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SIBYLS I (Sibyllae)

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Originally appearing in Volume V25, Page 20 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

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SIBYLS I (Sibyllae) , the name given by the Greeks and See also:

Romans to certain See also:

WOMEN

women who prophesied under the See also:

INSPIRATION (Lat. inspirare, breathe upon or into)

inspiration of a deity. The inspiration manifested itself outwardly in distorted features, foaming mouth and frantic gestures. See also:

HOMER, WINSLOW (1836-191o)

Homer does not refer to a Sibyl, nor does See also:

HERODOTUS (c. 484-425 B.C.)

Herodotus. The first See also:

Greek writer, so far as we know, who does so is Heraclitus (c. 500 B.C.). As to the number and native countries of the Sibyls much diversity of See also:

OPINION (Lat. opinio, from opinari, to think)

opinion prevailed. See also:

PLATO

Plato only speaks of one, but in course of See also:

time the number increased to ten according to Lactantius 1 The word is usually derived from Eco-poXTa, the Doric See also:

FORM (Lat. forma)

form od e€ mall (= will of See also:

God). (quoting from See also:

Varro) : the Babylonian or See also:

Persian, the Libyan, the Cimmerian, the Delphian, the Erythraean, the Samian, the Cumaean, the Hellespontine, the Phrygian and the Tiburtine. The Sibyl of whom we hear most is the Erythraean, generally identified with the Cumaean, whom See also:

AENEAS

Aeneas consulted before his descent to the See also:

LOWER

lower See also:

WORLD

world (Aeneid, vi. 1o); it was she who sold . to Tarquin the Proud the Sibylline books. She first offered him nine; when he refused them, she burned three and offered him the remaining six at the same See also:

price; when he again refused them, she burned three more and offered him the remaining three still at the same price. Tarquin then bought them (See also:

DION

Dion.

Halic. iv. 62). He entrusted them to the care of two See also:

PATRICIANS (Lat. patricius, an adjectival form from pater, father; not, as some say, from pater and ciere, to call)

patricians; after 367 B.C. ten custodians were appointed, five patricians and five plebeians; subsequently (probably in the time of See also:

SULLA, LUCIUS CORNELIUS (138–78 B.C.)

Sulla) their number was increased to fifteen. These officials, at the command of the See also:

SENATE (Lat. senatus, from root sen-, as in senex, old; the root is the Sanskrit sana, cf. Gr. 'vos; the same element appears in senor, seigneur, seneschal)

senate, consulted the Sibylline books in See also:

order to discover, not exact predictions of definite future events, but the religious observances necessary to avert extraordinary calamities (pestilence, See also:

EARTHQUAKE

earthquake) and to expiate prodigies in cases where the See also:

NATIONAL

national deities were unable, or unwilling, to help. Only the See also:

INTERPRETATION (from Lat. interpretari, to expound, explain, inter pres, an agent, go-between, interpreter; inter, between, and the root pret-, possibly connected with that seen either in Greek 4 p4'ew, to speak, or irpa-rrecv, to do)

interpretation of the orade which was considered suitable to the emergency was made known to the public, not the See also:

ORACLE (Lat. oraculum, from ora' to pray; the corresponding Greek word is uavreiov or Xpnuri7pwov)

oracle itself. An important effect of these books was the grecizing of See also:

ROMAN

Roman See also:

religion by the introduction of See also:

FOREIGN

foreign deities and See also:

RITES

rites (worshipped and practised in the See also:

TROAD, CERAMICS, PLATE

Troad) and the amalgamation of national See also:

ITALIAN

Italian deities with the corresponding Greek ones (fully discussed in J. See also:

MARQUARDT, JOACHIM (1812–1882)

Marquardt, Staatsverwaltung, iii., 1885, pp. 42, 350, 382). They were written in See also:

HEXAMETER

hexameter See also:

VERSE (from Lat. versus, literally a line or furrow drawn by turning the plough, from vertere, and afterwards signifying an arrangement of syllables into feet)

verse and in Greek; hence the See also:

COLLEGE (Collegium)

college of curators was always assisted by two Greek interpreters. The books were kept in the See also:

temple of See also:

JUPITER

Jupiter on the Capitol and shared the destruction of the temple by See also:

FIRE (in O. Eng. f j'r; the word is common to West German languages, cf. Dutch vuur, Ger. Feuer; the pre-Teutonic form is seen in Sanskrit pu, pavaka, and Gr. irup; the ultimate origin is usually taken to be a root meaning to purify, cf. Lat. purus)

fire in 83. After the restoration of the temple the senate sent ambassadors in 76 to See also:

ERYTHRAE [mod. Litri]

Erythrae to collect the oracles afresh and they brought back about loon verses; others were collected in Ilium, See also:

SAMOS

Samos, See also:

SICILY (Ital. Sicilia)

Sicily, See also:

Italy and See also:

Africa. In the See also:

YEAR

year 12 B.C.

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