20 
DELPHI AND THE GREEK ORACLES. 
(Illustrated by the Lantern). 
By Rev. J. H. HOPKINSON, M.A. October 19///, 1915. 
The subject was approached by the mention of the various 
ways in which the term “ oracle ” is used ; sometimes the 
word denotes a place, sometimes the answer given by the 
deity associated with the place ; sometimes, the god himself. 
There were, said the lecturer, in ancient Greece considerably 
over two hundred oracles though not all of them were of 
importance. Many of them were concerned with petty and 
domestic questions and some inscribed leaden strips found 
at Dodona were instanced as shewing the trivial nature of 
the queries ; but certain oracles, notably that of Delphi, 
were sought to solve problems of public and national import 
requiring a wisdom such as neither statesmen nor philosophers 
could give. 
By the aid of lantern slides the lecturer described the 
country round Delphi and Mount Parnassus. Ancient Delphi 
itself standing high up on a ledge or shoulder of Parnassus 
and near the gorge of the Pleistos, must have been invested 
by its natural surroundings with a peculiar and mysterious 
sanctity. Add to this, the fact that Parnassus itself is the 
geographical centre of Greece and the pre-eminence of this 
Delphic shrine of Apollo will be quite understood. 
The sanctuary itself consisted of a miscellaneous collection 
of buildings, set close round a central shrine. The temple 
itself stood elevated on a terrace and was approached from 
the outer gates of the sanctuary by a winding way. On 
either side this way were to be found statues, porticoes for 
shelter and rest, an open-air altar, various forms of dedica- 
tions to the gods and, most striking of all, the miniature 
temple-like buildings known as treasuries. The latter were 
built by the individual Greek states and were intended to 
house special offerings to the gods, and the robes and other 
appurtenances of ritual to be donned by those seeking the 
wisdom of the oracle within the sanctuary. Two of the 
most interesting examples were treated at length ; the 
Treasury of the Athenians, though damaged in past centuries 
