A Brief Lesson On History

The Delphic Oracle
Given that the Delphic Oracle refers to both the priestess of Apollo who gives prophecies and the location where the Oracle gave prophecies, we will be talking about the priestess specifically. The Oracle was a figure of the future. Sought out for any form of affair, any question from a figure important enough to warrant an audience with the god’s chosen voice. Many countries would ask her for political advice or outcomes of war. Prophecies are visions of the future, and the oracle will explain these visions through different lyrical mediums, hymns, poems, and occasionally just foreboding statements and threats. (Britannica)
There are some famous examples of prophecies. Croesus is famous for the prophecy he received that he would “destroy a great empire”, and “a mule shall become sovereign king of the medians”. Both prophecies came true, with Cryus who was considered a mule for being half Mede half Persian becoming the king of the Medians, and due to Croesus engaging in the war, he set in stone the downfall of his empire of Lydia.
Phillip II of Macedonia, Alexander the Great’s father was given 2 prophecies that would change the course of history. First was “With silver spears you may conquer the world” which led him to conquer all of the silver mines and control both the Thracian and Illyrian kingdoms. His 2nd prophecy was that whoever could ride his horse, which was famous for no one being able to ride it, would conquer the world. Alexander the Great, his son, would be the one to ride it, and then start his conquest of Asia.
Emperor Nero of Rome when visiting the oracle was dismissed, and threatened, with a short but decisive prophecy, “The number 73 marks the hour of your downfall!” While Nero thought he would live till 73, he was actually murdered at the age of 30 by Galba who was 73 years old.
So given some examples of what seemed to be predetermined events, being proven and recorded in history, who’s to say there isn’t some level of correctness to it all. If a mystical being told you a vague future, would you believe it? Now what if that mystical being is the dreams you see as you sleep, what if they are the images of the future you aspire for? Why shouldn’t I listen to that voice, telling me to grab hold of my future?
Work Cited: “Delphic Oracle.” Encyclopaedia Britannica, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., 1 Mar. 2024, www.britannica.com/topic/Delphic-oracle.
Work Consulted: “Delphi - Oracle, Greece & Temple.” History.Com, A&E Television Networks, 13 Mar. 2024, www.history.com/topics/ancient-greece/delphi.
Work Consulted: Jones, Gabriel H. “Pythia.” World History Encyclopedia, Https://Www.Worldhistory.Org#organization, 25 Oct. 2022, www.worldhistory.org/Pythia/.
Work Consulted: “List of Oracular Statements from Delphi.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 15 Dec. 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oracular_statements_from_Delphi.
The Greatest
The king of Macedonia, Alexander the Great. Conqueror of 2.01 million square miles of land, stretched across a 3000-mile area in just 13 years (Britannica). He is hailed as one of the greatest generals in all of world history. He was decreed as invincible by the Oracle of Delphi and would go on to win every battle he faced. He only died from overindulgence at a party, which one could argue does not break the prophecy. He was invincible on the battlefield. And because of his reign, he was hailed as the Great.
For you to be called Great, you must be a defining example of greatness. While I don’t think achieving greatness requires conquering a 3000-mile stretch of land, it’s a similar idea. Something so irregular, something so extraordinary, something that seems impossible. By beating the odds and doing that improbable thing you can achieve greatness. One could say self-fulfillment is greatness, but that doesn’t make you Great. If I want to be the greatest game designer, I need to prove my greatness by wowing the world and creating a game that outperforms even the likes of Tetris. So then what about you? What would make you great? Is there something seemingly impossible that would make you the greatest at what you do? And most importantly, do you want to be the greatest?
Work Cited: “Alexander the Great.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 22 Mar. 2024, www.britannica.com/biography/Alexander-the-Great.
Work Consulted: “Greatness.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 22 Mar. 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greatness#:~:text=Greatness%20is%20a%20concept%20of,be%20better%20than%20all%20others.
A Greek Celebrity
If you could cheat death, would you? This was the question Sisyphus would later become famous for as he cheated death twice. The first time by chaining up the god of death, Thanatos, and the 2nd time by tricking Persephone into convincing Hades to let Sisyphus go back to the land of the living and teach his wife proper burial practices, which he did not do and instead lived out a peaceful life. His punishment for cheating death? To roll a boulder up a hill in the underworld, for it only to roll back to the bottom before he can reach the top. Again and again, rolling and rolling, never-ending. There are many more examples of divine torment that involve loops, like the torment of filling a sieve with water or tying the end of a rope with a donkey eating the other end. Each is an endless loop. Each one destined to their tormented due to their prior actions.
And while our lives for the most part aren’t torment, they are loops. Life is born, it lives, it dies. A loop. Day-to-day, we wake up, we do things during the day, we sleep. Another loop. Much like with Sisyphus, some of us go through torment, but only some are due to their prior actions. If someone is bad, they go through the legal system, may go to prison, and live a loop of torment. But some of us are tormented from the get-go. Destined to have a harder life. Birth defects, disabilities, or born into unlivable conditions. Is it simply just luck that defines all of that? It sure would suck to say, “Yeah, you drew the short stick. Sucks to be you”. It sounds so final. You failed before you started. You drew your hand of cards. Now play with it. I’d rather think of it as extra challenges. Obstacles to reaching your destiny are laid before you to make the end that much sweeter. Sure, you got dealt a bad hand, but that doesn’t mean you can’t switch the hand. Play some cards, and build up your deck. If it’s a game where your cards are final, bluff, use some trickery. To win, or in this case, achieve your goal, your dream, your destiny, you need to learn how to play the game. Unlike Sisyphus, our obstacles aren’t divine torment. They aren’t eternal. These challenges may be with us forever, but that doesn’t mean we must fight them forever. We learn, we adapt, we overcome.
I have both Social Anxiety Disorder and General Anxiety Disorder. Yet I am a public speaker, a tutor, a guide for curious minds, and a leader. Among other things, my deck of cards had a mixture of bad and good cards, more so ranging in the bad area. But I didn’t let that stop me. I chose my path, and many instances of coincidences of “luck” have kept me from falling. It’s not like I plan for these obstacles to open up. It just happens, and I run with it, not letting the new path that opened up out of sight. And with every path that opens up, it seems more and more as though my destiny is set, as I see that end goal get brighter and brighter.
Work Consulted: says:, GS Ponoyakgosi Modisa, and Athena2023 says: “Myth of Sisyphus, the Myth for the Punishment of Sisyphus.” Greek Myths & Greek Mythology, 29 Apr. 2015, www.greekmyths-greekmythology.com/the-myth-of-sisyphus/.
Work Consulted: Cartwright, Mark. “Sisyphus.” World History Encyclopedia, Www.Worldhistory.Org#organization, 29 Mar. 2023, www.worldhistory.org/sisyphus/.

Your Choice Of The Next Path To Follow

Your last stop for normalcy: Next Page