Tales from the End of Times

The Sibylline Oracles

Episode Summary

In Episode 1, Eva Anagnostou-Laoutides and Peter Edwell discuss the Sibylline Oracles. The oracles take their name from Sibyl, an ancient Greek prophetess who predicted the advent of Alexander the Great, of the Roman Emperor Augustus, and of Constantine, the first Christian emperor. Like the famous oracle of Delphi, the Sibyl prophesized in a state of frenzy. Through Cumae, the first Greek colony in Italy, the tradition was introduced in Rome. Enriched by Jewish apocalyptic traditions, the oracles were rewritten many times and achieved wide circulation in the Christian period. Eva and Peter recap the development of the Sibylline tradition and the character of the extant Sibylline Oracles and discuss how powerful individuals and groups in antiquity employed them as a tool for rewriting history.