Oracle bones, bones used for divination by the Chinese during the Shang dynasty (traditionally c.1766 B.C.–c.1122 B.C.). Along with contemporary inscriptions on bronze vessels, these records o...

Python, in Greek mythology, a huge serpent. In some myths the infant Apollo slew Python at the oracle of Gaea in Delphi; in others Apollo killed the serpent in order to claim the oracle for hi...

Dodona, in Greek religion, the oldest oracle, in inland Epirus, near modern Janina, sacred to Zeus and Dione. According to Herodotus, an old oak tree there became an oracle when a black dove, ...

Delphi, locality in Phocis, Greece, near the foot of the south slope of Mt. Parnassós, c.6 mi (10 km) northeast of the port of Cirrha. It was the seat of the Delphic oracle, the most famous an...

Ezekiel, prophetic book of the Bible. The book is a collection of oracles emanating from the career of the priest Ezekiel, who preached to Jews of the Babylonian captivity from 593 B.C. to 563...

Deucalion, in Greek mythology, son of Prometheus and father of Hellen. When Zeus, angered by humanity's irreverence, flooded the earth, Deucalion, warned by Prometheus, survived by taking refu...

Erechtheus, in Greek mythology, king of Athens. On the advice of an oracle he sacrificed one of his daughters during the battle between the Athenians and the Eleusinians. This enabled him to w...

Divination, practice of foreseeing future events or obtaining secret knowledge through communication with divine sources and through omens, oracles, signs, and portents. It is based on the bel...

Haggai, prophetic book of the Bible. Dated 520 B.C., it is a collection of five oracles addressed to Jews, newly returned from the Babylonian exile. The prophet summons the people to renew wor...

Siwah or Siwa, oasis, c.35 sq mi (90 sq km), NW Egypt, in the Libyan (Western) Desert. Dates and tea are grown in the oasis, parts of which are c.200 ft (60 m) below sea level. Embroidery is a...