Have You Been to Delphi?: Tales of the Ancient Oracle for Modern Minds

Roger Lipsey is the author of An Art of Our Own: The Spiritual in Twentieth-Century Art; Daedalus: Studies in Honor of the Birth of Ananda K. Coomaraswamy; Coomaraswamy: Life and Writings; and editor of Coomaraswamy: Selected Papers.

This book of tales of the ancient Oracle at Delphi, freshly interpreted from ancient literature, restores a lost wisdom tradition. This tradition is conveyed not through philosophical or religious exposition but through story, ranging from the grandeur of myth to charming anecdotes and dark riddles. At the Delphic temple of Apollo, for nearly a thousand years, a priestess in trance listened to the urgent inquiries of questioners from all parts of the ancient world and responded on behalf of the god. From this sacred conversation there resulted both a set of enduring values and a collection of tales that relate the encounter with the divine and its consequences in the lives of questioners. In addition to a generous selection of these wisdom tales, the book also contains chapters on the priestess and ancient concepts of trance mediumship; on the Delphic commandment, "Know thyself"; and on the still-surviving Chief State Oracle of Tibet, which offers a living parallel to the ancient Delphic oracle.