were inspired by the gods: agriculture was revealed by Demeter; the techniques and
the discoveries associated with the intellect were the work of Athena; the inspiration
of love derived from Aphrodite and Eros; medical knowledge was the work of
healing deities. Rites themselves were dictated by the gods, just as was the secret
of the mysteries. Philosophy did not lag behind. Just like the other Presocratics,
Pythagoras was regarded as being as truthful as the Delphic oracle (Aristippos 4 A
150 Giannantoni), Parmenides derived his knowledge from a goddess (fr. 1 DK),
and the cult that Plato offered to the Muses in the garden of the Academy was far
from accidental (Motte 1973:411–29; Schefer 2002). Socrates had said: ‘‘I am a
soothsayer’’ (PlatoPhaedrus292c), and Pindar had proclaimed, ‘‘Pronounce your
oracles, Muse, I will be the prophet’’ (fr. 150 Maehler). Oracular and poetic forms
of knowledge, similar as they were, were inspired by Apollo and the Muses, and
they often came from the bottom of a cave (Duchemin 1955:21–94; Ustinova
2004).
The notion of revelation was of central importance to Greek religion, but not
in a Judeo-Christian sense. Men who wished to conform with the will of the gods,
for fear of incurring their wrath otherwise, found help in divine signs. The prolif-
eration of diviners and of oracle collections is tangible proof of this in a society
without revealed books such as the Bible. Again, it is important to understand that
archaic poets, who were always considered to be the religious initiators of hellenism
and to some extent its prophets, were held to be inspired by the gods (Xenophanes
fr. 11 D-K). This tendency was so strong that, whenever one stressed the ‘‘immor-
ality’’ of the Homeric or Orphic gods, one immediately promoted an allegorical
reading of them, right up until the end of ancient thought. Homer, Hesiod, Plato,
Aristotle, and even a late collection of texts, the Chaldaean Oracles, for example,
were seen as the varied expression of one single and unique revealed truth (Brisson
1996).
Divination in Greece was therefore far from an unreasonable, irrational outgrowth
from ‘‘rational’’ Greek thought. Already in the archaic period all its procedures were
in place or in gestation, and well integrated into Greek patterns of thought. The gods
agreed to communicate some of their absolute knowledge with men, and divination
was simply one privileged means of enabling this. This involved an analogical way of
thinking that presupposed a certain sense of predestination: in myth, no matter
how man tries to evade a prediction, it will always come to pass (Iliad16.441–2;
XenophonAnabasis7.8.8–22; Moreau 1991). In theHomeric Hymn to Apollo
(247–93) the young god himself declares his intention of giving men his rulings,
which express the will of Zeus. Almost all gods and numerous heroes had their oracle
somewhere, but Apollo was without contestthegod of divination.
Like every form of contact with the sacred, divination involves an emotional
response on the consultant’s part, and this can vary according to context and to the
sensitivity and education of each individual (e.g., Thucydides 6.70.1). The consult-
ation of an oracle can be a hypocritical act or it can express an intensely genuine piety.
A distinction can moreover be made between the active and passive role of the
oracle’s beneficiary. Men can ask for a sign and get it, or they can receive a spontan-
eous sign (Plutarch,Themistocles13.2–5). Entering an oracular sanctuary obviously
requires an active role. Dreams could impose themselves on a dreamer in his home, or
in a sanctuary that specialized in oniromancy (divination by dreams).
146 Pierre Bonnechere