Clinical Toxicology (2007) 45, 8589 Copyright Informa Healthcare ISSN: 1556-3650 print / 1556-9519 online DOI: 10.

1080/15563650601120800

HISTORY

The Delphic Oracle and the ethylene-intoxication hypothesis

J. FOSTER1 and D. LEHOUX2
1 2

Department of Philosophy, Memorial University, St. Johns, Newfoundland, Canada Department of Classics and Ancient History, University of Manchester, Humanities Lime Grove, Manchester, United Kingdom

Clinical Toxicology Downloaded from informahealthcare.com by University degli Studi La Sapienza on 01/12/12 For personal use only.

An interdisciplinary team of scientists including an archeologist, a geologist, a chemist, and a toxicologist has argued that ethylene intoxication was the probable cause of the High Priestess of Delphis divinatory (mantic) trances. The claim that the High Priestess of Delphi entered a mantic state because of ethylene intoxication enjoyed widespread reception in specialist academic journals, science magazines, and newspapers. This article uses a similar interdisciplinary approach to show that this hypothesis is implausible since it is based on problematic scientific and textual evidence, as well as a fallacious argument. The main issue raised by this counterargument is not that a particular scientific hypothesis or conjecture turned out to be false. (This is expected in scientific investigation.) Rather, the main issue is that it was a positivist disposition that originally led readers to associate the evidence presented in such a way that it seemed to point to the conclusion, even when the evidence did not support the conclusion. We conclude by observing that positivist dispositions can lead to the acceptance of claims because they have a scientific form, not because they are grounded in robust evidence and sound argument.
Keywords Delphi, Ethylene, Altered Mental States, Intoxication, Oracle, Pythia

Introduction
Two recently published articles (one published in this journal) contend that ancient authors including Strabo, Diodorus, Euripides, and Plutarch report that the Oracle at Dephi stood on a geological fissure from which a gas rose. The articles claim that these reports were largely correct (1). The high priestess, called the Pythia, would, on this account, be seated above the fissure and after inhaling the rising gases would enter a trance and begin to recount the prophecies of Apollo. However, when the Oracle was excavated in the early twentieth century, French archeologists reported that there was no evidence of a fissure, much less gaseous emissions. At that time, ancient sources were rejected as being myth or simply in error (2). In brief, the de Boer et al. articles argue that the Oracle stands on or near the intersection of two geological faults, the Dephi fault and the Kerna fault. These two faults pass through deposits of bituminous limestone. Heat generated by friction along the fault lines may have caused the vaporization of some bitumen. The resulting hydrocarbon vapor consisting largely of methane, ethane, and ethylene
Received 7 June 2006; accepted 12 June 2006. J.F. and D.L. contributed equally to this work. Both authors discussed the argument and commented on the article. Address correspondence to D. Lehoux, Department of Classics and Ancient History, University of Manchester, Humanities Lime Grove, Oxford Road, Manchester, United Kingdom, M13 9PL. E-mail: daryn.lehoux@manchester.ac.uk

rose into the Oracle chamber, either by way of a vent or by rising with ground water. The careful conclusion offered is that ancient sources on the Delphic Oracle are more reliable than early twentieth century archeological research intimated. But, the authors present a further conclusion that received widespread attention. They also claim that, the probable cause of the trance-like state used by the Pythia at the oracle of Delphi during her mantic sessions was produced by inhaling ethylene gas or a mixture of ethylene and ethane from a naturally occurring vent of geological origin (3). In a different article, de Boer, Hale et al. report, modern research has shown that the effects of ethylene inhalation match the well-documented effects of the ancient prophetic vapors (4). In other words, the Delphic prophecies were made by a substance-abusing priestess. This conclusion was widely reported in science news and the popular press, including Nature.com, Scientific American, National Geographic (5), The New York Times and The Sunday Times (6). In this article, we argue that both the empirical evidence and the argument mustered by the de Boer team for the ethylene-intoxication hypothesis are inadequate for two reasons. The first reason is scientific: the concentrations of ethylene identified by de Boer, Hale, et al. would have been insufficient to cause a trance-like state. The second reason is historical and philosophical: the evidence and argument presented to link the mantic behavior of the Priestess to ethylene intoxication is dubious. In the conclusion, we suggest that this tenuous argument was widely propagated because it appealed to essentially positivist inclinations and sentiments

86
in the science-reading public. Its conclusions appealed to these inclinations so effectively that readers did not notice the weak evidence and problematic argument mustered to support the conclusion. The evidence of intoxication The ethylene-intoxication hypothesis depends on the claim that ethylene gas, released from natural vents, accumulated in the inner chamber of the Oracle (the adyton, where the Priestess held mantic sessions) in sufficient quantities to cause a trance-like state. Note that the authors are offering two interconnected claims: (1) ethylene was vented into the adyton of the Oracle; and (2) the accumulated ethylene in the adyton was sufficient to cause intoxication. Both claims must be supported to sustain the hypothesis. In support of these claims, the authors combine evidence from two sources. First, they offer a gas chromatographic assay of travertine deposits and spring water from the Oracle area to show that ethylene was present at the Delphic Oracle. Second, they offer evidence from toxicological literature to show that ethylene can induce a trance-like state that, they suggest, matches the qualities of a trance-like state attributed by ancient sources to the Pythia. We shall examine these claims in order. De Boer et al. contend that the results of a gas chromatography show that, at Delphi the spring waters brought light hydrocarbon gases to the surface in such volumes that some gas was trapped in the rapidly forming travertine (7). Their results do show that some hydrocarbon gases were trapped in the travertine specifically, methane, and ethane but they did not detect any ethylene in the travertine deposits. This suggests any one of the following: ethylene was not present in the deposits; the concentration of ethylene in the deposits was below the detection threshold of 0.01ppm; or that any ethlylene present had decomposed. Thus, from this evidence it is not possible to draw any specific conclusions about the historical concentrations of ethylene dissolved in the spring water that deposited the travertine. To provide other evidence for the presence of ethylene gas at the Oracle site, de Boer et al. also compare the analysis of spring waters collected from Delphi with an analysis of spring waters collected from the Island of Zakynthos. The Island of Zakynthos is used as a comparative base because the island is known to overlie extensive bituminous deposits that produce surface gas springs and tar pits (8). Even though de Boer et al. compare Delphi with Zakynthos, it is difficult to see what specific conclusions could be drawn from the comparison, since: (a) Zakynthos is located more than 150 km from Delphi; (b) it is not situated on either of the Delphic faults; (c) there are there no tar pits at Delphi, and (d) there is no oracular shrine at Zakynthos. The result of the comparison was that the Kerna Spring (less than 200m northwest of the Oracle at Delphi) has ethylene concentrations of 0.3nM/L, while the Xygia Spring on Zakynthos has ethylene concentrations of 0.4nM/L. This

J. Foster and D. Lehoux

seems to suggest that the Kerna Spring close to the Oracle at Delphi is as abundant a source of ethylene gas as the Xygia Spring, which lies near active gas vents and tar pits. However, the comparison of assay results is misleading, since it does not confirm that ethylene is or was present in sufficient concentrations to cause intoxication. In real terms, both springs contain negligible concentrations of ethylene. (Negligible for a human being though an unripe fruit might have cause for concern.) Although the concentrations are greater than average atmospheric background values, the concentrations of ethylene detected at Kerna and Xygia Springs are not unusual in water samples (9). Moreover, the assay reports that the Kerna Spring has ethylene concentrations of 0.3nM/L (8.42ug/m3 ). A human following an alkylate-fueled lawnmower is reported to be exposed to ethylene concentrations of 2.5nM/L (70ug/m3 ). A driver in urban traffic is reported to be exposed to ethylene concentrations of 0.32nM/L (9ug/m3 ) (10). There is no evidence to suggest that urban drivers or suburban gardeners fall into trance-like states because of ethylene intoxication. This argument invites three possible responses from the de Boer team. First, the response that ethylene gas was accumulated over time in the adyton, even though it appears in the spring water in negligible quantities. This claim is difficult to evaluate since the data provided by de Boer et al. does not include an estimate of the Kerna Spring flow rate or an estimate of the proportion of water-dissolved ethylene that might be released by agitation as the spring bubbles to the surface. However, the density of ethylene gas (1.178 kg/m3 at 1.013 bar and 15 C) is a little lighter than air (1.202 kg/m3 at 1.013 bar and 15 C). This suggests that it is unlikely that ethylene volatilized from spring water would accumulate, even in the restricted space of the adyton, particularly since the adyton is thought to have been located physically lower than the rest of the temple. Finally, no evidence is provided to suggest that sufficient quantities of ethylene could be accumulated within its atmospheric lifetime of 2.2 days (11). The second possible reply is that although actual concentrations of ethylene in the Kerna Spring water are low now, they may have been much higher in the past. This reply entails an unwarranted speculation: it is just as probable that ethylene concentrations in the past were lower than they are at present. Indeed, the assay of the travertine deposits conducted by de Boer et al. did not detect any ethylene. Finally, the de Boer team might admit that the Kerna Spring is not the source of the ethylene but then claim that the assay of Kerna Spring water simply indicates that bituminous material in the strata underlying the Oracle is a potential source of ethylene. The argument then would be that gaseous vents, no longer extant, once vented much greater quantities of ethylene into the adyton of the Oracle than are currently detectable. The de Boer team acknowledges that concentrations of gases produced by ground venting at the Oracle probably varied over time, but the conclusion offered by the team requires that ethylene concentrations were higher in the past

Clinical Toxicology Downloaded from informahealthcare.com by University degli Studi La Sapienza on 01/12/12 For personal use only.

Delphic Oracle and ethylene-intoxication hypothesis

than they are now. Since there is no scientific evidence to sustain this claim, the claim must be considered in light of available historical records, which turn out to be highly contradictory and inconclusive (12). In almost no ancient sources (Strabo is the main exception to this) is there mention of a fissure with pneuma venting from it under the adyton. One source (Diodorus) mentions a fissure from which issues spring water. Other sources mention pneumata but not a fissure (Plutarch). Many other sources make no mention at all of fissures, water, or pneumata. With the possible exception of Plutarch, none of these sources is working from firsthand observation of the Oracle. Finally, the word pneuma in Greek does not straightforwardly mean gas in the modern sense, let alone ethylene. But, even if these inconsistencies in the ancient reports were resolved so that it could be said that it is documented that gas or pneuma was vented into the adyton then this would not be evidence that ancient pneuma contained ethylene in intoxicating quantities. Since Plutarch provided no assay of his pneuma, there remains the problem that there is no scientific or historical evidence to suggest that the quantities of ethylene at the Oracle site exceeded the 0.3nM/L now evident in the Kerna Spring waters. This leads to a final technical problem with the ethyleneintoxication hypothesis. Ethylene is extremely flammable in the concentrations required to produce intoxicating effects. The de Boer team notes that in the early twentieth century ethylene was used as an anesthetic in a mixture of 70-80% ethylene and 20-30% oxygen. They infer that, [a] concentration of less than 20% would be capable of producing an altered mental state while allowing her [the priestess] to remain conscious (13). The de Boer team does not precisely identify the minimum atmospheric concentrations of ethylene that would be required to produce a trance-like state. But, MSDSs variously report that ethylene has a lower flammability limit (LFL) in the range of 2.3% to 3.02%
Table 1. Reproduced from Spiller, Hale and de Boer, 2002 Description of pythia at Delphi from a normal mantic session Rapid onset of trance state Calm response, willingly entered the adyton. Remained there for hours Remain conscious Able to maintain seated position Can see others and hear questions Tone and pattern of speech altered Describe out of body experiencefeeling of being possessed by the god Apollo Free associationimages not obviously connected to questions Recovers rapidly Amnesia of events while under influence Description of mild anesthesia with ethylene or nitrous oxide Full effects in 30 seconds to 2 minutes (Borne) (15) Pleasant state of being, no sense of anxiety or asphyxiation. Happy to stay under influence of gas for long periods of time (Lockhardt) (16) Remain conscious (Lockhardt) Able to maintain seated position (James) Responds to questions and write answers (James) Pattern of speech altered Altered stateexperienced religious revelations (James)

87
and an upper flammability limit (UFL) in the range of 35% to 36%. Ethylene is qualitatively described as Extremely Flammable. Indeed, the flammability of ethylene was among the reasons that its use was discontinued as an anesthetic (14). Thus, ethylene present in concentrations high enough to induce a trance-like state is almost certain to be extremely flammable. Yet, there is no historical record of any explosion, fire or other similar extraordinary event in the Oracle. A permanently lit flame in the adyton might have prevented ethylene from accumulating in explosive quantities, but this would probably also prevent ethylene accumulating at intoxicating levels. There is, in addition, no historical evidence for a permanent flame in the adyton. The intoxication of evidence The de Boer team goes to great lengths to suggest that ethylene gas was present at the ancient Oracle, because they also want to claim that the reported effects of mild ethylene intoxication match ancient descriptions of the trance-like state of the high priestess. They chart selective descriptions of the priestess in normal mantic sessions gleaned from Plutarch, Plato, Lucan and other ancient sources alongside modern descriptions of mild anesthesia. They summarize their results in a rhetorically effective (if logically questionable) table, which is reproduced below as Table 1. The first thing to observe about Table 1 is the label for the second column. Although the de Boer team is strictly concerned with the effects of ethylene, they arbitrarily mix reports of nitrous oxide anesthesia with reports of ethylene anesthesia. Also note that the American philosopher and psychologist William James is cited as the source of the modern description for half the relevant factors. The James source cited is, in point of fact, a scathing review of a

Clinical Toxicology Downloaded from informahealthcare.com by University degli Studi La Sapienza on 01/12/12 For personal use only.

Free associationrandom thought pattern not obviously connected to initial question (James) Complete recovery in 5-15 minutes from full operable anesthesia (Herb) Amnesia of events while under influence (Lockhardt, James)

88
Benjamin Bloods privately published pamphlet the Anaesthetic Revelation and the Gist of Philosophy (1874), which was published in The Atlantic Monthly in November 1874 (17). In other works but not in this particular review James describes the varied effects of a number of drugs, including opium, morphine, hashish, atropine, mescaline, ether, chloroform, and (most prominently) nitrous oxide (18). Nowhere does James refer to the effects of ethylene. Further, no evidence is provided to suggest that both ethylene and nitrous oxide produce similar subjective effects apart from the generic effect of mild anesthesia. There is another problem with Table 1 that is logical rather than evidential. The table attempts to lead the reader to the inference that the observed effects of a mantic trance at ancient Delphi strongly resembles the effects of ethylene intoxication. But, the principle underlying this inference is logically unsound, namely the principle that like effects imply like causes. Clearly, like effects can be produced by a variety of different causes. For example, a class of undergraduate students might exhibit all of the effects listed in the first column of Table 1. The undergraduates may be in a trance-like state yet conscious, remain seated, give answers not obviously connected with questions and recover quickly after class. It is clearly fallacious to infer from these observations that the class of undergraduates is suffering from the effects of mild ethylene anesthesia. The comparative table provided by the de Boer team may be effective rhetoric, but it is not sound reasoning. In fact, it entails a logical fallacy that philosophers call a petitio principii; it is a circular argument in which the conclusion is assumed as a premise. The mantic behavior listed in the first column can only be explained as being the effect of ethylene intoxication in the second column, if it is presupposed that the ethylene intoxication is causing the mantic state. If that presupposition is not made, then any number of different causes could explain the behavior listed in the first column.

J. Foster and D. Lehoux

the fact that an explanation is interdisciplinary clearly says nothing about the veracity of the explanation itself. As suggested above, the ethylene-intoxication hypothesis has modest merits that are considerably outweighed by its difficulties. There is no empirical evidence to suggest that a gaseous vent released ethylene into the adyton in sufficient quantities to cause a trance-like state. The gas assay performed by the de Boer team only detects ethylene in modest and not particularly unusual concentrations. There is no scientific or historical evidence to suggest that ethylene concentrations at Delphi were higher in the past than they are today. Also, there is no evidence offered to suggest that volatilized ethylene from spring water would accumulate over time in the adyton. If ethylene from other sources accumulated in the quantities required to induce a trance, then there also most probably would be a danger of an explosion from any spark, candle or other open flame. Finally, the attempt to show that modern descriptions of ethylene intoxication match descriptions of the high priestess in a mantic state is both poorly substantiated and fallaciously argued. And so, the de Boer team would like us to subscribe to the hypothesis that ethylene concentrations in the adyton were enough to cause the high priestess of the Oracle to enter a trance. We argue, for the reasons given above, that the evidence mounted in favour of the hypothesis is implausible. A web of information from various disciplines has been mounted together simply to explain the fact that the high priestess at Delphi went into a trance. Trances of varying degrees are a relatively common phenomenon, which tend to be bound with a variety of cultural beliefs and practices, not all of which are toxicological (20). A merit of the de Boer teams work is that unlike many of the popular press reports it generated it did not succumb to the temptation to claim that the ethylene-intoxication hypothesis explained mantic trances and so also explained ancient divination. That claim would be clearly false, since a toxicological explanation of trances could not also be an explanation of all the cultural features of divination, including: specific divinatory practices and techniques; the institutional, religious, and political roles of Oracles; or the arrangement of intellectual beliefs that made divination seem as rational and reasonable then as it seems irrational and unreasonable now (21). Understanding these features of divination would require considerable additional interdisciplinary work. Yet, there is more than a touch of an old-style positivism in the ethylene-intoxication hypothesis. Positivism may be described as the belief that the empirical and logical claims of predictive science will ultimately unmask and eliminate superstition, religion and metaphysics. The de Boer teams argument is positivist because it has the basic form: modern research provides scientific explanations of ancient mysteries. But, further, the argument only appears convincing, despite its evidential problems, because it appeals to a nascent positivism in its readership. The de Boer team offers an association of facts in support of the argument, but these facts only associate to make the conclusion seem probable

Clinical Toxicology Downloaded from informahealthcare.com by University degli Studi La Sapienza on 01/12/12 For personal use only.

Conclusion
In a Scientific American article on the ethylene-intoxication hypothesis the authors conclude that, the primary lesson we took away from our Delphic Oracle project is not the well-worn message that modern science can elucidate ancient curiosities. They go on to suggest that perhaps the important lesson is to approach problems with a broad-minded and interdisciplinary attitude (19). It is difficult to understand how the ethylene-intoxication hypothesis is not primarily an attempt to elucidate an ancient curiosity. The authors are attempting to explain the Oracle at Delphi in particular, the trance-like state of the high priestess during mantic sessions. The explanation being offered is certainly interdisciplinary since developing the explanatory hypothesis required the combined efforts of an archeologist, a geologist, a chemist, and a toxicologist. But,

Delphic Oracle and ethylene-intoxication hypothesis

if the reader has a positivist disposition. By themselves, the empirical and historical facts offered do not indicate that ethylene-intoxication was the likely or probable cause of the mantic states of the Pythia. This seems to suggest that it is positivist expectation and only positivist expectation that leads the reader to associate the various facts so that they seem to lead to the conclusion. The on-going attractiveness of positivism is perhaps the reason the research of the de Boer team was so widely reported. Reports appeared in the popular scientific press, from Scientific American to National Geographic to Nature.com, and in the science pages of major newspapers, from The New York Times to The Sunday Times. Indeed, if it was not the positivist bent of the argument that made it so widely attractive, then how did such an implausible argument get such wide press?

89
there was no physical evidence for a fissure. But the gaseous vent account was rejected because (1) the ancient textual evidence is problematic and sometimes contradictory, and (2) there was no physical evidence. Spiller, Hale, de Boer (2002), op cit. De Boer, Hale, Chanton (2001), op cit. Oracles Secret Found. Nature.com, July 17, 2001. Hale, J.R., de Boer, J.Z., Chanton, J. and Spiller, H.A. Questioning the Delphic Oracle. Scientific American, 6773 (Aug. 2003). Roach, J. Delphic Oracles Lips May Have Been Loosened by Gas Vapors. National Geographic (14 Aug. 2001). For example: Broad WJ. Fumes and visions were not a myth for oracle at Delphi. New York Times (March 19, 2002); Highfield R. Priestess at oracle of Delphi was high on gas, scientists conclude. The Daily Telegraph (August 17, 2001); Ingram J. Was the oracle at Delphi stoned on ethylene. Toronto Star (August 12, 2001); Leake J, Dennis G. Delphis oracles were high on gas. The Sunday Times (July 30, 2000). De Boer, Hale, Chanton (2001), op cit. Dermitzakis MD, Alafouzou P. Geological framework and observed oil seeps of Zakynthos Island: Their possible influence on the pollution of the marine environment. Thalassographica 1987; 10:722. Bonsang B, Kanakidou M, Lambert G, Monfray P. The marine source of C2 C6 aliphatic hydrocarbons. J Atmos Chem 1988; 6:320, and Plass C, Koppmann R, J Rudolph J. Light hydrocarbons in the surface water of the mid-Atlantic. J Atmos Chem 1992; 15:235251. stermark U, Pertersson G. Volatile hydrocarbons in exhaust from alkylate-based petrol. Chemosphere 1993; 27:17191728. Alberta Environment. Assessment report on ethylene for developing ambient air quality objectives, 2002. (Accessed February 23, 2006, at http://www3.gov.ab.ca/env/protenf/publications/AssessRepEthylene.pdf) Fontenrose JE. The Delphic oracle: Its responses and operations. U. of California, Berkeley, 1978. Spiller, Hale, de Boer (2002), op cit. MacDonald AG. A short history of fires and explosions caused by anesthetic agents. Brit J Anaesthesia 1995; 72:710722. Sic. Should read Bourne. Bourne JG. Nitrous oxide in dentistry: Its danger and alternatives. Chicago, IL: Year Book, 1960. Bourne JG. Uptake, elimination, and potency of the inhalational anaesthetics. Anaesthesia 1964; 1:1232. Sic. Here and elsewhere should read Luckhardt. Luckhardt AB, Carter JB. Physiological effects of ethylene. J Amer Med Ass 1923; 80: 765770. James W. Bloods anaesthetic revelation. Atlantic Monthly 1874; 34:627629. James W. The Varieties of Religious Experience. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1902, 1997. Hale, de Boer, Chanton, Spiller (2003), op cit. Hacking I. Rewriting the Soul: Multiple Personality and the Sciences of Memory. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University, 1987. Lehoux D. Tropes, facts, and empiricism. Perspectives on Science 2003; 11:326345.

3. 4. 5.

6.

Clinical Toxicology Downloaded from informahealthcare.com by University degli Studi La Sapienza on 01/12/12 For personal use only.

7. 8.

Disclosure
The authors declare no competing financial interests.

9.

10.

Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Lawrence Principe, J.R. Foster, Ramakrishna Ramaswamy, Bryan Boddy, Katharine Wright, and Jessica Webb for comments on earlier drafts of this article. A different version of this article was presented at Princeton University, which also provided useful feedback.

11.

12. 13. 14. 15.

References
16. 1. De Boer JZ, Hale JR, Chanton J. New evidence for the geological origins of the ancient Delphic oracle Geology 2001; 29:707710, and Spiller HA, Hale JR, de Boer JZ. The Delphic oracle: A multidisciplinary defense of the gaseous vent theory. J Toxicol Clin Toxicol 2002; 40:189-196. The authors of the articles include Spiller, Hale, de Boer, and Chanton. Since de Boer is the common author, the research group shall hereafter be referred to as de Boer et al and the de Boer team. 2. The de Boer team incorrectly claims that the gaseous vent hypothesis was rejected by archaeologists for nearly a century because of the authority of Amandry, the French archaeologist who showed that

17. 18. 19. 20. 21.