y set apart for the purpose.

{195}

The priestess who delivered the oracles was called the Pythia, after the
serpent Python, which was killed by Apollo. Having first bathed in the
waters of the Castalian spring, she was conducted into the temple by the
priests, and was seated on a sort of three-legged stool or table, called a
tripod, which was placed over the mouth of a cave whence issued sulphurous
vapours. Here she gradually became affected in a remarkable manner, and
fell into an ecstatic condition, in which she uttered wild and
extraordinary phrases, which were held to be the utterance of Apollo
himself; these the priests interpreted to the people, but in most cases in
so ambiguous a manner that the fulfilment of the prediction could not
easily be disputed. During the ceremony, clouds of incense filled the
temple, and hid the priestess from the view of the uninitiated, and at its
conclusion she was reconducted, in a fainting condition, to her cell.

The following is a striking instance of the ambiguity of oracular
predictions:--Croesus, the rich king of Lydia, before going to war with
Cyrus, king of Persia, consulted an oracle as to the probable success of
the expedition. The reply he received was, that if he crossed a certain
river he would destroy a great empire. Interpreting the response as being
favourable to his design, Croesus crossed the river, and encountered the
Persian king, by whom he was entirely defeated; and his own empire being
destroyed, the prediction of the oracle was said to have been fulfilled.

SOOTHSAYERS (AUGURS).

In addition to the manifestation of the will of the gods by means of
oracles, the Greeks also believed that certain men, called soothsayers,
were gifted with the power of foretelling future events from dreams, from
observing the flight of birds, the entrails of sacrificed animals, and even
the direction of the flames and smoke from the altar, &c. {196}

AUGURS.

The Roman soothsayers were called augurs, and played an important part in
the history of the Romans, as no enterprise was ever undertaken without
first consulting them with regard to its ultimate success.

FESTIVALS.

Festivals were instituted as seasons of rest, rejoicing, and thanksgiving,
and also as anniversaries to commemorate events of national importance. The
most ancient festivals were those held after the ingathering of the harvest
or vintage, and were celebrated with rejoicings and merry-makings, which
l