The Delphi Project

The Delphi Project is an entirely artistic undertaking. It is not about renewing oracular traditions that had their justification in the past. It is about expansion of the human mind, the development of poetic and imaginal capacities that can supplement what the intellect alone cannot provide. Developing these capacities and applying them collectively is the core of this work. The book describes the history of the oracle at Delphi and explores contemporary possibilities of working with tacit knowledge through collective imagination.

CONTENTS

Dedication iii

Acknowledgements 7

Introduction 9

I The Mytho-poetic Maps 14

1 Spirit of Place 15

2 Myth and Reality 20

3 The Mythological Mindset 28

4 Oracular Myth 42

II From Knowledge to Self-knowledge 48

Oedipus Rex 49

5 Croesus 55

6 Socrates 62

7 Poetry and Politics 71

8 Oracular Medicine 86

III Collective Imagination 94

9 The Poet as Oracle 96

10 Metaphor and the Muse 103

11 Framing the Questions 108

12 The Communal Imagination 114

IV The Delphi Papers 119

13 A New Kind of Oracle 121

14 Reflections 166

Artpendix 183

Bibliography 190