Cicero, On Devination 2.115-17

orakulli Mon Apr 06, 2009 7:49 pm

Cicero,On Devination.

Cicero in this book quotes two famous responses of the Delphic oracle. One had been given to Croesus, the last king of Lydia(sixth century BC, shenimi im:Lidhja) ;the other to Pyrrhus, the last strong king of Epirus(fourth century B.C).

In both cases, an ambitious king was planning to attack e foreign power-Croseus, the Persians; Pyrrhus, the Romans. In both cases the god of Delphi was consulted: Croseus was defeated and thus destroyed his own kingdom; Pyrrhus, although “able” to defeat the Romans, achieved only a “pyrrhic victory” and had to retire to Epirus with about one-third of his army.

The second response to Pyrrhus, not preserved in Greek but in Latin language, sound especially suspicious to Cicero. We have this poetic version in Latin, yet at that time the oracle no longer went to the trouble of putting its response in verse, and certainly not in Latin verse.

Cicero, On Devination 2.115-17

For who ever believed that the oracle of Apollo made the following response to Pyrrhus?

I tell you, descendant of Aeacus, that you are able to conquer Rome.

First of oll,Apollo never answered in Latin. Second, the Greeks never heard of this particular oracle. Moreover,in the time of Pirrhus,Apollo no longer spoke in verse.

Cili eshte elementi i trete qe mungon?