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In the early years, Pythia was a virgin young girl,
but in later times the oracle ruled, that she ought to be more than
fifty years old irreproachable woman . In the oracle's peak, they were
three Pythias.
In the early period of the oracle, responses were given once a year, on
the seventh day of the month Visio's (end of February and beginning of
March), the birthday of Apollo, but later in the oracle's heyday,
responses were given every month, on the seventh day, with the exception
the three months in winter, where Apollo went to the Hyperboreans, where
the light shines perpetually. During the absence of Apollo, it was
arranged for god Dionysos to be worshiped and celebrated, by feastings
on mount Parnassus and in the sanctuary.
In order for Pythia to give an answer, an exact procedure ought to be
followed. Firstly, the theopropoi (Pythia and the priests),
cleansed themselves from the Castalia spring, paid a fee (pelanos)
and then sacrificed an animal, on the altar of Apollo. The animal ought
to be young and perfect from any defect and before the sacrifice, they
poured cold water on it and if the animal started trembling that was a
sign that the god was present and an answer would be given.
Pythia then proceeded to burn laurel and barley flower, in the place the
immortal fire was and afterwards she descended to an underground adytum
(andron), a place beneath the nave of the temple. The priests and the
applicants stayed on the upper level to a room (oikos), where the
applicant asked his questions in a loud voice.
The Pythia drunk water from the Kassotis spring and chewed laurel leaves
and then sat on the sacred tripod, who was near the omphalos, inhaling
from the near emanating gap. When she fell into a trance, she began
speaking and the words were written and interpreted by the priests.
The answers given by the oracle were either cryptic or ambiguous. They
were signs of the god.
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