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CLAS 100
January 30, 2008
The Will of the Gods: Omens and Oracles
- Omen
o Observed, spontaneous natural events (i.e. lightning strike, seen as ultimate omen from the gods)
o Can also be provoked
o Interpreted as having divine significance (i.e. comets seemed random and divine, especially since sky was seen as realm of gods)
- Oracle: 3 meanings
o 1) Place of prophecy
 Site specific (i.e. Apollo at Delphi)
o 2) Speaker of the prophecy
o 3) Prophecy itself
o Oracles are sought out: human initiated activity
 Answer to specific question; asking the oracle
 Answers given: yes, no, “by sacrificing to X”
 Sometimes answers are set in poetic verse
- Omens + oracles = divination
o Aka prophecy (foretelling the future)
o “the art of determining the future by supernatural means
o Everyone has always wanted it
o By-product of human forethought
o Still evident today? Still around today (psychics, tarot cards, etc)
- Divination: 2 types
o 1) Inductive......

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Approximate Word Count: 413
Approximate Pages: 2 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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