Aesop's Fables, translated by Laura Gibbs (2002)
485. THE ORACLE OF APOLLO
Perry 536 (Phaedrus
App. 8)
'I beseech you, reveal the way that is best for us, O Phoebus Apollo,
you who dwell in Delphi and have your home on fair Parnassus.' At these
words, the hair on the head of the consecrated priestess of the oracle
suddenly stood on end, the tripods began to shake, and the roar of Religion
boomed from the inner shine, while the laurels trembled and the day itself
grew pale. Struck by the god, the Pythian priestess uttered these words,
'Listen, O nations, to the counsels of Apollo, the god of Delos: abide
in piety; make good your promises to the gods in heaven; defend with military
might your homeland and your parents, your children and your faithful
wives; drive the enemy away with the sword; sustain your friends and be
kind to the victims of misfortune; give aid to honest people and oppose
lying scoundrels; avenge acts of crime and rebuke the wicked; punish all
those who pollute the marriage bed with perverted adultery; watch out
for evil-doers and trust no one too much.' Having pronounced these words,
the virgin priestess fell into a raging frenzy -- and she was truly enraged,
since her words had been spoken in vain.
Note: Delphi
is located on the slopes of Mount Parnassus, and the priestess of Apollo
at Delphi is called the 'Pythia.' The laurel is a plant sacred to Apollo,
and Delos was the island where he was born.
Source:
Aesop's Fables. A new translation by Laura
Gibbs.
Oxford University Press (World's Classics): Oxford, 2002.
NOTE: New
cover, with new ISBN, published in 2008; contents of book unchanged.
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