Have You Been to Delphi?: Tales of the Ancient Oracle for Modern Minds (Suny Series in Western Esoteric Traditions) (Suny Series, Western Esoteric Traditions) [Paperback]

Roger Lipsey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 11, 2001 | ISBN-10: 0791447820 | ISBN-13: 978-0791447826

A fascinating collection of tales and lore from the ancient Oracle at Delphi, this book provides both a collection of good stories and finds spiritual enlightenment weaved throughout these diverse offerings.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Regarded by modern scholars as an important aspect of ancient Greek and Roman life is the Oracle of the Delphi and its many stories--both real and fictional. In Have You Been to Delphi?: Tales of the Ancient Oracle for Modern Minds, Roger Lipsey (An Art of Our Own: The Spiritual in 20th-Century Art; etc.) retells and reinterprets tales from ancient literature, such as those of Plutarch, Cicero, Socrates and Aeschylus, and examines their philosophical influence and importance to scholars today. Lipsey also includes, as an afterword, an intriguing conversation with Lobsang Lhalungpa, a Tibetan lama and scholar who lives in the U.S., on the parallels between the Delphic Oracle and the Chief State Oracle of Tibet.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Lipsey has written a curious book about one of the most important cultural phenomena of the ancient world: the oracle of Apollo at his temple in Delphi. Neither quite a history of the oracle nor quite a collection of the relevant texts, Lipsey's work is a personal and idiosyncratic retelling and interpretation of some of the texts that make extensive allusion to the oracleDsome of them fictional, some mostly exemplary, few of them indicative of the nature of the oracle itself. Many of the narratives are worth reading, with the caution that they are often late in origin and self-consciously contructed; Lipsey's interpretations should be approached with care. For larger collections.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 332 pages
• Publisher: State University of New York Press (January 11, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0791447820
• ISBN-13: 978-0791447826
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #801,995 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fine stories of Apollo's ancient oracle, May 5, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Have You Been to Delphi?: Tales of the Ancient Oracle for Modern Minds (Suny Series in Western Esoteric Traditions) (Suny Series, Western Esoteric Traditions) (Paperback)

This book is elegantly written, thoughtful, sensitive, impeccably researched, and thought-provoking. Lipsey is an enthusiast rather than a scholar, but only a mean scholar would resent the attempt to make the ancient oracle live for modern readers. To take a phrase from Lipsey himself, the book is a 'tap on the shoulder' - a reminder that there is more to the world than meets the eye or ear. So Lipsey tells all the available tales of the Delphic oracle as a way of making the numinous world more accessible. By and large he lets the tales speak for themselves, while adding pertinent but not intrusive commentary. Highly recommended for visitors to Greece and metaphysical searchers.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Living Encounter with an Ancient Oracle, October 7, 2004

By 

Linda Johnsen "author" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Have You Been to Delphi?: Tales of the Ancient Oracle for Modern Minds (Suny Series in Western Esoteric Traditions) (Suny Series, Western Esoteric Traditions) (Paperback)

This wonderful book transports us back to ancient Greece into the presence of the Pythia, Apollo's priestess at Delphi. Lipsey is a scholar who hasn't lost his sense of wonder, and recaptures for us the spirit of sacredness the Greeks felt as they approached the most famous and important oracle of Western antiquity. This is a superb exploration of Greek spirituality, focusing on the Greeks' effort to understand the will of the divine. The many stories here are always engaging and sometimes totally mindblowing. This book easily wins my highest recommendation.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Delphi Of The Mind, September 11, 2005

By 

Robert S. Robbins (Williamsport, PA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Have You Been to Delphi?: Tales of the Ancient Oracle for Modern Minds (Suny Series in Western Esoteric Traditions) (Suny Series, Western Esoteric Traditions) (Paperback)

Lipsey's book gathers together tales and anecdotes of the people who consulted the Oracle at Delphi. He attempts to draw spiritual wisdom from these tales for modern man. His approach is more philosophical than historical or scholarly which makes for a more interesting read than "Classical Athens And The Delphic Oracle" by Hugh Bowden. Throughout the book he makes a distinction between the Delphi of the mind and the Delphi of fact. Every tale is followed by the author's illuminating commentary.

The book delves into such matters as the ambiguity of the oracle's answers. When an answer was particularly cryptic it would be the responsibility of the inquirer to "complete the oracle" by reflecting upon its message and coming to the correct interpretation. There were attempts to bribe the oracle which could lead to a cruel fate. A chapter is devoted to the trial of Socrates who invoked Delphi in his defense. Socrates claimed his philosophical quest to humiliate the wise was a pious attempt to determine the meaning of a flattering message from Delphi. The oracle was asked if there was anyone wiser than Socrates and the priestess replied that there was no one. Other philosophers debated the nature of the prophetic faculty or expressed doubts. An interview with the son of the Tibetan State Oracle provides a contemporary example.

The author favors the assumption that the Pythia entered into a trance to serve as a medium or channel for the god Apollo. Other theories are that the priestess used some sort of psychoactive substance but the legends and myths only mention chewing laurel leaves or drinking spring water. Another theory is that she sat over a cave in a tripod and the vapors from this opening inspired her divine frenzy. There is considerable debate over whether she gave her response in poetry or prose which was then rendered as poetry by the temple poets.

A trance is probably experienced more often than is thought. Most people will not claim to have ever experienced a trance because they have been given exaggerated descriptions that do not match their experience. And too many fanciful claims have been made for states of trance which creates more skepticism than there should be. However, a trance state does bring the mind more closely in contact the spiritual side of human nature. And in a state of trance the mind is capable of greater intuitive comprehension. Although this will not result in prophesies direct from the all knowing gods, it may lead to more intuitive guesses about the course of events than is otherwise possible. Finally, it seems appropriate that the oracles are given in riddles because it is better to express intuitive insights poetically and speak to the soul than to use the language of concrete thought and merely speak to the mind.