[photochemsyn]

Our question is: Why did the Pythia go into a frenzy?

The major theory you hear about this is that the Oracle was ingesting some kind of drug, possibly a psychedelic derived from rye fungi - but who can say with any certainty? Maybe it was just similar to the 'speaking in tounges' religious phenomenon, which has examples from all over the world:

https://www.skeptical-science.com/religion/speaking-in-tongu...

[sdfhdhjdw3]

Maybe it was just BS. Don't write off the simplest explanation.

[narag]

"Drugs" is simple enough. Actually training naked virgins to go bananas without some chemical help seems a little more complicated.

Something the article doesn't seem to consider is the possibilty that there was some kind of (natural or built) chamber where the gas could get trapped and thus concentration be higher.

[sdfhdhjdw3]

Not training. Maybe she figured out that making up bullshit gave her power. Seems a lot simpler than "drugs".

[heavyset_go]

For some people, yes, but various cultures throughout time gave people, that we'd diagnose with some form of schizophrenia-related conditions today, somewhat revered or respected positions as prophets, medicine men, etc for the very real mental experiences they had. That is to say that some people may have been in it for power, but there are some that were earnest in their experiences, having really experienced something spiritual, even if it was just in their heads.

[krapp]

I think this is too cynical. This was all religious practice for the time, and the Oracle probably believed she was actually receiving visions from Apollo just as many modern churchgoers believe in visions and prophecies from God.

[IgorPartola]

Can’t it be both? I’d you truly believe the earth is flat because the person who taught you geography purposely led you to believe so, isn’t that both a sincere belief and a lie?

[krapp]

Yes, since the definition of 'lie' covers both intentional and unintentional deception, but I interpreted the above comment to be referring to intentional lies. " Maybe she figured out that making up bullshit gave her power" doesn't read as sincere belief to me.

[t_mann]

The role must have been filled by dozens of different individuals over the centuries, it seems reasonable to assume that there was some kind of induction process for new recruits.

[prawn]

I think so. Churches have practices that some people might deem a bit odd. They involve a learned process and without the influence of drugs.

[carlmr]

Alcohol consumption (and production) by monks and priests is well documented. Also they hotbox the whole church a few times a year, maybe the mix used to be more interesting, especially when you have a monastery with a good medicinal garden.

[Terry_Roll]

It is plausible, we only have to look to social media and politicians to see what they do to people.

Take prophecy its much like crystal ball gazing, where the crystal ball reader gives a vague report which is open to interpretation for people who are looking for hope can get something to cling onto. A good example is left handed people have historically been seen as wrong 'uns in the bible so right handed people can be prejudiced in much the same way as the rich look down at the poor or white Americans generally view non whites as inferior.

When looking at "spiritual" experiences sometimes the experience can give a clue to what sort of drug may be involved.

For example DMT aka Dimethyltryptamine often generates fractal machine elves hallucinations. https://tripsitter.com/dmt/machine-elves/

Calea zacatechichi however you pronounce it gives you vivid dreams https://tripsitter.com/calea-zacatechichi/

LSD is reportedly fuzzy visuals if Timothy Leary's book is anything to go by.

Hallucinogens suggest to me the parts of the brain they affect.

So when looking at religious texts like some listed here https://www.openbible.info/topics/prophecy_visions_and_dream... how much of the bible is really just accounts of people who have knowingly or otherwise ingested some drugs? They didnt have science like we have it today so like we see with some scientific studies, we see a level of explanation projected onto the results that sometimes causes the tail to wag the dog, aka becoming a self fulfilling prophecy.

Whats scary is that even today the sky fairies aka god(s) still control much of this planets population through govt, religions or just generally superstitious people. Like alcohol, its a way for people to blame anyone but themselves for their actions, whilst also offering a form of very cheap psychological therapy.

https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn7969-gamblers-are-a-s...

I think people generally recognise that AI is good at spotting what humans can not as this article suggests. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-61609689 ""AI can sniff out areas of significances. Humans do a very bad job at layering data, whereas AI can do it in seconds," says Mr O'Shannessy."

Its quite likely AI will probably end up killing religion, prophecy, superstition and erratic behaviour in general, unless drug taking increases through the relaxation of cannabis and other drugs.

[brightball]

You should check out the story of Ehud in Judges. He’s left handed and specifically successful in his task because of what was otherwise seen as a deficiency at that time.

[Terry_Roll]

Its in the lexicon of the language as well, ie one the right side of the law.

So as AI can show Judges are biased and there is different times of the day people seeking parole should go before the judge to seek a favourable outcome, like just after lunch, science is slowly stealing everyone's privacy and there is no where to hide!

[quinndexter]

>Its quite likely AI will…

A deus ex machina, if you will.

[dr_dshiv]

One of the main functions of the Oracle was to tell people where to settle, move and colonize. This played a major role in the Greek colonization movement from 800-400 BC around the Mediterranean and Black Sea.

One woman and her priests became a central clearing house for the ideas and issues of the entire Greek world. She was almost certainly the most influential person in the world.

The Oracle work was combine with the Panhellenic Pythian games (music, art and sports). In the off season, Apollo went north to the Hyperboreans — and the cult of Dionysus took over. The Oracle was part of a whole cultural complex that played many functional values. I’m not sure what being “just BS” could mean in this context.

[GrumpyNl]

Thats what i thought, might al be part of the conception, the make believe show.