ORACLES OF THE DEAD: Ancient Techniques

The author is no stranger to controversy and here he literally breaks new ground in his archaeological investigations of some of the world's great oracular sites, in particular the Oracles at Delphi and at Baiae, close to where the Cumaean Sybil made her prophecies in the ancient world. The Sybil of Cumae was the chief prophetess for the whole of Greek Italy, and those wishing to enter the Oracle of the Dead at nearby Baiae would first consult the Cumaean Sybil, as Aeneas does in the Aeneid. In the Greek world, the priestess at Delphi was said to be intoxicated by fumes rising from the ground, creating modern controversy about the actual site of the oracle. The riddles of the oracle would be used to justify different outcomes, and also make the experience more intriguing for the visitor. The entrance to the Oracle of the Dead at Baiae was blocked by the earthquake of 63 AD, which the author explores with Michael Baigent, passing through antechambers where clients would purify themselves and take drugs to promote hallucination, then on to the strange long narrow tunnel of 400 feet which divides in two before the descent to the river Styx, where the sanctuary was bricked up by the Romans. In a chapter on portents, Temple discusses the star of Bethlehem as a possible supernova recorded by Chinese astrologers around 5 BC, the alchemical importance of Boehme's Doctrine of Signatures and its Platonic antecedents, and the portents of the Han Dynasty's usurping emperor Wang Mang. The second part of the book deals with the theory and practice of Chinese prophecy, paying tribute to the 20th century work of Viktor Goldschmidt on form-dissolution and the prophetic discoveries of 17th century polymath Robert Hooke. 454pp, paperback, colour photos, diagrams.