oracle

Remains of the ancient Greek amphitheatre at Dodona, Greece. Dodona was the sanctuary of Zeus and home of the oldest oracle, mentioned by Homer in the Odyssey. Priests here interpreted sounds made by the sacred oaks of Zeus.

Sacred site where a deity gives answers or oracles, through the mouth of its priest, to a supplicant's questions about personal affairs or state policy. These were often ambivalent. There were more than 250 oracular seats in the Greek world. The earliest example was probably at Dodona (in Epirus), where priests interpreted the sounds made by the sacred oaks of Zeus, but the most celebrated was that of Apollo, god of prophecy, at Delphi.

In August 2001, US archaeologists and geologists found evidence of the gas ethylene in a spring close to Delphi where, according to the Greek writers Aeschylus and Plutarch, the priestesses at Delphi inhaled fumes from either a crack in the ground or natural spring. Ethylene affects the central nervous system causing feelings of euphoria and delirium.

Other sites with their associated deities included Branchidae (Apollo), Epidaurus (Asclepius, god of medicine), Lebadea (Trophonius, a follower of Apollo), and Ammonium (Zeus Ammon).

The practice of seeking divine oracles was found among most ancient peoples.

Oracle

Computer software development company, founded by Larry Ellison in 1977, and originally specializing in database management systems. Oracle was initially known as Software Development Laboratories, and then as Relational Technologies. In the high-tech field, its shares are second in value only to those of Microsoft.