What had Pythia said about the future of Greece?
A timeless prophecy about Hellenism, which is verified, is said to have been said by Pythia.
In the early 2nd century B.C., when the experienced Arcadian general Philopoimin saw the interference of the Roman Flaminikos in Greek affairs, he realized that the Greeks were facing great troubles.
Priestess of Delphi (1891) by John Collier, showing the Pythia sitting on a tripod with vapor rising from a crack in the earth beneath her
Philopimin then decided to consult the Oracle of Delphi about the future of Greece.
Pythia gave the following oracle, which has been confirmed in its entirety for 22 centuries: "Ασκός κλυδωνιζόμενος μηδέποτε βυθιζόμενος".
The translation of this phrase:
The priestess of Delphi likened Greece to an inflated sack in a stormy sea, which, though shaken by the waves, will never sink.
And indeed, the Romans - confirming the fears of Philopoimenin - came, the Goths came, the Avars came, the Franks came, the Turks came.
The Arabs came, the Germans came, the Allies came.
As traitors came. But the sack, despite all this and much else, "never sinks!".
Who was Pythia?
The Pythia was the name of the high priestess of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi who also served as the oracle, commonly known as the Oracle of Delphi.
Modern photograph of the ruins of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi
The name Pythia is derived from Pytho, which in myth was the original name of Delphi. In etymology, the Greeks derived this place name from the verb, πύθειν (púthein) “to rot”, which refers to the sickly sweet smell of the decomposition of the body of the monstrous Python after she was slain by Apollo.
The Pythia was established at the latest in the 8th century BC, and was widely credited for her prophecies inspired by being filled by the spirit of the god (or enthusiasmos), in this case Apollo. The Pythian priestess emerged pre-eminent by the end of 7th century BC and would continue to be consulted until the 4th century AD. During this period the Delphic Oracle was the most prestigious and authoritative oracle among the Greeks, and she was without doubt the most powerful woman of the classical world. The oracle is one of the best-documented religious institutions of the classical Greeks. Authors who mention the oracle include Aeschylus, Aristotle, Clement of Alexandria, Diodorus, Diogenes, Euripides, Herodotus, Julian, Justin, Livy, Lucan, Nepos, Ovid, Pausanias, Pindar, Plato, Plutarch, Sophocles, Strabo, Thucydides and Xenophon. Reference: Wikipedia