Pythiai and Inspired Divination in the Delphic Oracle: Can Cognitive Sciences Provide Us with an Access to “Dead Minds”?

Abstract

The aim of this article is to deepen our knowledge of mantic procedures used at Delphi, especially with respect to the mental state of the Pythia, which was induced in the course of oracular sessions. The first section provides a short reconstruction of the Delphic oracular session based on the information gleaned from historical and (to lesser extent) archaeological sources. The second section aims for clarification of some contentious points, which are still the subject of intensive scholarly debates and controversies. They concern particularly questions about the authorship of pronounced oracles and the method by which the Pythia brought about her reputed mantic abilities. The third section raises a question about how and to what degree our knowledge about the history of the Delphic oracle and the Pythia’s behaviour in the course of oracular consultations is deepened by looking at it from the perspective of cognitive psychology. A cognitive perspective can, perhaps, give us useful material for possible comparisons based on analogically similar cases of spirit possession currently studied anthropologically, psychologically, and neurologically.

Introduction to Section 1

“…Cognitive studies mainly engage with particular cult systems, examining their specific sensescapes and modes of memory. Most of the studies collected here concentrate on Greek cults (Ustinova 2019(Ustinova , 2009Panagiotidou 2017Panagiotidou , 2014Chalupa 2014) and early Christianity (Czachesz 2015(Czachesz , 2016Harkins and Popović 2015). Similarly, recent scholarship on the anthropology of the senses and sensorium in both ancient religion 12 and early Christianities (Feldt 2017; Pentcheva 2014), particularly Christian asceticism (Alciati 2018), has initiated a debate about the social and cultural significance of sensory stimulations, emotions, arousals, and affections.…”

Evolutionary, Cognitive, and Contextual Approaches to the Study of Religious Systems

“…Admittedly, scholars working only with text might not have enough data to include other levels than the external proximate causes although they can leave the possibility of otherlevel explanations open for researchers willing to bring additional evidence from different disciplines. For a good example, seeChalupa (2014).Downloaded from Brill.com05/10/2021 12:09:19PM via free access…”

Self as other: distanciation and reflexivity in ancient Greek divination

“…See Lehoux 2007 for discussion of the evidence for and against the idea that the Pythia was drugged. SeeChalupa (2014) for an assessment of the Pythia's state during consultations as exhibiting many of the symptoms of (intentionally and routinely) induced patterned dissociative identity disorder and Deeley (2019) on 'a cognitive reconstruction' of the Pythia's possession. 4 At least that is, until Plutarch writes a dialogue on 'The oracles at Delphi no longer given in verse' (Mor.…”