CHAPTER ELEVEN

NOT A PRETENCE FOR COWARDICE:

THE DELPHIC ORACLE IN THE LIVES

The divine does not reveal itself through dreams alone but
also through oracles, and for Plutarch the oracle of oracles was that
at Delphi. It even seems likely that most of the Lives were written
while he was a priest there. At any rate he is a superb propagandist
for the shrine. Delphi shines through the Lives like a beacon of
inspiration in the darkness of human misery and misunderstanding.
The Lives are, then, an excellent fund of information on the shrine
though we know little of Plutarch's sources, what existed in the
archives there, or the exact nature of the antiquities at the time
he wrote. Invariably where his account differs from that of another
writer, it is biased in favor of the shrine. To a large extent it can
be said that the Bioi attempt to glorify Delphi where it has already
been illustrious, remove the dark spots where it seems to have a
tarnished reputation, and demonstrate that not only the origins
of the Greek and Roman states, but even the most critical moments
in their history are intimately associated with the most famous
of all Greek oracles. 1
Naturally there are fewer references to Delphi in the Roman
Lives than there are in the Greek, but one should not underestimate
their importance. Delphi is mentioned on eight occasions in the
Roman Lives, and generally something is contributed to our
knowledge. An interesting example of the inclusion of Delphi
material in a Life appears in Aemilius Paullus 28. Aemilius arrives

1 The most recent full work on the subject is H. W. Parke and D. E.

W. Wormell, The Delphic Oracle (Oxford: 1956). The first volume gives
the history of the shrine, the second, the oracles themselves. A full bibliog-
raphy is given at the back of volume one. A more recent study is Parke's
Greek Oracles (London: 1967), a short and popular work. R. Flaceliere,
Greek Oracles (London: 1965), another popular work, is also more recent
than Parke-Wormell. For the history of the shrine one can also consult
G. Daux, Delphes au II• et au Ier Siecle (Paris: 1937), and R. Flaceliere,
Les A itoliens a Delphes (Paris: 1937). On the oracle itself useful works are
still P. Amandry, La Mantique Apollinienne a Delphes (Paris: 1950), H.
Berve, "Das Delphische Orakel," Gestaltende Kriifte der Antike (Munich:
1949), and J. Pollard, Seers, Shrines, and Sirens (London: 1965).
 THE DELPHIC ORACLE IN THE LIVES 237

at Delphi and orders his statue to be erected on a column which

had originally been designated for his defeated rival, Perseus.
The column was rediscovered in the early 20th Century and thus
modern archaeology is able to vindicate Plutarch's account. 2
Aemilius says his own statue should be erected in place of Perseus',
"since the conquered should make way for the conqueror." The
Aemilius account is an aid in reconstructing Polybios' corrupt
text at this point (30.rn). Plutarch is, however, more accurate
than Polybios; he gives one column rather than several, the loca-
tion, and Aemilius' saying at the time. Besides this he describes
the column correctly as a great rectangle constructed of square
blocks of white marble. Later, on the completion of his successful
campaign against Perseus, Aemilius returns to Delphi to offer a
thanksgiving sacrifice (Aemilius 36). This incident is not in Polybios,
though Livy (45.4I), Diodoros (JI.I), and Appian (Macedonica
I9) record it.
Plutarch is also our only source for other information about
the interrelationship between Rome and Delphi, even if at times one
must be somewhat suspicious about the validity of what he says.
He is our only source for Cicero's ambitious interrogation of the
Delphic oracle on how he might achieve greatness, and the Stoic
response of the oracle, "Let your own nature, not the opinion
of the multitude be your guide" (Cicero 5). Chapter I2 of the
Life of Flamininus mentions Flamininus' dedications at the shrine,
but is largely taken up with the inscriptions upon them. We learn
{I6) that at Chalcis a Delphinion was dedicated to Titus and
Apollo, and that at the time a hymn had been sung to Zeus, Rome,
Titus, and "the good Faith of the Romans" ('Pwµ~(wv 't"e: 1tL<rnv).
Though the passage savours of political temporizing, Plutarch
relates it with decorum. This is somewhat surprising in view
of his horror at the "divine honors" paid Demetrios at Delphi in
Demetrios I0-I2. In fact he seems to praise Titus who is designated

2 The inscriptions on the Aemilius monument were described in great

detail in the article which announced its discovery, H. Pomtow, "Delphische

Neufunde V," Klio, 17 (1921), 153-203. Consult also the more recent article
in RE Suppl. V, p. 104. Justinus, 20.3.1, records a delegation of the Croton-
ians to Delphi before the battle of Pydna, but this is not recorded in Plut-
arch or other classical authors. The inscription is still intact: L-Aimilius-
L-f-inperator-de-rege-Perse / Macedonibusque-cepet. See Flaceliere, Vies
IV, p. 104, and L. Budde, "Das romische Historienrelief I," ANRW I,4
(1975), pp. 805-25, (first part on the Aemilius monument).