What predictions did the Oracle of Delphi make?
Delphi was considered by the ancients to be the center, or “navel” of the world. People came from all over Greece to have their questions about the future answered by Pythia, the priestess of Apollo. The oracle didn’t always make predictions. The oracle often just gave advice. For example…Hercules was the son of Zeus (but not the son of his wife, Hera). The goddess Hera, out of jealousy, was determined to make trouble for Hercules, and made him lose his mind. In this confused state, he killed his wife and children. When he awakened from his “temporary insanity,” Hercules was shocked and upset by what he’d done. He prayed to the god Apollo for guidance, and the god’s ORACLE told him he would have to serve Eurystheus, the king of Tiryns and Mycenae, for twelve years, in punishment for the murders. As part of his sentence, Hercules had to perform twelve impossible tasks or labors. (They weren’t impossible for him, though.) I think you know the rest of the story.
