first, a young maiden took the part of
the priestess of Apollo who gave the responses; but the authorities
realizing the dangers to which the beauty of the priestess might lead, a
woman of at least fifty years of age was later selected for the honor,
and finally, as one prophetess was not sufficient to answer the
questions of the vast crowd of pilgrims that assembled to consult the
oracle, three were chosen. The name given to the inspired priestess was
always the same, that of Pythia.

To prepare the priestess for the ordeal which was to make known the will
of the god, she was kept fasting for a number of days--a condition
favorable to hallucinations, and then was given laurel leaves to chew
because of their narcotic virtue. Then the Pythia was seated on a
tripod, placed in the middle of the sanctuary, over an opening in the
ground whence mephitic vapors were escaping. Her head was crowned with
a garland made from the tree of Apollo, and about the tripod coiled a
snake, the emblem of the art of divination. The exhalations from the
abyss were deemed to be the very breath of the god, with which he
inspired his priestess. Soon she grew pale and trembled with convulsive
movements; her only utterances at first were groans and sighs; and now,
with eyes aflame, with hair dishevelled, and with foam on her lips, amid
shrieks of anguish she gave forth a few incoherent, disconnected words.
The god had at last spoken through his priestess. The words were
carefully written down by the attendant priest, who gave a rhythmic form
to the response, and thus a revelation of the future was made known to
the anxious inquirer.

The Pythia was consulted by all the peoples of Greece, as well as by
kings and strangers from foreign lands. Colonies to Italy, to Africa, to
the regions about the Black Sea, were sent at her command; she
sanctioned laws; she taught Lycurgus that the best laws were those which
obliged rulers to rule well and subjects to obey well. To the conquered,
she counselled resignation and hope. Peoples lusting for conquest, she
bade revive their piety toward the gods and seek the mercy of heaven by
showing themselves merciful. She was also the guardian of individual
morality. To a king desiring peace of mind, she declared that his
unhappiness was due to his and his predecessors' wrong-doings, and
recommended the exercise of clemency when he returned home. Being asked:
"Who is the happiest of men?" she replied: "Phaedrus, who