Archaic and Classical Greece · 650-279 BC

Delphi: the oracle at the navel of the world

Kings and cities from Lydia to Sicily sent envoys up a mountain to ask a priestess what to do. Students visit Delphi, learn how the oracle worked, test some famous answers, and ask why a sanctuary no army defended stayed rich and safe for centuries.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
45 minutes
Ages
10–13
On the map
3 steps, 650 BC to 279 BC
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

Kings and cities from Lydia to Sicily sent envoys up a mountain to ask a priestess what to do. Students visit Delphi, learn how the oracle worked, test some famous answers, and ask why a sanctuary no army defended stayed rich and safe for centuries.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Locate Delphi and describe the sanctuary of Apollo: the temple, the Pythia and the treasuries.
  • Explain how a question to the oracle was asked and answered, and why the answers were often ambiguous.
  • Give two examples of rulers or cities that consulted Delphi and what happened next.
2

Explore the map

12 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

650 BC

A sanctuary on the mountain

Open the map in 650 BC on Delphi, on the slopes of Mount Parnassus above the Gulf of Corinth. The Greeks called it the navel of the world. Turn on Historical Events (Religious) and find "Oracle at Delphi Established". Zoom in and notice how hard the site is to reach.

Open this view on the map
b

480 BC

Everyone asks Delphi

Jump to 480 BC and zoom out. Croesus of Lydia, the Athenians before Salamis, and cities about to found colonies all sent envoys here. Find Sardis, Athens and Syracuse and estimate how long each envoy traveled. The Athenian Treasury at Delphi was built from the spoils of Marathon.

Open this view on the map
c

279 BC

The Gauls at the gates

Go to 279 BC. A Celtic army marched south through Greece to plunder Delphi's treasuries. The Greeks said Apollo himself drove them off with a storm and rockfalls. Find Thermopylae, which the Celts passed, and Delphi, which they reached. Why had no Greek city ever looted it?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

14 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. The Pythia, a priestess, gave answers in a trance; priests turned them into verse. Some scientists think gases rising from the rock may have affected her, though not all agree. Does knowing how the oracle worked change what it meant to the Greeks?
  2. Croesus asked whether to attack Persia and was told a great empire would fall. Why did he hear what he wanted to hear?
  3. Cities asked Delphi before founding colonies, going to war or changing laws. Why would a state want advice from outside itself, even advice it could read two ways?
  4. Delphi stayed neutral between Greek cities and even between Greeks and Persians. Was that wisdom, cowardice or good business?
  5. Carved at the entrance were sayings such as "Know thyself" and "Nothing in excess". Why might those two be good advice for someone who had just asked an oracle about the future?
4

Game round

9 min

Play one round of Rule History as Alexander the Great, who, the story goes, dragged the Pythia to the temple on a day she would not prophesy until she cried "You are invincible", which was all the answer he wanted. Ask: do rulers consult oracles, advisors or polls to learn something, or to be told they are right?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

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