The Mystery of the Delphi Oracle

[MrRjmac]

Delphi, means womb. Where Mother Earth was worshipped under the name Delphyne, the womb of creation. The Patriarchal god Apollo took over the shrine until christian kings had it destroyed.

[clnmyjts]

ethyline?  here is another srange connection for ya; methamfetamine Methamphetamine increases alertness, concentration, energy, and in high doses, can induce euphoria triggering a cascading release of dopamine in the brain. In the United States, methamphetamine is FDA approved for the treatment of ADHD

[HistoryLover1550]

I read the play Oedipus Rex in my 10th grade English GT class, I played Tiresias!

[bemyslave]

SAME OLD STORY!! Οnce again Americans believe that they know ALL the answers!!...

Yet they can't explain not the way they got in trance but WHY the prophecies were always so accure and succesfull... Let for once Greeks talk about it...

[UnaFatsaUnaRasta22]

Toguro and Yusuke Yuremeshi were two big influences of the shalalei who gave us the prince of persia and lupin the third.

[condafarti]

This prophecy was one of the few well determined cos generally the prophecies from Delphi's oracles was not so clear.

[condafarti]

.....After he met the beast sphinx, he solved the riddle and in theves they made him king and married his mother jocasta. They had four kids and After they find out the truth his mother suicide and he blind himself. Also before Oedipus start to search for his parents ask the oracle Pythia about who are his parents and she told him that he gonna kill his father and will have kids with his mother.....

[condafarti]

.....From there an old serpent find him and gave him to the king of Corinthos. He lived there until he became and adult. One day someone called him bastard and from this reason he decided to go find his real parents. On his way to theves he crossed a path called schism cos unite three main roads of ancient greek kingdoms. In that path he met a carriage and has argument with the people and he killed them all except one slave that after told him that one of the people he killed it was Laius....

[condafarti]

hi, seems u know about this story just i wanna add some details.

Laius, king of Theves wanna know if his wife can give him a son cos his wife didnt get pregnant all these years and apollo say to Laius the prophecy of Pythia that says he gonna have a son but this son gonna kill him. For this reason his mother put chains to the feet to the newborn baby( thats why has this name also-->Oedipus, in ancient greeks Οιδιπους means feet and swelling) and left him in a mountain near athens.......

[Ratkomladicromanija]

I started to watch this interesting documentary. But then I saw it was Americans giving lectures, again. I want Greeks to talk about ancient Greece, not Americans!

[iMaMyst3ry]

Oedipus didn't know he married his mother. The parents left him for dead, but he got rescued by an old man. He accidently killed his father (who he didn't know was his father) while traveling and married his mother, the Queen when he saved the city (who he didn't know was his mother and had kids with). When he finds out, his wife/mother kills herself and he stabbed his eyes out. Its a tragedy and the Greeks looked down on incest within humans as well (though not in the gods).

[abhiambalayil]

He was adopted son of Polybus and Merope was the son of Laius and Jocasta. Thus, he had killed his own father, King Laius, and as a consequence, married his mother, Jocasta.

[Samadhiatman500]

Interesting.

[1Iamjim]

To the Greeks...life itself was the high, lived on a higher plane than do we now with our pursuit of things

[Helije7]

shame on you science!

[NearVSMello]

@Helije7 It is no insult to call something natural. That is merely a stigma that society has attached. Indeed the natural can be every bit as bewitching as the supernatural. Maybe even more so, since the supernatural never goes beyond a mystery while the natural offers one a chance to learn the truth.

[Musicposter4you]

oedipus was a weird and sick story. But still great!

[Bethalaine]

OHIO STATE YEAH WOO

[dimalex8]

the oracle just gave clever answers which anyone could interpet in his own way.

for example the answer to xerxes when he asked if he would live during his camaign to greece where the oracle gave an answer depending where u put the comma,

Or the answer to sparta where she said a king of sparta must die, we know that athenians bribed Pythia to answer this to spartans knowing that spartans were very storng religius people.

[moneyhoney3312]

marry your..MOM??? thats...thats just sick man.

[VolkColopatrion]

@moneyhoney3312 it was not intentional.

the prophecy was that King Leyus would be killed by his son and that same son would marry the current queen.

So when the son was born he was left and chained in the middle of nowhere... but that same middle of nowhere was near a farmer's place and that family took him in, he grew up. He went to find his birth parents and pushed a stubborn old man out of his way (ended up being Oedipus' father), defeated the sphinx and then married the old queen.

[coolcoolcoolest]

huh... marrying your mom?!?! that's just wrong in so MANY WAYS

[gwilly54]

Im pretty sure Nostradamus was getting high off that same shit when he was writing his predictions.

[xeviousg]

wtf commercials???

[sensitivetony]

Still how does that explain the accuracy of the predictions? All ancient cultures used mind-alerting substances to free the unconscience so as to hear from the "gods". Could it be that we are "gods" when we open up to that part of each of us? Sometimes with the help of substances.

[MushroomQueen27]

Haha She was high the whole time! That's great! XD

[bettyblue912]

I named 1 of my daughters after this oracle. :-)

[SoldierCyfix]

lol goes to show that all religion was is people getting high

[acerb45666555]

restore the place! but no oracle is required because no one believes fortune tellers anymore. and thats all she was. the best con artist in ancient Greece. think of the naive ones who gave the her gold and other things. a sneaky burn job she did!

[42317]

Not quite the latest news I'd say... I've already read about this 20 years ago...

[williamtom0]

"if apolo was a musician, then his priestest, apithia was his instrument" yeah he played her every night

[hampster2007]

LOL xD

[beephair]

juicy fruit is ganna move you

[toxicMDR2]

Mistery solved: they saw gods because they were high

[1787patriot]

They could communicate with the Gods, when they were under the influence of spiritual aids...ehehehe..If they saw what appeared to be them that my have been a bonus..They were always in their heads..

[ajnode]

Same thing the Delphic oracle would do with the Spartans and Greeks, pretty much get people high and listen to their inebriated babblings.

[spellbinder777]

Fair enough, the gas may have induced the trance, but this does'nt explain how she was right so often that people would sometimes travel large distances to consult her.

[skinnym974]

Thanks for bringing this up spellbinder. Not wanting to adopt a mystical path, by forgetting and putting aside the perceived success rate of the Oracle, the conclusion "the supernatural was in fact simply natural" is a half-satisfactory answer to one of the most intriguing figure of antiquity.

[leekymkween]

The fact that many people would come to her for guidance, gives her insight into the whole picture. She was indeed informed into almost every matter which allows her to provide helpful and mostly accurate advice.

For example, who parties who have decided on initiating a battle would consult the oracle for guidance. Given both situations from each party, the oracle is able to provide accurate answers.

[Cutnutlet]

Why are you so conviced she was right so often? The only accounts i know of the oracle are all from stories like Oedipus which obviously don't count.

[spellbinder777]

"Neither the range of objects nor the presence of prestigious dedications proves that Delphi was a focus of attention for worshipers of a wide range, but the strong representation of high value goods, found in no other mainland sanctuary, certainly encourages that view"

(wikipedia).

[cherrybombz454]

The "high valued goods" were gifts payed when the Oracle was right, which was a lot...and helped a lot of poor and very powerful people become or stay very powerful. Pretty good for just hallucinogenic non-miraculous gas that happens to be so not amazingly strategically right under the Pythia where she prepares to orate the oracle.

[MrNeedtopiss]

FUCK SYSTEM GOD AND THE

[webkinzxoxo97]

Fuck You

[FINGERSFORTEETH]

burger king king + king leonidas = him

[donallgarvin]

You do know that the Oedipus story is just that... a story.

It didn't happen anymore than Romeo and Juliet or Marley and Me happened.

There are plans for an Oedipus movie though ;-)

[HecklerBoy7]

actually 'marley and me' did happen.

[kevinh2206]

marley and me happened

[lunei66]

The thumbnail looks like a creepy fucking Burger King king. O_o'

[silverdale247]

LMFAO!!!

WooHoo!!

[PanDa46fluffpot]

It was more accepted in the anient world to marry within the family. The greeks were just being Different but across the Med it was widely accepted. Greeks influence European culture which influenced the Victorians which has influenced us in the western world. Its not gross its just Interesting/fascinating!

[soldieroffortune1974]

It was to keep the royal bloodlines pure. It was illegal for the royal family to marry outside of the family. Peasants and lesser people,it didn't matter much.

[PanDa46fluffpot]

Yes you are correct. But for its time and in its time it was not gross but normal. Today we see such relationships as improper but in Greece it was justified in its day as it was across many culures.

[befranklintoo]

this so called greek tragedy by historians is not a tragedy but a incest perversion of creatures who have such demented thoughts of sex within the family lines!.

[Cutnutlet]

Might be an idea to try reading the story first before commenting. Oedipus never knew who his parents were so it was only after he was married that he found out it was his mother.

[lord69z]

yeah - maybe you should read the bible , theres TONS of incest in there.

[DENZIS666]

You do know Oedipus tried NOT to kill his father and marry his mother? You are a moron, try reading the story before spouting your stupid mouth off.

[YuChuuber]

yeah he tried.. but the prophecy did come true even if he didn't mean it..

[befranklintoo]

guilty of the Oedipus Complex Dizzy

[scaglietti03]

wow! kill your father and marry your mother?!

thats badass!

[NothaName]

No! That's demented and gross!

[bagang2011]

yeah... o my..no word can explain the grossness and... -,-... speechless

[dougpecklord]

Correction... That's desperate.

[xtom1973]

where can i buy the gas?

[maxhaddrall]

in other words- everyone got high

[Eman8333]

your comment is the most precise about this video

[Meiscochan]

pretty much

[MoLahBel3]

@maxhaddrall Yes, I got very very very high, each time I wa there! You bet!

[donnie2164]

Magicians demonic power WHO not me no spankyou never seen that.

[barnabyruhe]

APOLLO PRIESTS USURP ORACLE PRIESTESSES AT DELPHI AS LATE AS 400bc ...

SEE ROBERT GRAVES BOOK 'GREEK MYTHS' THE ANNOTATIONS IN THE BACK.

APOLLO A LATE MALE FRAUD PRIEST.

[iwasjustthere]

its so sad...i feel like there is so much less in the world nowadays than back then. its almost as if the more we know the less...amazing, things become.

[DescartesPupil]

It may be that the new world explorers felt the same way. Not to worry. There are new frontiers of knowledge. There is always more we don't yet know.

[BonScottAC]

1:47 me going number 2 outside on a cold winter night

[roy2dope]

science can explained this

wait and see

[joshua2545]

WTF what cruel faith for than Eodipus even i cant imagine marrying my mom and having kid and can you consider ur son as siblings too 0_o??

[spiralshaman]

I think that certain "supernatural" experiences are linked to a person being under some kind of altered state (regardless of whether or not it's a drug-induced altered state). I think that in ancient times, people who communicated with gods, spirits, or what-have-you did so under an altered state of consciousness.

[piszczeck]

Sometimes they experienced the spirit realm under an altered state of consciouness, and still do today. But some people have a spiritual ability or are spiritually sensitive, and they don't have to be in an altered state.

[BinkieMcFartnuggets]

We need to go back to these days, when gods were like TMZ and needed better hobbies.

[piszczeck]

Spirits can cause altered states of consciousness, give prophesies (often false), and they can cause vapors and mists to rise from the ground or pervade the atmosphere in a room. Scientists can't explain the supernatural realm, and they sound goofy when they try to come up with a scientific explanation for supernatural things.

[DescartesPupil]

Science does not apply to the supernatural. That doesn't stop scientists from discovering and explaining the cause of events that SEEM supernatural.

[piszczeck]

Descartes: There are things that only seem supernatural and have a scientific explanation, but there also are supernatural things that have no scientific explanation because they are supernatural.

[DescartesPupil]

Quite true. There was a time when the sun's appearance every morning would have been considered supernatural. The same is true of modern technologies like helicopters and telephones. Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

What does this tell us about our past and present understanding of the laws of nature? That superstitious claims like "God must have done it" don't really lead us to a better understanding like science has.

[piszczeck]

Unless science is a study of what God did and how he did it.

[DescartesPupil]

Science is nothing more than a process for studying the physical world. If you believe that God created the physical world and its natural laws this does not preclude the scientific method from allowing us to determine the rules of those natural laws. Do you disagree?

[piszczeck]

Descartes: No, I don't disagree with that at all.

[ntheAttic]

which in turn eradicates the "supernatural" because it never existed , it was all an ignorant interpretation of reality.

People turn to god and supernatural out of ignorance.

[ntheAttic]

You sound so "goofy' for what you just said.

Do you have verification(proof) of what your saying? no. you just have irrational belief ,,exactly what science is eliminating.

they "cant explain the supernatural" because theres nothing there to explain.

It exists in your mind, its an interpretation with no factual basis.

Science wont waste its time debating supernatural beliefs,,but a psychologist can help you.

[DescartesPupil]

"Science wont waste its time debating supernatural beliefs,,but a psychologist can help you."

Science doesn't do anything, because science isn't an entity. I've said this already but the scientific method is used to understand the physical world and is of no use trying to understand the supernatural. So you're partly right but it's unclear what your point is.

[ntheAttic]

? that comment was directed for piszczeck,, I sent the "eradicates' one to you,

[piszczeck]

ntheAttic, I think most of the people on the planet earth, who do not grow up in an industrial society, and who witness all kinds of supernatural power from the cradle up, because they are very adept in their cultures with magic and witchcraft and shamanism, would consider you goofy and spiritually illiterate. negates faith.

[ntheAttic]

whatever. Your only displaying that your belefs require no evidence and are just an interpretation, and you will be willing to get aggressive for them,,irrational. thank you .

[piszczeck]

And you are only displaying that you have not yet experienced a spiritual birth and are still trapped in the natural.

[ntheAttic]

"a spiritual birth' is an interpretation. like saying "born again".

"trapped in the natural" all there is is the natural. anything eles exists as a fantasy/ignorance.

and no I dont like using the term "spiritual" because its meaningless and subject to interpretation. I am a humanist. secular humanist.

[piszczeck]

I guess you think you've got it all figured out, so, I'm not interested in trying to change your mind.

Peace be with you.

[piszczeck]

That "got it all figured out" comment was for ntheAttic, not Descartes.

[ntheAttic]

lol! No I dont have it all figured out,,isint that what your about? lol!

I just beleif in critical, rational thinking and the scientific method.

I prefer to have hope in something tangible rather than primitive fairy tales.

You cant reggress my mind to a primitive level,,forwards not backwards,,Im one part trying to help you use your head and another part just find idiots like you irritating.

I should of not even botherd in the 1st place. I knew you were a lost cause.

[PathofReason]

:) Nice!

[DescartesPupil]

"...who witness all kinds of supernatural power from the cradle up, because they are very adept in their cultures with magic and witchcraft and shamanism..."

This is an interesting statement. Essentially these people you refer to are closer to our ancient ancestors than people in industrialized countries in terms of superstition. What they perceive as magic is really no different from what the ancients would have perceived as magic but may now be easily explained.

[piszczeck]

Descartes: I disagree. I've witnessed many supernatural things, including Christian miracles of God, and also occult power; and miracles are real, magic is real, spirits are real; these are not something that is only perceived as magic and can be easily explained. But I believe most people can not accept this as truth until they've experienced or witnessed it for themselves.

[DescartesPupil]

I have no objections if you disagree.

In my experience superstition and credulousness enable people to believe things that should be impossible have actually happened without asking themselves how it happened. A skeptic would be unwilling to accept the impossible until all avenues of explanation have been exhausted, and perhaps not even then. I have seen magic performances with seemingly impossible feats but I don't believe for a second that the magician has done the impossible.

[piszczeck]

I understand. I'm not talking about a performance magician, though, I'm talking about real witches with demonic power.

[DescartesPupil]

The only difference between a fake magician and a real magician is that you believe one does the impossible while the other does not. How can you tell the difference as an observer? What criteria allows you to judge one an illusion and the other supernatural?

[piszczeck]

No.

You have to experience/witness for yourself.

[piszczeck]

I made a typo, and I can't get my comments to stick. But what I meant to say was faith connects humans to the supernatural realm, and proof negates faith.

[greekgoddess2000]

omG, APOLLO WITNESS EVERYTHING ON EARTH AND IN THE HEAVENS so yeah, he knew a lot....silly hio State archeologist

[chad5161]

i am God

[vampirelady69]

They were a bit wrong about Oedipus. His FATHER went to Delphi to seek the Orical's advise about the neighboring city state where a rival king lived. The Orical told him that "Your son will murder you, marry your queen, and will rule your kingdom."

So he leave his son in a field to die, but Oedipus is found and adopted the neighboring king's servant. Oedipus is raised there and leads an army to his father's kingdom, and the prophecy is fulfilled.

[vampirelady69]

After he learns that his wife and mother of his children is really his mother, Oedipus blinds and exiles himself.

[Mike07P]

NATURAL!

[ShinobiBoiX]

drugs ftw

[532131]

Can delphi oracle do matrix?

[Nilopollis]

How dare he question the gods?

I hope he enjoys burning in hades!

[theophilus1985]

except, the gods were slaves to fate too.

[jesuschristposer]

tartarus

[jchiapet]

Oedipus was the first bad ass mother fucker.

[cyberweirdo2001]

so if i inhale natural gas i become really high and think that gods are speakin to me????

thanks national-geograpic! What should i do without you

[teemuruskeepaa]

This document is trivial, ignorant, sugar-coated and shallow. Typical Americans

[a290580]

yeah .. take some story(or history as in this case is) and turn it into commercial crap...

[superman559cali]

explain.. i think that the gases underneath cause them to get high, do and say some crazy shit.

[teemuruskeepaa]

Try looking at one European version of the story and pay attention to the tacit tones, assumptions and ways of saying things. The Americans kind of assume everybody who ever lived lived like americans in 2009.

[superman559cali]

i see what you are trying to say,but in a way the greek did like modern day people. The greek were getting high in the past; in 2009 not much has changed. People still get high. I personally do not get high.

[teemuruskeepaa]

Do you think this video is about getting high? ;)

[zim696]

no.

[superman559cali]

Well this is what I think.. Correct me if I am wrong. People would travel to appolo for advice. It states that if Apollo was a musician then epithia would be his intrument. Records say that sweet smelling vapors would rise up and would put epithia under appolos spell. I think that those vapors caused her to get high and dizzy. Then archaeologists explain that the supernatural was really actrually natural vapors rising from the earth and getting her high.

[superman559cali]

#2 continued

Lol a lot of orralcles are told to have magical powers but really they are all just getting high. Am i making this clear or am i wrong.

[teemuruskeepaa]

That has got nothing to do with the biased content of National Geographic's video. I think they really did get high, but getting high was a serious business that determined issues between life and death in that culture. Americans seem color-blind in that sense.

[superman559cali]

Oh now I see what you are getting at. You think that National Geographic is biased and that americans think that people in the past live like them today. Damn! sometimes i skim really fast at the comments and get them confused. I'll try to slow down a bit. My mistake you are right most of National Geographic's stuff is one sided.

[chrisquick123451966]

good video, very informative

[Ludde365]

Age of Mythology was awesome, but it's an old ass game now.

[MetallicThor]

I still play it once in a while. Epic it used to be.

[teemuruskeepaa]

Ha, that game is completely similar to each other in the genre. It is unintellectual and always has one unit solution out of all possible units.

[MetallicThor]

That is a very ignorant comment. AoM was the best strategy game of 2003. AoM is the only game that really delves into Greek, Norse and Egyptian mythology. It has a lot of information to give. You mustn't have played it much if you say that it is a bad game...

[teemuruskeepaa]

No, I'm going to bring my opinion out and stop them from making such crap and rather make better strategic games. If you don't like this fact, then you should stop writing and admit you're a loser

[MetallicThor]

I'm not saying that you're not entitled to your own opinion. Calling me a loser because I disagree with you is just futile though...

[lord69z]

Epicurus : "If God listened to the prayers of men, all men would quickly have perished: for they are forever praying for evil against one another." Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God? This was 340~ B.C, even THEN they knew Gods and prophets are bullshit.

[silverdale247]

You are so bang on it ain't funny!!

Excellent comment!!

[Gimpsmack]

Humans have been using mushrooms, peyote, Iowaska and other natural substances to reach higher levels of consciousness before recorded history. This shouldn't be that much of a surprise.

[BWSRLOCS]

thats right i head of an indigeonous woman in mexico named maria sabina who would use mushrooms to be in contact with god to help cure people. so it really shouldnt be a surprise

[MewFushisDad]

I was down in Chiapas Mexico 30 +/- years ago. One morning we were out in a cow pasture in the middle of the jungle looking for mushrooms. This pasture had a huge bush enshrouded pyramid right in the middle of it. A freaking brahma cow with it's calf chased us up the pyramid and kept us up there most of the day. We would try to go down the other side and it would circle around to block our way.

It finally went off to find some shade and we climbed down the far side and hauled ass out of there.

[Ludde365]

Yes, because the supernatural is bullshit.

[ghdsfghsghsdhdf]

agreed

[ZombieX13]

Not so much that it's bullshit but that it does not and cannot exist in a natural world.

[GeminiAzules]

aha! so thats why sniffing paint/markers is illegal... they dont want people seeing the future.

[Xbox360Rulesz]

cool I've been there this summer! it was about 40 celcius there

[poplolcool]

lol.... i own

[metabolgia]

SPARTA!!!!

[leekymkween]

They were pretty much gassed for a bit and started having haluccinations.

On another note, most of the times the oracle of delphi was very accurate with his/her messages. This is because they were well-informed by the leaders of other states. Enemies of other states would come to the oracle for guidance in battle.

[Theo142dwyer241]

see? no matter what people like to get high... humans have for thousands of years