Delphic oracle

American  

noun

1. the oracle of Apollo at Delphi, noted for giving ambiguous answers.

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Delphic oracle British  

noun

1. the oracle of Apollo at Delphi that gave answers held by the ancient Greeks to be of great authority but also noted for their ambiguity

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Delphic oracle Cultural  

1. The most famous oracle in Greece, and the location of a temple of Apollo; it was also known as the oracle of Delphi. At the oracle, a priestess went into a trance, supposedly breathed vapors from a cleft in the rocks, and delivered messages from Apollo to persons who sought her advice. These messages were often difficult to interpret.

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Example Sentences

The Wanderer leaves his city.�and his age�to take his problem to that renowned religio-psychological clinic, the Delphic oracle.

From Time Magazine Archive

She is as authoritative as the Delphic oracle in The Times They Are A-Changin', brave and bluesy in Walkin' Down the Line; but she melts the fierceness of Masters of War into a mere lament.

From Time Magazine Archive

His followers quickly found that they could no longer gain access without the consent of "the Delphic oracle," as they dubbed her.

From Time Magazine Archive

He had left his home, Corinth, where he was held to be the son of the King, Polybus, and the reason for his self-exile was another Delphic oracle.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton

He became the patron of the Amphictyonic assembly and of literature and art, and, especially in connection with the Delphic oracle, the fosterer of ethical conceptions of ritual and of sin.

From Introduction to the History of Religions Handbooks on the History of Religions, Volume IV by Jastrow, Morris