the dictates of fate. The king of the gods, Jupiter, reassures her that Caesar's adopted son Augustus will avenge the inevitable assassination and usher in a Golden Age in Rome. Jupiter speaks]: "With peace established over all the lands, he then will turn his mind to civil rule and as a prudent legislator will enact wise laws. And he will regulate the manners of his people by his own example. Looking forward to the days of future time and of posterity, he will command the offspring born of his devoted wife, to assume the imperial name and the burden of his cares. Nor till his age shall equal Nestor's years will he ascend to heavenly dwellings and his kindred stars. Meanwhile transform the soul [i. e. , of Julius Caesar], which shall be reft from this doomed body, to a starry light, that always god-like Julius may look down in future from his heavenly residence upon our Forum and our Capitol. "
Jupiter had hardly pronounced these words, when kindly Venus, although seen by none, stood in the middle of the Senate-house, and caught from the dying limbs and trunk of her own Caesar his departing soul. She did not give it time so that it could dissolve in air,
but bore it quickly up, toward all the stars of heaven; and on the way, she saw it gleam and blaze and set it free. Above the moon it mounted into heaven, leaving behind a long and fiery trail, and as a star it glittered in the sky. There, wondering at the younger Caesar's [i. e. , Augustus's] deeds, Julius confessed that they were superior to all of his, and he rejoiced because his son was greater even than himself. [Tr. Brookes Otis. Ovid: Metamorphoses 15. http://www. theoi. com/Text/OvidMetamorphoses15. html]
AFTERMATH
"If the pronouncements of prophets contain any truth, I will live on in fame, throughout all the future generations. " These are the final words of Ovid's Metamorphoses, and they reflect
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? glorious son: Julius Caesar had no bio- logical sons. The "glorious son" ref- erenced here is his son by adoption, Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, better known as Octavian and later as Augustus.
Nestor's years: Nestor was the prover- bially old chieftain who accompa- nied the Greeks to Troy during the Trojan War.
offspring born: Augustus and his wife Livia did not have any surviving sons, so Augustus was succeeded by his stepson Tiberius, Livia's son by a previous marriage. The phrase "offspring born" refers to Tiberius.
peace established: Augustus was widely credited with founding the Pax Romana, "Roman peace," a long period of relative tranquility after the bloody and destructive civil wars of the 40s and 30s BCE.
wise laws: As emperor, Augustus intro- duced many legal, political, mili- tary, and social reforms into Roman life. A full description of these enactments can be found in the Life of Deified Augustus, writ- ten by the Roman biographer Suetonius (ca. 70-140 CE), espe- cially in Chapters 29 through 56.
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the notion shared by many Greek and Roman authors that their written works would last forever. In Ovid's case, at least, that prophecy still rings true.
ASK YOURSELF
1. What does Ovid mean by the phrase "he [Julius Caesar] rose by wars"?
2. What reason or justification does Ovid give for the deification of Julius Caesar?
3. The general theme of Ovid's Metamorphoses involves the concept of change, or
transformation. How does the deification of Caesar fit into this theme? Into what was he transformed?
TOPICS TO CONSIDER
e Lucius Annaeus Seneca (sometimes called the "Younger Seneca," 4 BCE- 65 CE) is generally thought to be the author of a parody of the deification process of emperors. Its title: Apocolocyntosis, a play on the for- mal word for deification--apotheosis--and roughly translated as "Pumpkinification. " Read Seneca's Apocolocyntosis (it is very short! ). What elements of satire and parody do you notice in it? Which Roman emperor's apotheosis is Seneca mocking? Are there any similarities between Seneca's satire and Ovid's account of Caesar's apotheosis? (A translation of the Apocolocyntosis may be found at http://ancienthistory . about. com/library/bl/bl_text_seneca_apocol. htm. )
e In our culture we seldom, if ever, hear of families adopting full-grown adults as their sons or daughters. Why do you suppose the ancient Romans did this? What would be the advantages?
e Several of the first-century CE Roman emperors were deified, including Augustus, Claudius, Vespasian, and Titus. Many subsequent emperors also received this honor. Still others demanded to be worshipped as gods while they lived but were never formally granted deification after their deaths. Research this issue. What seem to be the prime requirements for deifica- tion? What are the procedures involved in declaring an emperor a god? Can you think of any modern societies or nations in which the leader is regarded as a god, or almost a god?
e Inthedocumentexcerpt,Ovidclearlywritesaveryfavorable,evenflatter- ing, account of Augustus and his deeds. Yet early in the first century CE, Augustus decreed that Ovid be exiled from Rome for life. The poet was sent to live in the region of the Black Sea, a wild, uncultured place and an extremely hostile environment for a man of Ovid's sophistication and elegance. Although he begged on a number of occasions to be allowed to return to Rome, Augustus never relented. Find out why Augustus appa- rently decided that Ovid should receive such a terrifying punishment. (The true reason is uncertain, but it is quite easy to draw conclusions. ) Are there similar, modern examples of authors being forced to leave their homes and go into exile or hiding because of something they had written?
e Read over the sections of Suetonius's biography of Augustus referenced above. Do you agree with Ovid's assessment that he was a "prudent legisla- tor" who "enact[ed] wise laws"?
Julius Caesar Becomes a God
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Further Information
Boyle, A. J. and J. P. Sullivan (eds. ). Roman Poets of the Early Empire. London, 1991. Frankel, Herman. Ovid: A Poet between Two Worlds. Berkeley, CA, 1945.
Galinsky, G. K. Ovid's Metamorphoses: An Introduction to the Basic Aspects. Berkeley and
Los Angeles, 1975.
Otis, Brooks. Ovid as an Epic Poet. Cambridge, 1996.
Website
Extensive bibliography for Ovid: http://uts. cc. utexas. edu/~silver/Ovid/ovid-biblio. html
Bibliography for Document
Humphries, Rolfe (tr. ). Ovid: Metamorphoses. Bloomington, IN, 1955. http://www. theoi. com/Text/OvidMetamorphoses15. html
37. JOB DESCRIPTION FOR A VESTAL VIRGIN
INTRODUCTION
In its earliest days, Rome was ruled by a series of seven kings. The second of these was Numa Pompilius (traditional dates of his reign: 714-671 BCE). The document is excerpted from Plutarch's biography of Numa.
KEEP IN MIND AS YOU READ
1. At least some of the early Roman kings were considered semilegendary, but Numa seems to be fairly well attested. He is credited with a number of religious reforms and innovations, including the establishment of various cult of priests and priest- esses, religious rites, and the construction of temples.
2. One of the best known of the priestly cults that Numa reputedly founded was actually a cult of priestesses: the Vestal Virgins. Their job was to tend the temple of Vesta, the Roman goddess of home and hearth. There were six Vestals, each of whom was expected to serve a term of 30 years.
Document: A Vestal's Duties
To Numa is . . . ascribed the institution of that order of high priests who are called Pontifices, and he himself is said to have been the first of them . . . [Plutarch next embarks upon an interesting discussion of the etymology of the word Pontifices (sg. Pontifex). The word might be derived from the Latin word potens ("powerful"), given that these priests were serving powerful gods. Another explanation, which Plutarch considered spurious, is that it came from a combination of the Latin words pons ("bridge") and facere ("to build"), a "bridge-builder. " The pontifices numbered among their duties the performing of religious sacrifices at bridges over the Tiber River, and beyond that, they were also responsible for the maintenance of bridges. ]
The chief of the Pontifices, the Pontifex Maximus, had the duty of expounding and interpreting the divine will, or rather of directing sacred rites,
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not only being in charge of public ceremonies, but also watching over private sacrifices and preventing any depar- ture from established custom, as well as teaching whatever was requisite for the worship or propitiation of the gods. He was also overseer of the holy virgins called Vestals; for to Numa is ascribed the consecration of the Vestal Virgins, and in general the worship and care of the perpet- ual fire entrusted to their charge. It was either because he thought the nature of fire pure and uncorrupted, and there- fore entrusted it to chaste and undefiled persons, or because he thought of it as unfruitful and barren, and therefore associated it with virginity . . .
In the beginning, then, they say that Gegania and Verenia were consecrated to this office by Numa, who sub- sequently added to them Canuleia and Tarpeia; that at a later time two were added by Servius, making the number [six] which has continued to the present time. It was ordained by the king that the sacred virgins should vow themselves to chastity for thirty years; during the first de- cade they are to learn their duties, during the second to per- form the duties they have learned, and during the third to
teach others these duties. Then, the thirty years being now passed, any one [of the priestesses] who wishes has the liberty to marry and adopt a different mode of life, after laying down her sacred office. We are told, however, that few have welcomed the indulgence, and that those who did so were not happy, but were a prey to repentance and dejection for the rest of their lives, thereby inspiring the rest with superstitious fears, so that until old age and death they remained steadfast in their virginity.
But Numa bestowed great privileges upon them, such as the right to make a will during the lifetime of their fathers, and to transact and manage their other affairs . . . When they appear in public, the fasces are carried before them, and if they accidentally meet a criminal on his way to execution, his life is spared; but the virgin must make oath that the meeting was involuntary and fortuitous, and not of design. He who passes under the litter on which they are borne is put to death. For their minor offenses, the virgins are punished with stripes, the Pontifex Maximus [chief priest, as mentioned above] sometimes scourging the culprit on her bare flesh, in a dark place, with a curtain interposed. But she that has broken her vow of chastity is buried alive . . . [Tr. Bernadotte Perrin. Plutarch's Lives. Life of Numa (9, 10). Volume I. LCL, 1914. Page numbers: 337, 339, 341, 343.
INTRODUCTION
Oracles were always an important part of Greek (and Roman) religion. The word "oracle" is related to the Latin word for "mouth" or "speech," and those associations capture the essence of what an oracle was: a god's reply to a question posed by a believer. Oracular shrines, hous- ing priests or priestesses who would assist in the relaying of the divine response to mortal ears, were common throughout the Greco-Roman world and much referenced in ancient literature. The most famous of these oracular shrines was undoubtedly the one located in the remote mountain town of Delphi, in Greece. The Delphic Oracle, sacred to the god Apollo, attracted pilgrims from all over the ancient world over the course of many centuries. The first document in this chapter provides an account of one of these pilgrimages.
KEEP IN MIND AS YOU READ
1. The Greek historian Herodotus (490-425 BCE) is our source for this document.
2. Croesus, the sixth-century BCE proverbially wealthy ruler of the kingdom of Lydia, in Asia Minor, had a problem. His land was facing an onslaught led by the powerful king of the Persians, Cyrus the Great, and Croesus was not quite certain about how to combat the threat. So he sent messengers to the Oracle at Delphi and to five other Greek oracles as well: "to Abae in Phocis, to Dodona, to the oracles of Amphiaraus and Trophonius, and to Branchidae," according to Herodotus, as well
as to the Libyan oracle of Ammon, hoping for help and information.
3. The Delphic Oracle had something of an international flavor; not only Greeks, but
also other peoples, consulted its priestesses for help and advice.
Document: An Oracular Consultation
Cyrus had destroyed the empire of Astyages, and the power of Persia was steadily increasing. This gave Croesus food for thought, and he wondered if he might be able to check Persian expansion before it had gone too far. [Next comes the account of the oracles he consulted, as described above in "Keep in Mind as
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You Read. "] His object was to test the knowledge of the oracles, so that if they should prove to be in possession of the truth he might send a second time and ask if he should undertake a campaign against Persia.
The Lydians whom Croesus sent to make the test were given the following orders: on the hundredth day, reckoning from the day on which they left Sardis, they were to consult the oracles, and inquire what Croesus . . . was doing at that moment. The answer of each oracle was to be taken down in writing and brought back to Sardis. No one has recorded the answer of any of the oracles except that of Delphi; here . . . the Priestess gave them . . . the following reply:
. . . The smell has come to my sense of a hard-shelled tortoise Boiling and bubbling with lamb's flesh in a bronze pot.
The cauldron underneath is of bronze, and of bronze the lid.
The Lydians took down the Priestess' answer and returned with it to Sardis. When the other messengers came back with the answers they had received, Croesus opened all the rolls and read what they contained. None had the least effect on him except the one which contained the answer from Delphi . . . [H]e accepted it with profound reverence, declaring that the oracle at Delphi was the only genuine one in the world, because it had succeeded in finding out what he had been doing. And indeed it had; for after sending off the messengers, Croesus had thought of something which no one would be likely to guess, and with his own hands, keeping carefully to the prearranged date, had cut up a tortoise and a
lamb and boiled them together in a bronze cauldron with a bronze lid . . . Croesus now attempted to win the favor of the Delphian Apollo by a magnificent sacrifice. Of every kind of appropriate animal he slaughtered three thousand; he burnt in a huge pile a number of precious objects--couches overlaid with gold or silver, golden cups, tunics, and other richly colored garments--in the hope of binding the god more closely to his interest. And he issued a command that every Lydian was also to offer a sacrifice according to his means. After this ceremony, he melted down an enormous quantity of gold into one hundred and seventeen ingots [each weighing over 100 pounds. Additionally, he ordered an image of a solid gold lion to
be fabricated; weight: 570 pounds]. . . .
This was by no means all that Croesus sent to Delphi;
there were also two huge mixing-bowls, one of gold which was placed on the right-hand side of the entrance to the tem- ple, the other of silver, on the left . . . In addition, Croesus sent four silver casks . . . and two sprinklers for lustral water, one of gold, the other of silver . . . There were many other gifts of no great importance, including round silver basins, but I must not forget to mention a figure of a woman, in gold, four and a half feet high, said by the Delphians to re- present the woman who baked Croesus' bread. Lastly, he sent his own wife's necklaces and girdles. These, then, were the offerings which Croesus sent to Delphi . . .
The Lydians who were to bring the presents to the tem- ples were instructed by Croesus to ask the oracles if he should
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Astyages: King of the Median Empire, who ruled for 35 years before being dethroned by Cyrus in 550 BCE. He was the grandfather of Cyrus, and had tried to put Cyrus to death when the latter was an infant because of an oracular prophecy. No wonder that many years later, Cyrus wanted to oust him from his kingship!
Priestess' answer: Answers to ques- tions put to the Delphic oracle were delivered via the priestesses who tended the shrine.
Sardis: Capital city of Lydia, famous for the quality of its handcrafted products and also noted for its gold and silver coins, the first city in the ancient world to produce such coinage.
stater: A commonly used gold coin.
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undertake the campaign against Persia . . . On their arrival, therefore, they offered the gifts with the proper ceremony and put their question in the following words: "Croesus . . . has given you gifts such as your power of divination deserves, and now asks if he should march against Persia . . . " To this question, [the oracle] . . . foretold that if Croesus attacked the Persians, he would destroy a great empire . . .
Croesus was overjoyed when he learned the answer . . . and was fully confi- dent of destroying the power of Cyrus. To express his satisfaction, he sent a fur- ther present to Delphi of two gold staters for every man . . . The Delphians in return granted in perpetuity to Croesus and the people of Lydia the right of cit- izenship for any who wished, together with exemption from dues, front seats at state functions, and priority in consulting the oracle. [Tr. Aubrey de Selincourt. Herodotus: The Histories. (1. 47-54. ). Penguin Books, 1954. Page numbers: 57, 58, 59, 60. ]
AFTERMATH
As Herodotus explains, "Croesus was overjoyed when he learned the answer which the oracles" gave, and so he make plans to attack the Persians, disregarding or forgetting the fact that Apollo's oracular responses were often ambiguous; by attacking the Persians, Croesus did destroy a great empire: his own! For Cyrus and his army ultimately besieged and occupied Sardis; Croesus was taken prisoner. According to the biographer Plutarch, Cyrus was about to have Croesus executed, when Croesus three times cried out the name "Solon," the famous Athenian legislator/philosopher/businessman. Solon had visited Croesus some time before and had tried to teach him that no one can be considered truly happy until death, because only then can an assessment be made of the quality of that person's life. Croesus had thought that that was ridiculous, and that money and possessions, temporal things, equate to happi- ness. But in the end, he had lost all of his fabulous wealth and was about to lose his life; too late, he saw the value of Solon's words. But Cyrus was so impressed with this idea, and with other things that Croesus told him, that he decided to spare the life of the Lydian king.
ASK YOURSELF
1. If the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi was the most prestigious Greek oracle, why do you suppose Croesus bothered also to send messengers to six other oracles?
King Croesus Consults--and Bribes? --the Delphic Oracle
? ? ? ? TWO NON-ORACULAR DELPHIC CLAIMS TO FAME
An uncertain number of maxims were carved into the columns and other portions of Apollo's temple at Delphi. Three of these sayings--often attributed to the Seven Sages--have achieved lasting fame: "Know yourself"; "Nothing in excess"; "Be a guarantor for debts (like a co-signer for a loan, in modern times), and ruin is at hand. "
Also, Delphi was famous for the quadrennial Pythian Games held within its precincts, an athletic competi- tion second only to the Olympics in fame and prestige. The stadium where the footraces were held is of particu- lar interest. It was carved into the side of a steep mountain in an area barely long enough to accommodate the stade race (about 220 yards). At the far end, where the finish line was located, there was very little space between that line and a solid wall of mountain rock, so sprinters must have had to put on the brakes very quickly at the end of the race to avoid slamming directly into the wall!
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2. Does Herodotus give us any indication of whether he believes in pronouncements from the Delphic Oracle, either on this occasion or any time?
3. Describe the contents of the "magnificent sacrifice" that Croesus ordered to be pre- pared in honor of Apollo. What does this tell us about the wealth of Croesus and his kingdom?
4. Why do you think Herodotus refers to "round silver basins," the golden statue of Croesus's bread baker, and the necklaces and girdles of Croesus's wife as "gifts of no importance"?
TOPICS TO CONSIDER
e Whatdoyousupposeaccountsfortheenduringlongevity,credibility,and popularity of the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi? After all, its often ambiguous responses could lead questioners astray, or even to ruin, as in the case of Croesus.
e When Croesus sent the messengers to the seven different oracles, with the test about his activities on the hundredth day, Herodotus tells us that the Oracle at Delphi was the only one to come up with the correct response. How could the priestesses, or the god, or whoever, possibly have known what Croesus had been doing on that day (boiling the turtle/lamb soup in a bronze cauldron)?
e HerodotusinformsusthatafterthemessengersreturnedfromDelphiwith the news that the oracle had correctly described Croesus's hundredth-day activities, Croesus immediately began busying himself with assembling "a magnificent sacrifice" in honor of Apollo. What do you suppose was his pur- pose in preparing such a treasure trove of expensive gifts? Could it have been a bribe for another favorable response? Or something else? Can you think of any modern examples or instances where a person might say a prayer to God or some other divine or supernatural being, along with an offer to perform some service, in exchange for the prayer being answered favorably?
Further Information
Broad, William J. The Oracle: Ancient Delphi and the Science Behind Its Lost Secrets. New York, 2006.
Burkert, Walter. Greek Religion (tr. into English by John Raffan. ) Cambridge, MA, 1985. Fontenrose, Joseph Eddy. The Delphic Oracle: Its Responses and Operations, with a Catalogue
of Responses. Berkeley, CA, 1978. Website
Delphi. www. delphi-site. com/mobile. html
Bibliography for Document
Blanco, Walter (tr. ). Herodotus: The Histories. New York, 1992.
de Selincourt, Aubrey (tr. ). Herodotus: The Histories. Baltimore, 1954.
Godley, A. D. (tr. ). Herodotus. Volume I. [LCL. ] Cambridge and London, 1920.
Matz, David. Ancient World Lists and Numbers: Numerical Phrases and Rosters in the Greco-
Roman World. Jefferson, NC, 1995.
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36. JULIUS CAESAR BECOMES A GOD
INTRODUCTION
The Roman poet Publius Ovidius Naso ("Ovid"; 43 BCE-17 CE) was the author of a wide variety of works, especially love poems. The document is excerpted from his long epic poem about Greek and Roman mythology: Metamorphoses.
KEEP IN MIND AS YOU READ
1.
Ovid's Metamorphoses consists of a collection of many mythological stories, retold in poetic form. Their common theme: some kind of transformation. Most of the entries in the collection are focused on Greek mythology, but the final few selec- tions are purely Roman. The document relates Ovid's description of the deification of Julius Caesar. This is the final scene portrayed in his Metamorphoses.
2. In the opening lines of his Metamorphoses, Ovid describes the work as a poem which encompasses all of human history.
3. The ancient Romans could and did adopt adults into their families, especially as sons. Julius Caesar did this with his grand-nephew, whose original name was simply Gaius Octavius. When Caesar's will was read after his assassination, it was revealed that he had adopted young Octavius (he was about 18 years of age at the time) as his son. As a result, Octavius acquired his adoptive father's full name--Gaius Julius Caesar--along with his own family name, Octavius, appended in a slightly different form, Octavianus. So his full name became Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus. The Roman Senate granted him the honorary title "Augustus" in 27 BCE, and it is by this name that he is probably most commonly known today.
Document: From Mortal to God
Caesar is a god in his own land. The first in wars and peace, he rose by wars, which closed in triumphs, and by civic deeds to glory quickly won, and even more his offspring's love exalted him as a new, a heavenly, sign and brightly flam- ing star. Of all the achievements of great Julius Caesar not one is more ennobling
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to his fame than being father of his glorious son. Was it more glorious for him to subdue the Britons . . . or lead his fleet victorious[ly in Egypt] . . . to have some triumphs and deserve far more, than to be the father of so great a man, with whom as ruler of the human race, O gods, you bless us past all reckoning?
And [to prevent that son from being considered a mere mortal], Julius Caesar must change and be a god. [Next, the goddess Venus appears; she fears that Caesar, a descendant of her son Aeneas, the long-ago founder of the Roman race, might fall victim to an assassination plot, and so she appeals to all the gods to prevent such a tragedy. The gods are sympathetic but helpless, because even they are not strong enough to alter the dictates of fate. The king of the gods, Jupiter, reassures her that Caesar's adopted son Augustus will avenge the inevitable assassination and usher in a Golden Age in Rome. Jupiter speaks]: "With peace established over all the lands, he then will turn his mind to civil rule and as a prudent legislator will enact wise laws. And he will regulate the manners of his people by his own example. Looking forward to the days of future time and of posterity, he will command the offspring born of his devoted wife, to assume the imperial name and the burden of his cares. Nor till his age shall equal Nestor's years will he ascend to heavenly dwellings and his kindred stars. Meanwhile transform the soul [i. e. , of Julius Caesar], which shall be reft from this doomed body, to a starry light, that always god-like Julius may look down in future from his heavenly residence upon our Forum and our Capitol. "
Jupiter had hardly pronounced these words, when kindly Venus, although seen by none, stood in the middle of the Senate-house, and caught from the dying limbs and trunk of her own Caesar his departing soul. She did not give it time so that it could dissolve in air,
but bore it quickly up, toward all the stars of heaven; and on the way, she saw it gleam and blaze and set it free. Above the moon it mounted into heaven, leaving behind a long and fiery trail, and as a star it glittered in the sky. There, wondering at the younger Caesar's [i. e. , Augustus's] deeds, Julius confessed that they were superior to all of his, and he rejoiced because his son was greater even than himself. [Tr. Brookes Otis. Ovid: Metamorphoses 15. http://www. theoi. com/Text/OvidMetamorphoses15. html]
AFTERMATH
"If the pronouncements of prophets contain any truth, I will live on in fame, throughout all the future generations. " These are the final words of Ovid's Metamorphoses, and they reflect
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? glorious son: Julius Caesar had no bio- logical sons. The "glorious son" ref- erenced here is his son by adoption, Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, better known as Octavian and later as Augustus.
Nestor's years: Nestor was the prover- bially old chieftain who accompa- nied the Greeks to Troy during the Trojan War.
offspring born: Augustus and his wife Livia did not have any surviving sons, so Augustus was succeeded by his stepson Tiberius, Livia's son by a previous marriage. The phrase "offspring born" refers to Tiberius.
peace established: Augustus was widely credited with founding the Pax Romana, "Roman peace," a long period of relative tranquility after the bloody and destructive civil wars of the 40s and 30s BCE.
wise laws: As emperor, Augustus intro- duced many legal, political, mili- tary, and social reforms into Roman life. A full description of these enactments can be found in the Life of Deified Augustus, writ- ten by the Roman biographer Suetonius (ca. 70-140 CE), espe- cially in Chapters 29 through 56.
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the notion shared by many Greek and Roman authors that their written works would last forever. In Ovid's case, at least, that prophecy still rings true.
ASK YOURSELF
1. What does Ovid mean by the phrase "he [Julius Caesar] rose by wars"?
2. What reason or justification does Ovid give for the deification of Julius Caesar?
3. The general theme of Ovid's Metamorphoses involves the concept of change, or
transformation. How does the deification of Caesar fit into this theme? Into what was he transformed?
TOPICS TO CONSIDER
e Lucius Annaeus Seneca (sometimes called the "Younger Seneca," 4 BCE- 65 CE) is generally thought to be the author of a parody of the deification process of emperors. Its title: Apocolocyntosis, a play on the for- mal word for deification--apotheosis--and roughly translated as "Pumpkinification. " Read Seneca's Apocolocyntosis (it is very short! ). What elements of satire and parody do you notice in it? Which Roman emperor's apotheosis is Seneca mocking? Are there any similarities between Seneca's satire and Ovid's account of Caesar's apotheosis? (A translation of the Apocolocyntosis may be found at http://ancienthistory . about. com/library/bl/bl_text_seneca_apocol. htm. )
e In our culture we seldom, if ever, hear of families adopting full-grown adults as their sons or daughters. Why do you suppose the ancient Romans did this? What would be the advantages?
e Several of the first-century CE Roman emperors were deified, including Augustus, Claudius, Vespasian, and Titus. Many subsequent emperors also received this honor. Still others demanded to be worshipped as gods while they lived but were never formally granted deification after their deaths. Research this issue. What seem to be the prime requirements for deifica- tion? What are the procedures involved in declaring an emperor a god? Can you think of any modern societies or nations in which the leader is regarded as a god, or almost a god?
e Inthedocumentexcerpt,Ovidclearlywritesaveryfavorable,evenflatter- ing, account of Augustus and his deeds. Yet early in the first century CE, Augustus decreed that Ovid be exiled from Rome for life. The poet was sent to live in the region of the Black Sea, a wild, uncultured place and an extremely hostile environment for a man of Ovid's sophistication and elegance. Although he begged on a number of occasions to be allowed to return to Rome, Augustus never relented. Find out why Augustus appa- rently decided that Ovid should receive such a terrifying punishment. (The true reason is uncertain, but it is quite easy to draw conclusions. ) Are there similar, modern examples of authors being forced to leave their homes and go into exile or hiding because of something they had written?
e Read over the sections of Suetonius's biography of Augustus referenced above. Do you agree with Ovid's assessment that he was a "prudent legisla- tor" who "enact[ed] wise laws"?
Julius Caesar Becomes a God
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Further Information
Boyle, A. J. and J. P. Sullivan (eds. ). Roman Poets of the Early Empire. London, 1991. Frankel, Herman. Ovid: A Poet between Two Worlds. Berkeley, CA, 1945.
Galinsky, G. K. Ovid's Metamorphoses: An Introduction to the Basic Aspects. Berkeley and
Los Angeles, 1975.
Otis, Brooks. Ovid as an Epic Poet. Cambridge, 1996.
Website
Extensive bibliography for Ovid: http://uts. cc. utexas. edu/~silver/Ovid/ovid-biblio. html
Bibliography for Document
Humphries, Rolfe (tr. ). Ovid: Metamorphoses. Bloomington, IN, 1955. http://www. theoi. com/Text/OvidMetamorphoses15. html
37. JOB DESCRIPTION FOR A VESTAL VIRGIN
INTRODUCTION
In its earliest days, Rome was ruled by a series of seven kings. The second of these was Numa Pompilius (traditional dates of his reign: 714-671 BCE). The document is excerpted from Plutarch's biography of Numa.
KEEP IN MIND AS YOU READ
1. At least some of the early Roman kings were considered semilegendary, but Numa seems to be fairly well attested. He is credited with a number of religious reforms and innovations, including the establishment of various cult of priests and priest- esses, religious rites, and the construction of temples.
2. One of the best known of the priestly cults that Numa reputedly founded was actually a cult of priestesses: the Vestal Virgins. Their job was to tend the temple of Vesta, the Roman goddess of home and hearth. There were six Vestals, each of whom was expected to serve a term of 30 years.
Document: A Vestal's Duties
To Numa is . . . ascribed the institution of that order of high priests who are called Pontifices, and he himself is said to have been the first of them . . . [Plutarch next embarks upon an interesting discussion of the etymology of the word Pontifices (sg. Pontifex). The word might be derived from the Latin word potens ("powerful"), given that these priests were serving powerful gods. Another explanation, which Plutarch considered spurious, is that it came from a combination of the Latin words pons ("bridge") and facere ("to build"), a "bridge-builder. " The pontifices numbered among their duties the performing of religious sacrifices at bridges over the Tiber River, and beyond that, they were also responsible for the maintenance of bridges. ]
The chief of the Pontifices, the Pontifex Maximus, had the duty of expounding and interpreting the divine will, or rather of directing sacred rites,
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not only being in charge of public ceremonies, but also watching over private sacrifices and preventing any depar- ture from established custom, as well as teaching whatever was requisite for the worship or propitiation of the gods. He was also overseer of the holy virgins called Vestals; for to Numa is ascribed the consecration of the Vestal Virgins, and in general the worship and care of the perpet- ual fire entrusted to their charge. It was either because he thought the nature of fire pure and uncorrupted, and there- fore entrusted it to chaste and undefiled persons, or because he thought of it as unfruitful and barren, and therefore associated it with virginity . . .
In the beginning, then, they say that Gegania and Verenia were consecrated to this office by Numa, who sub- sequently added to them Canuleia and Tarpeia; that at a later time two were added by Servius, making the number [six] which has continued to the present time. It was ordained by the king that the sacred virgins should vow themselves to chastity for thirty years; during the first de- cade they are to learn their duties, during the second to per- form the duties they have learned, and during the third to
teach others these duties. Then, the thirty years being now passed, any one [of the priestesses] who wishes has the liberty to marry and adopt a different mode of life, after laying down her sacred office. We are told, however, that few have welcomed the indulgence, and that those who did so were not happy, but were a prey to repentance and dejection for the rest of their lives, thereby inspiring the rest with superstitious fears, so that until old age and death they remained steadfast in their virginity.
But Numa bestowed great privileges upon them, such as the right to make a will during the lifetime of their fathers, and to transact and manage their other affairs . . . When they appear in public, the fasces are carried before them, and if they accidentally meet a criminal on his way to execution, his life is spared; but the virgin must make oath that the meeting was involuntary and fortuitous, and not of design. He who passes under the litter on which they are borne is put to death. For their minor offenses, the virgins are punished with stripes, the Pontifex Maximus [chief priest, as mentioned above] sometimes scourging the culprit on her bare flesh, in a dark place, with a curtain interposed. But she that has broken her vow of chastity is buried alive . . . [Tr. Bernadotte Perrin. Plutarch's Lives. Life of Numa (9, 10). Volume I. LCL, 1914. Page numbers: 337, 339, 341, 343.
