Greek Philosophy 3.2: Delphi, Panhellenism, and the Delphic Maxims

3.2: Delphi, Panhellenism, and the Delphic Maxims
00:00 Introduction & Overivew
01:58 Delphi
04:29 The Corycian Cave
05:18 Early History at Delphi
10:40 Delphi in Greek Myth
16:20 The site of Delphi
18:28 Consulting the Oracle
38:18 Delphic Maxims and Philosophers

[@verdarluzmagi]

amazing, extremely thorough and inspired

[@DelphicPhilosophy]

Thank you for the encouragement!

[@thelstan8562]

Awesome!

[@markoslavicek]

Wonderful presentation. I was hoping to hear a bit about the mystical E on the temple though. Would you have any literature on it to recommend? Apart from Plutatch's Moralia, of course.
Looking forward to future uploads, I really enjoy the channel.

[@DelphicPhilosophy]

Thanks for the excellent question, Marko! As you point out, the meaning of the original 'E' was already a mystery for detective work in Plutarch's time (46-after 119 CE). His characters in the dialogue on the E suggest engagingly that it may represent the Greek ei 'if' (an open-ended point about the free will included with prophecy, which is always conditional), or the Sun, or the number 5 with Pythagorean symbolism, or the verb 'ei' ('thou art', an answer to the injunction 'know thyself'), or a mystery known only to the initiated, with further Pythagorean undertones. There are other suggestions today: for instance, Berman and Losada, writing in the Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik (1975) suggest that it was originally a ligature for the name of the Earth-goddess, GE (Gaia), who first held the Oracle. I would also draw attention to the letter's resemblance to the tripod, at least on early coinage (from Croton) depicting the Delphic tripod that was symbolic of the power of prophecy and the Pythia's authority; perhaps there's a connection. But since the historical intention may be unprovable, I think we're as free to speculate respectfully as Plutarch's characters! In that light, I think there's an appeal to almost all of these (and other) suggestions, and-like so much at Delphi-the riddle is partly a mirror for one's own intuitions. I'd highlight one of those mentioned earlier: that E stands for 'thou art, you are', and is responsive to the injunction to self-knowledge.