The Oracle

I believe I picked this book up in a small bookstore in Hawaii a few years back, and unfortunately it took me this long to work it into my queue. Which is surprising when you consider that I visited Delphi and the remains of the Temple of Apollo, site of the infamous Oracle of Delphi, back in 2004. I've often read about the Oracle of Delphi, primarily through my readings of the ancients (Plutarch, etc.).

This book by William J. Broad was something altogether different, yet very enjoyable. It details a scientific inquiry into the workings of the temple, which aims to prove or debunk the idea that the Oracle actually got high on vapors that emanated from the ground below the temple.

The ancient writers almost universally agree that she inhaled vapors prior to her giving of prophecy. More recent inquiries, in the late 19th century, by French authorities, however, seemed to disprove the idea that vapors could ever have risen from the earth at the site of the temple. A combination of outdated science, poor analysis by non-geologists, and French attitude were able to convince the world that the vapors never existed.

Much later, however, during a series of more modern scientific analysis from a multi-disciplinary team of scientists (including geologists, archeologists and chemists) were able to prove the extreme likelihood that the Oracle was able to aid her prophecising by inhaling vapors. Not surprisingly, it turns out that the Greeks built the temple at the intersection of two geologic faults that literally criss-cross at the exact location of the prophecy chamber within the temple. They were able to find trace elements of ethylene in the stone, and even tested its effect on humans exposed to ethylene in similar conditions as the Oracle.

The scientific world, although never unanimous, has adopted the findings of the scientists, and the ancient writers are once again proven correct.

Broad captured the scientific elements of the story, which are quite foreign to me, and blended them well with the historicity of the Temple of Apollo and the Oracle of Delphi. His genuine fascination with uncovering the story, the reporting of which had largely been limited to the world of science, became my fascination as I sped through the book.