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The Wonders of the World #2

The Oracle of Delphi

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For hundreds of years, a woman dictated the fates of men, cities, and empires from the Greek town known as Delphi. This oracle of Delphi listened quietly to the suppliants who came to her from all over the ancient world with their queries, then retired to her inner sanctum to commune with the god Apollo, whose sacred vapors filled that space. And then she emerged again to shape the course of history with her answers.

In these pages, you'll come to know the extraordinary place that the Greeks considered the literal center of the world, the focal point of some of the most indelible tales ever told. You'll meet the gods and heroes, monsters and villains, generals and philosophers whose fates were determined by the oracle. Through their eyes and hers, you'll observe the grand sweep of ancient Greek myth and history, from the creation of their world to the rise of Alexander the Great. For, far from a dull archaeological survey, this is the story of Delphi as the Greeks themselves knew it, told with all of the verve which it deserves.

432 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 27, 2020

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About the author

Jimmy Maher

32 books27 followers

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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
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401 reviews9 followers
February 2, 2022
I read this book as it was released serially on the author's website, every other week, and I always looked forward to each installment. He decided to something a bit different for this one, starting out his with narrator writing as almost as an inhabitant of the times, and gradually transitioning (or 'awakening') to a more traditional role. Of course this is not just a history of the Oracle but of all the people who came to it seeking advice and how they fit into the story of the land and those who lived in it.
2 reviews
August 4, 2023
Excellent

After visiting Greece and Delphi I became very interested in its history. I thought this book was wonderful in putting me in Delphi of the past and to live through it. I highly recommend this book.
42 reviews
September 14, 2023
In the Oracle of Delphi, Jimmy Maher masterfully blends Greek mythology into ancient Greek history while revealing the central role of the Oracle in the ancient world. I loved Greek mythology as a kid, but this book takes it a step further - it puts everything into its proper context (as well as one can when one is dealing with a blend of history and mythology) which many other books about Greek mythology fail to do. As the book transitions from the mythological to the historical, the author continues to use the Oracle of Delphi as an effective framing device for the wars, disputes, and other conflicts of the ancient world.

Note: I read this book in serialized form on Jimmy Maher's blog "The Analog Antiquarian".
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews

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