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See also: Hades and the Underworld 48–49 ■ Apollo and the Oracle of
Delphi 58–59 ■ Aeneas 96–101 ■ The founding of Rome 102–05ANCIENT ROME
leaves, which she would arrange at
the mouth of her cave; if the wind
blew the leaves about, the Sibyl
would refuse to rearrange them,
and the prophecy would be lost.Final prophesies
The Sibyl of Cumae approached
Tarquinius Superbus (Tarquin
the Proud), the last king of Rome
before the Republic, with nine
books of prophecies, which she
offered to sell him for a high price.Tarquinius, seeing merely a
withered old woman, haughtily
turned her away. The Sibyl burned
three of the books, and offered him
the remaining six for the same
price. Again he refused. The Sibyl
burned another three books and
offered the king the remaining
three for the same price as the
original nine. He was so intrigued
that he paid her what she asked.
After selling her books, the Sibyl
disappeared and was not mentioned
again until she was spotted by
Trimalchio, a former slave, in
the 1st-century ce Satyricon of
Petronius. By then, her withered
body was so tiny that she was hung
up in a jar. When some local boys
asked her what she wanted, she
replied, “I want to die.” Eventually,
only her voice was left. ■Aeneas greets the Sibyl at the
Temple of Apollo, accompanied by
Achates, a fellow exile from Troy, before
his descent into the Underworld, in this
manuscript illustration (ca. 400 ce).The Sibylline Books
The three books of prophecies
known as the Sibylline Books
were one of ancient Rome’s
greatest treasures. They were
kept in the temple of Jupiter
on the Capitoline Hill and
consulted at times of crisis.
The original books were
burnt in a temple fire in 83 bce,
but the prophecies that they
contained were carefully
gathered together from across
the Roman Empire and placed
back in the temple. The
Emperor Augustus later had
them moved to the temple of
Apollo on the Palatine Hill.
The Sibylline Books had 10
custodians who interpreted
the obscure and ambiguous
prophecies. These men also
directed the Romans on how
to worship the gods Apollo,
Cybele, and Ceres. Apollo had
inspired the Sybil’s prophecies
and the Sibylline Books gave
advice on the worship of
Cybele and Ceres. However,
the books were intentionally
destroyed in 405 ce by Flavius
Stilicho, a Roman general who
believed that they were being
used against him.The Sibyl of Cumae is portrayed
in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel in
Rome, painted by Michelangelo
(1510), to illustrate that pagans
can enter the kingdom of God.’Tis time to ask the oracles;
the god, lo! The god!
The Sybil of Cumae,
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