~ * THE ORACLE * ~ by luciferino

Poser • Fantasy • posted on Nov 04, 2007

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No AI - This artwork was created entirely by hand or with traditional digital tools.

Description

An oracle is a person or agency considered to be a source of wise counsel or prophetic opinion; an infallible authority, usually spiritual in nature. It may also be a revealed prediction or precognition of the future, from deities, that is spoken through another object (e.g.: runemal) or life-form (e.g.: augury and auspice). In the ancient world many sites gained a reputation for the dispensing of oracular wisdom: they too became known as "oracles", and the oracular utterances, called khrēsmoi in Greek, were often referred to under the same name — a name derived from the Latin verb ōrāre, to speak. Earliest tradition of oracular practice in Hellenic culture is from the Archaic period shortly after arrival of the Hellenes in their current place of settlement c.1300 BCE. The oracle was associated with the cults of deities derived from the great goddess of nature and fertility, the pre-eminent ancient oracle—the Delphic Oracle—operated at the temple of Delphi. The temple was changed to a center for the worship of Apollo during the classical period of Greece and priests were added to the temple organization—although the tradition regarding prophecy remained unchanged—and the apparently always-female priest continued to provide the services of the oracle exclusively. It is from this institution that the English word, oracle, is derived. The Delphic Oracle exerted considerable influence throughout Hellenic culture. The Greeks consulted her prior to all major undertakings, wars, the founding of colonies, and so forth. The semi-Hellenic countries around the Greek world, such as Lydia, Caria, and even Egypt also respected her and came to Delphi as supplicants. Croesus of Lydia consulted Delphi before attacking Persia, and according to Herodotus was told, "If you cross the river, you will destroy a great empire." Believing the response favorable, Croesus attacked, but it was his own empire that ultimately was destroyed by the Persians. She allegedly also proclaimed Socrates to be the wisest man in Greece, to which Socrates said that, if so, this was because he alone was aware of his own ignorance. After this confrontation, he believed it his duty to share his knowledge by teaching Greece's youth. [citation needed] This Oracle's last recorded response was given in 393 AD, when the emperor Theodosius I ordered pagan temples to cease operation.[citation needed] Dodona another oracle devoted to the Mother Goddess identified at other sites with Rhea or Gaia, but here called Dione. The shrine of Dodona was the oldest Hellenic oracle, according to the fifth-century historian Herodotus and, in fact, dates to pre-Hellenic times, perhaps as early as the second millennium BC when the tradition spread from Egypt. It became the second most important oracle in ancient Greece, which later was dedicated to Zeus and to Heracles during the classical period of Greece. During the period, on Crete lay another important oracle, sacred to Apollo. It ranked as one of the most accurate oracles in Greece

Comments (34)

vincenthebert

2:20PM | Sun, 04 November 2007

Very nice!!!!!

rbowen

2:53PM | Sun, 04 November 2007

Thank you for your beautiful work and for your wonderful and interesting story about the Delphic Oracle. I have visited Delphi and it is a truly amazing and unique location- truly magical.

MedTran39

2:59PM | Sun, 04 November 2007

Awesome!

plus3d

3:00PM | Sun, 04 November 2007

Very beautiful image! Love all the attention to details! Perfect!

angelbearzs

3:53PM | Sun, 04 November 2007

wow she is very nice and awesome pose !!!:)

alltheoriginalnames

4:00PM | Sun, 04 November 2007

Great composition on this and excellent setup and backstory. I like the brass tones in this and I really dig the symmetry. Nice work on this

Antonio57

4:38PM | Sun, 04 November 2007

Belle composition et bonne mise en scène!!!!!!BRAVO

calum5

4:57PM | Sun, 04 November 2007

How do you know all of these things.I want to see some paper work on you before I belive anymore lol!You always take me to the origins of your art with facinating themes explained .What else do you teach ?lol.Take care monkey cheeks,bye cal x

ladydawg

5:28PM | Sun, 04 November 2007

The bubbles are an awesome touch. Good work!

southernamazon1957

5:47PM | Sun, 04 November 2007

What an awesome image. Love the color! Karen :)

StarChildSong

7:27PM | Sun, 04 November 2007

Love the golden tones. Brilliant work. (^_^)

webdancer

10:31PM | Sun, 04 November 2007

Wow! Impressive work! I love the gold tones!

-renapd-

2:18AM | Mon, 05 November 2007

Beautiful fantasy render! :)

tallpindo

5:59AM | Mon, 05 November 2007

With today's media it is possible to inflect what will appear on TV news or in the paper at the exact moment it happens not later when it is reported. There is a shortfused prediction to this that is not actually a future form of the event. Maybe Larry Ellison could explain it. It interacts with movement on the street. Staying home makes it fail. Life is intrusive. We all seek ways to defend ouselves from surprise. Think of all we have spent on submarines that haven't participated in a naval clash since 1945.