3
CONTENTS
Title PagePrefacePage 4
System of Greek Transliteration Page 7
Book I.Page 9Book II.Page 15Book III.Page 21Book IV.Page 36Book V.Page 40Book VI.Page 51Book VII.Page 52Book VIII.Page 55Book XI.Page 64Book XII.Page 69Book XIII.Page 75Book XIV.Page 78AppendicesFragments of Sibylline OraclesFragment 1Page 85Fragments 2 and 3Page 86Fragments 4 to 7Page 88Anonymous Preface to the OraclesPage 89Lactantius's Account of the SibylsPage 91Justin Martyr's Account of the SibylsPage 92The Sibylline AcrosticPage 93BibliographyPage 95
As the translator notes, this collection should more properly titled 'the Pseudo-Sibylline Oracles'. The original Sibylline Bookswere closely-guarded oracular scrolls written by prophetic priestesses (the Sibylls) in the Etruscan and early Roman Era as farback as the 6th Century B.C.E. These books were destroyed, partially in a fire in 83 B.C.E., and finally burned by order of theRoman General Flavius Stilicho (365-408 C.E.).There is very little knowledge of the actual contents of the original Sibylline Books. The texts which are presented here areforgeries, probably composed between the second to sixth century C.E. They purport to predict events which were already historyor mythological history at the time of composition, as well as vague all-purpose predictions, especially woe for various cities andcountries such as Rome and Assyria. They are an odd pastiche of Hellenistic and Roman Pagan mythology, including Homer andHesiod; Jewish legends such as the Garden of Eden, Noah and the Tower of Babel; thinly veiled references to historical figuressuch as Alexander the Great and Cleopatra, as well as a long list of Roman Emperors; and last but not least, Gnostic and earlyChristian homilies and eschatological writings, all in no particular order. There may be actual residue of the original Sibyllinebooks wedged in here and there, but this is dubious.As prophecy, the Pseudo-Sibyllines never rise to the level of Nostradamus. However they are a gold mine for students of Classical mythology and early first millennium Jewish, Gnostic and Christian beliefs. Notable are apocalyptic passages scatteredthroughout which at times seem like a first draft of the Biblical Book of Revelation. The Pseudo-Sibyllines were referenced bythe early Church fathers and in one instance have a Christian code-phrase in successive first letters on each line (an 'acrostic').These books, in spite of their Pagan content, have been described as part of the
Apocrypha
, although they do not appear on any of the canonical lists.
Leave a Comment