shrine; here they inquire of him, what he had seen or heard; which when he hath related, they deliver him to others, who (as appointed for that office) carry him stupified with amazement, and forgetful of himself, and those about him, to the chapel of Good Genius and Good Fortune, where he had made his former stay at his going down; here, after some time, he is restored to his former senses, and the cheerfulness of his visage returns again. What I here relate was not received at second hand, but either as by ocular demonstration I have perceived in others, or what I have proved true by my own experience; for all consultants are obliged to hang up, engraved on a tablet, what they have seen or heard.' Thus far Pausanias. Plutarch's relation concerns the appearances exhibited to consultants, which, though they were various, and seldom the same, secing it is a remarkable story, I will give it you, as it is translated by the same hand: 'Timarchus being a youth of liberal education, and just initiated in the rudiments of philosophy, was greatly desirous of knowing the nature and efficacy of Socrates's demon: wherefore, communicating his project to no mortal body but me and Cebes, after the performance of all the rituals requisite for consultation, he descended Trophonius's cave: where having staid two nights and one day, his return was wholly despaired of, insomuch that his friends bewailed him as dead: in the morning he came up very brisk, and, in the first place, paid some venerable acknowledgments to the god: after that, having escaped the staring rout, he laid open to us a prodigious relation of what he had seen or heard, to this purpose: in his descent, he was beset with a caliginous mist, upon which he prayed, lying prostrate for a long time, and not having sense enough to know whether he was awake or in a dream, he surmises, that he received a blow on his head, with such an echoing violence as dissevered the sutures of his skull, through which his soul migrated; and being disunited from the body and mixed with bright and refined air, with a seeming contentment, began to breathe for a long time, and being dilated like a full sail, was wider than before. After this, having heard a small noise, whistling in his ears, a delightsome sound, he looked up, but saw not a spot of earth, only Aslands reflecting a glimmering flame, interchangeably receiving different colours, according to the different degrees of light. They seemed to be of an infinite number, and of a stupendous size, not bearing an equal parity betwixt one another in this, though they were all alike, viz. globular; it may be conjectured, that the circumrotation of these moved the æther, which occasioned that whistling, the gentle pleasantness of which bore an adequate agreement with their well-timed motion. Between these there was a sea or lake, which spread out a surface glittering with many colours, intermixed with an azure; some of the islands floated on its stream, by which they were driven on the other side of the torrent; many others were carried to and fro, so that they were well nigh sunk. This sea, for the most part, was very shallow and fordable, except towards the south, where it was of a great depth; it very often ebbed and flowed, but not with a high tide: some part of it had a natural sea-colour, untainted with any other, as miry and muddy as any lake: the rapidness of the torrent carried back those islands from whence they had grounded, and situating them in the same place as at first, or bringing them about with a circumference; but in the gentle turning of them, the water makes one rising roll; betwixt these, the sea seemed to bend inwards about (as near as he could guess) eight parts of the whole. This sea had two mouths, which were inlets to boisterous rivers, casting out fiery foam, the flaming brightness of which covered the best part of its natural azure. He was very much pleased at this sight, until he looked down, and saw an immense hiatus, resembling a hollow sphere, of an amazing and dreadful profundity. It had darkness to a miracle; not still, but thickened, and agitated: here he was seized with no small fright, by the astonishing hubbubs, and noises of all kinds, that seemed to arise out of this hollow, from an unfathomable bottom, viz. he heard an infinity of yells and howlings of beasts, cries and bawlings of children, confused with the groans. and outrages of men and women. Not long after, he heard a voice invisibly pronounce these words :' What follows is nothing but a prolix and tedious harangue upon various subjects. One thing there is more especially remarkable in this account, viz. that he makes Timarchus to return from consultation with a brisk and cheerful countenance, whereas, it is commonly reported that all the consultants of this oracle became pensive and melancholy; that their tempers were soured, and their countenances, however gay and pleasant before, rendered dull and heavy; whence, of any person dejected, melancholy, or too serious, it was generally said Tgopovíou peμáνTEUTαI, i. e. he has been consulting the oracle of Trophonius. But this is only to be understood of the time immediately ensuing consul tation; for, as we learn from Pausanias, all inquirers recovered their former cheerfulness in the temple of Good Genius and Good Fortune. AMPHI CHAP. XI. OF OTHER GRECIAN ORACLES. MPHIARAUS was the son of Oïcleus, and married Eryphyle the sister of Adrastus, king of Argos: he was an excellent soothsayer, and by his skill foresaw that it would prove fatal to him if he engaged himself in the Theban war. Wherefore to avoid inevitable destruction, he hid himself, but was discovered by his wife Eriphyle, whom Polynices had corrupted with a present of a gold chain. Being discovered, he was obliged by Adrastus to accompany the army to Thebes, where, as he had foretold, together with his chariot and horses, he was swallowed up by the earth, whence Ovid saith of him : Notus humo mersis Amphiaraüs equis. Some say this accident happened in the way betwixt Thebes and Chalcis and for that reason the place is called "Agua, i. e. a chariot, to this day, saith Pausanias." : After his death he was honoured with divine worship; first by the Oropians, and afterwards by all the other Grecians: and a stately temple, with a statue of white marble, was erected to him in the place where he was swallowed up, saith my author, being about twelve stadia distant from Oropus, a city in the confines of Attica and Boeotia, which for that reason is sometimes attributed to both countries. There was also a remarkable altar dedicated to him in the same place. It was divided into five parts; the first of which was sacred to Hercules, Jupiter, and Pæonian Apollo; the second, to the heroes and their wives; the third, to Vesta, Mercury, Amphiaraus, and the sons of Amphilochus (for Alcmæon, the son of Amphiaraus, was not allowed to partake of any of the honours paid to Amphilochus, or Amphiaraus, because he slew his mother Eriphyle); the fourth to Venus, Panacea, Jason, Hygiea, and Pæonian Minerva; the fifth part to the Nymphs, Pan, and the rivers Achelous and Cephisus. m Atticis. Answers were delivered in dreams: Jophon the Gnosian, who published the ancient oracles in heroic verse, reports, that Amphiaraus returned an answer to the Argives in verse; but my author herein contradicts him, and reports farther, that it was the general opinion, that only those who were inspired by Apollo gave answers after that manner; whereas all the rest made predictions either by dreams or the flight of birds, or the entrails of beasts. He adds for a confirmation of what he had said before, viz. that these answers were given in dreams, that Amphiaraus was excellently skilled in the interpretation of dreams, and canonized for the invention of that art. They that came to consult this oracle, were first to be purified by offering sacrifice to Amphiaraus, and all the other gods, whose names were inscribed on the altar:" Philostratus adds, they were to fast twenty-four hours, and abstain three days from wine. After all, they offered a ram in sacrifice to Amphiaraus; then went to sleep, lying upon a victim's skin, and in that posture expected a revelation by dream. In the same manner did the people of Apulia Daunia expect answers from Podalirius, who died there, and returned prophetic dreams to those that came to inquire of him. Whoever consulted him was to sleep upon a sheep's skin at his altar, as we learn from these words of Lycophron :o Δοραῖς δὲ μήλων τύμβος ἐγκοιμωμένος Χρήσει καθ' ὕπνον πᾶσι νημερτῇ φάτιν. They, whose aspiring minds, curious to pry Ask aid of Podalirius, must sleep Prostrate on sheep-skins, at his hallow'd fane, H. H. To return all persons were admitted to this oracle, the Thebans only excepted, who were to enjoy no benefit from Amphiaraus in this way; for, as Herodotus reports," he gave them their option of two things, viz. his counsel and advice, to direct them in time of necessity, or his help and protection, to defend them in time of danger, telling them they must not expect both : whereupon they chose the latter, thinking they had a greater need of defence than counsel, which they could be sufficiently furnished with by Delphian Apollo. This oracle was had in very great esteem: Herodotus reckons it amongst the five principal ones of Greece, consulted by Crosus, before his expedition against Cyrus, viz. the Delphian, Dodonean, Amphiaraus's, Trophonius's, and the Didymæan; and " Vita Apollonii Tyanai, lib. ii. P Lib. viii, cap. 134. Cassandra, v. 1050. 4 Lib. i, cap. 46. Valerius Maximus saith, it was not inferior either to the two first of those already mentioned, or to that of Jupiter Ammon. Near the temple was the fountain, out of which Amphiaraus ascended into heaven, when he was received into the number of the gods, which, for that reason, was called by his name: it was held so sacred, that it was a capital crime to employ the waters of it to any ordinary use, as the washing hands, or purification ; nay, it was unlawful to offer sacrifices before it, as was usual at other fountains. The chief use it was employed in was this, viz. they that by the advice of the oracle had recovered out of any disease, were to cast a piece of coined gold or silver into it: and this Pausaniass tells us was an ancient custom, and derived from the primitive ages. At Pharæ, a city of Achaia, answers were given by Mercurius 'Ayogaños, so named from ȧyoga, i. e. the market-place, where was a statue of stone erected to him, having a beard, which seems to have been a thing unusual in his statues; before it was placed a low stone altar, upon which stood brazon basons soldered with lead. They that came for advice, first offered frankincense upon the altar, then lighted the lamps, pouring oil into them; after that, they offered upon the right side of the altar a piece of money, stamped with their own country impression, and called xaxxous; then proposed the questions they desired to be resolved in, placing their ear close to the statue, and after all departed, stopping both their ears with their hands, till they had passed quite through the market-place; then they plucked away their hands, and received the first voice that presented itself as a divine oracle. The same ceremonies were practised in Egypt, at the oracle of Serapis, as Pausanias reports. At Bura" in Achaia, there was an oracle of Hercules, called from that city Buraicus. The place of it was a cave, wherein was Hercules's statue: predictions were made by throwing dice. They that consulted the god, first addressed themselves to him by prayer; then taking four dice out of a great heap that lay ready there, they threw them upon the table: all the dice had on them certain peculiar marks, all which were interpreted in a book kept for that purpose: as soon, therefore, as they had cast the dice, they went to the book, and there every man found his doom. At Patræ, a city on the sea-coast of Achaia, not far from the sacred grove of Apollo, there was a temple dedicated to Ceres, in Lib. viii, cap. 15. $ Atticis. t Achaicis. V u V Ibidem. |