The Oracle of the Dead at Baia, Italy, presided over by the Cumaean Sibyl (often mistaken for the Cimmerian Sibyl) is a labyrinth of cavernous tunnels carved out of volcanic rock barely passable for one person. It is a continuous descent downward into the bowels through an underground passage that leads one into the steamy hot earth. And as the patron pursuing answers would see, it was as if they descended into Hades itself all in an effort to hear their ancestors and receive the answers so desired. Travelling though one passageway after another one reached the River Styx (the principal river in the Greek Hades or underworld). Here was the border between the dead and the living. The ferryman took the seeker in his boat over the river transporting them to the cellar crypt where they would come face to face with the powerful writhing and mystical Oracle. What a visual! There she was seated in her box like tomb mouthing words for the Priest to interpret. Perhaps in a trance state because of the fissure cut into the earth and its escaping mesmerizing fumes.
Archaeologists have found five ruined buildings that sit against a steep volcanic hillside, in this ancient Roman site of Baia. Plus, above the terrace there was a discovery of more small rooms. This area was called “The Sacred Area” and was thought to be a beginning point in the ritual where patrons stopped before entering the tunnels buried deep in the hillside.
The Oracles and Sibyl’s prophecies were never doubted and they were never questioned if the response was not what was expected. Some say these Priestesses only spoke in gibberish or disconnected phrases. But whatever words came forth they were very sought after and desired by seekers for centuries.
Many believe these ritual centers were sacred domiciles that contained portals to other realms that allowed the Priestesses to speak. Were these Priestesses, like many who practiced above ground, also affected by hallucinogenic substances in the form of vapors that leaked from deep underground crevices? That might explain the references to speaking in tongues. Those worthy patrons (Kings, Queens and the affluent) believed that their dignified status gave them the right to petition the Oracle. As they traversed through the labyrinth, they might also have felt the effects of vapors also. This could explain why they believed they were indeed traveling down to Hades where their ancestors awaited them with answers interpretated by an Oracle or Sibyl. The pure drama and spectacle of such an experience must have been life-changing. The petitioners believed deeply that the Oracles and Sibyls would bring them into contact with the Divine though their ancestors.
According to legend, she had the power of prophesy, and scribbled the future on oak leaves scattered at the entrance of her cave.1
The priests of the temple left nothing to chance and resorted to sending carrier pigeons to faraway lands to learn the fate of events (such as battles won and lost), so that they could appear more accurate in their interpretations of the priestess’s vision.2
It was a hard life for these Priestesses who lived most of their lives underground in dark damp and toxic quarters. With the steady volume of generous patrons passing through the labyrinths these Priestesses were very profitable to the cave dwelling Priests. Constantly in deep trance to receive their messages from the dead must have been a contributing factor in their health and shortened life span. Did the extreme environment of this spiritual lifestyle create a continuous turnover of underground Sibyls?
There are other sites in ancient Italy where it is thought there were Oracles of the Dead structures. One is the site in the Phlegraean Fields of Campania, Italy. This site and others differ widely from deep cellar like crypts to catacomb tunnels and dark stone structures. As with many Oracles and Sibyls who went into trance to give their messages, these structures were also thought to sit upon fissures where toxic gases escaped. Some of these possibly emitted “mephitic” gases that would have influenced the conscious minds of the Sibyls who presided in these ancient cavities.
In the Odyssey, Odysseus is instructed by the Witch Circe how he can contact the dead. As the story continues Circe tells Odysseus to go to a specific cave and dig a shallow pit. He is then told to pour libations around it as a tribute to the dead. He is then told to pray. There is much more to this mythological story but I am fascinated by just how powerful the necessity was (and still is) to contact the dead whether in mythology or in reality. It is another example of just how powerful these ancient cave dwelling Oracles and Sibyls of the Dead were to the seekers who believed completely that they had the ability to channel their ancestors.
It was in the 1960’s that the amateur archaeologist Robert Paget discovered the site at Baia. With Keith Jones, an American colleague and a number of volunteers he began an exploration of the antrum and after decade of excavating found a complex labyrinth like system of cavernous tunnels. Here was the “Cave of the Sibyl” as described by ancient authors. The underground Oracles who foretold the future deep within these earthy sacred rooms seemed to practice a more shadowy or mysterious side of prophecy.
In Hierapolis, Turkey, legend says that the Byzantine chapel of Aqioi Asomatoi was built on the vestiges of the Oracle of the Dead with the Cave of Hades or Gate of Hades as the oracle entrance.
The Necromanteion was an ancient temple in Greece dedicated to Hades, the God of the Underworld, and his consort the Goddess Persephone. It was said to be located on the banks of the Acheron River in Epirus, near the ancient city of Ephyra. (Acheron was the son of the Goddess Gaia). The Temple Necromanteion of Acheron was so well known in the ancient world that believers are said to have flocked there by the thousands. The ancient Greeks imagined that souls were released from the decaying bodies of their ancestors buried deep in the earth. They believed the spirits of their dead travelled through the Underworld via cracks or crevices in the earth. To the ancient Greek societies these spirits had the power to foretell the future. This was the domain of the dead for the living did not possess these abilities. The belief continued and was centered around the otherworldly Oracles and Sibyls who sat upon these fissures in underground temples. For they had the power to communicate with the dead and receive their prophecies.
Although other ancient temples such as the Temple of Poseidon in Taenaron as well as those in Argolis, Cumae, and Herakleia in Pontos are known to have housed oracles of the dead, the Necromanteion of Ephyra was the most important.3