The Counsels of the Seven Sages
In this chapter, you will learn about the Counsels of the Seven Sages, an ancient collection of 147 pithy and enigmatic sayings, which were inscribed on a tablet at the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. They are the text for the Oracle of the Seven Sages. You will learn the story of their origin and the significance of the number 147. I will also explain a meditative practice of daily divination by which you can absorb the wisdom of the Seven Sages, and how to make talismans to help you to live by this wisdom. This information will help you to use the Oracle of the Seven Sages more effectively.
The Origin of the Counsels of the Seven
Plutarch of Chaeronea (ca. 46–ca. 120 CE), who was High Priest of Apollo at Delphi and an expert in sacred lore, tells an interesting tale.87 One day in the sixth century BCE, some fishermen from the island of Cos hauled in their nets, and some young men of Miletus, who were there, offered to buy their catch, sight unseen. When they inspected the contents, they found a heavy golden tripod that had belonged to Helen of Troy.
Before continuing with the story, let me say a little about tripods, which were important in Greek culture from the earliest times.88 They were three-legged stands, generally made of bronze or other metals, and often supported a built-in cauldron or shallow dish. They were used for many ordinary purposes, such as cooking, but also as altars for making offerings to the gods. They were often awarded as prizes in athletic games and dramatic contests, given by guests to their hosts, or dedicated by worshippers to the gods. In mythology, the craft god Hephaistos is supposed to have made magical tripods that moved about by themselves and brought food to the gods in their banquets. However, tripods are most closely associated with Apollo. For example, Aeneas, the hero who escaped fallen Troy and founded Rome, received oracles from the tripod at the temple of Apollo in Delos. To prophesy, the Pythia, the High Priestess of Apollo at Delphi, sat on a slab supported by a tripod over a cleft in the earth, from which emerged the trance-inducing spirit of Pythôn (pneuma Puthônos). One of the earliest myths depicted in Greek art tells how Heracles (half-brother of Apollo) stole the Delphic tripod after he was denied advice on how he could be purified of bloodguilt. They fought over it until Zeus separated them with a lightning bolt; the tripod was returned to Delphi, and Heracles was purified.
The ancients disagreed about the origin of Helen’s Tripod. Some said it was a sacred heirloom in the family of her husband Menelaos, which was originally given to his grandfather Pelops by Hephaistos as a wedding gift, and that Helen had taken it when she ran away with Paris. Others said that it was booty from the sack of Troy, where perhaps it stood in the temple beside the Palladion—the statue of Pallas Athena—that guarded the city. In any case, Helen threw it into the ocean when she was being brought back to Sparta from Troy.
The tripod is a symbol of wisdom, especially practical wisdom, such as the Seven Sages possessed, and in particular the ability to deliver wisdom in short maxims. Therefore the Pythia sat upon a tripod to deliver her oracles from the god. But why did Helen throw her tripod overboard? Perhaps because of her dishonest behavior or her conflicted loyalties to Sparta and Troy. In any case, her explanation was that the tripod would be a source of conflict, and so it was.
Back to our story. True to Helen’s prophecy, a fight broke out about who would keep such a precious artifact. The Milesians said they had bought everything fair and square; the Coans said that they were selling only the fish. Soon the dispute escalated into a war between the cities. They sent a delegation to the Temple of Apollo at Delphi to consult the Oracle. “Who should possess the tripod?” the Milesians asked, and the Pythia replied:
Com’st thou Milesian to consult my shrine?
The Tripod to the wisest I assign.89
The Coans received this reply:
No end of strife, until it reach the Seer
Whose presence makes Past, Present, Future clear.90
After much discussion, the Milesians and Coans agreed that the god meant the Milesian philosopher Thales, known for his mathematical and scientific knowledge, including the ability to predict eclipses and the weather. He was also an expert in divine matters and said “all things are full of gods.” Therefore, they presented the tripod to him. But Thales said, “I am not the wisest. That honor belongs to Bias of Priene, for no judge is wiser” and so he sent the tripod to Bias. But Bias likewise judged himself to be unworthy of the honor, and sent the tripod on to Pittacus of Mytilene, who had brought democracy to Lesbos. And so the tripod was passed on, to Chilon of Sparta, to Cleobulus of Lindus, who had studied philosophy in Egypt, to Periander of Corinth, known for his justice, each Sage humbly sending it on to another, whom he deemed more worthy, until it came to Solon of Athens, who had instituted the Athenian constitution. Solon thought, “I am a mere statesman; the prize should go to someone with knowledge of the natural and the divine,” and so he sent the tripod to Thales.
Thus the tripod made the circuit of the Seven Sages. They consulted among themselves and realized that whatever wisdom they had, they owed to Apollo, who is the wisest god, and that the tripod should be dedicated in his temple. The Seven traveled together to Delphi, where they erected a marble stele (Grk., stêlê), a tablet on which they engraved their wisdom.91 Thales contributed “Know thyself.” Solon contributed “Nothing too much.” Together they had 147 wise maxims engraved on the stele. Thus they offered the fruit of their wisdom to the god.
What were these gems of ancient wisdom? They might have been lost in the ruins of Delphi, but a certain Johannes Stobaeus, who lived in Macedonia in the fifth century CE, kept extensive notes on everything that he read. Among them is “Sosiades’s Counsels of the Seven Sages,” which lists 147 short maxims.92 There is no explanation, but a reasonable assumption is that the (otherwise unknown) philosopher Sosiades copied them down from the Tablet at Delphi.
Many scholars were skeptical about the existence of this Tablet of the Seven Sages; after all, there are many legends about engraved tablets containing ancient wisdom. This changed in 1966 when archaeologists found the base of a stele in present-day Afghanistan. It was engraved with a dedication by Klearchos, one of Aristotle’s students in the fourth century BCE, who traveled throughout the ancient world, even as far as India. In his dedication he says that he has very carefully copied the Wise Sayings of the Men of Old in the most holy Pythian Shrine, and has set them up in that faraway place so that their wisdom could illuminate the people there. Unfortunately, the stele that the base supported, which contained the maxims, has been lost except for a small fragment, but we have a good idea what they were, thanks to a happy accident. Apparently the stone cutter ran out of room on the stele and had to squeeze the last five lines on the base next to the dedication. (I imagine Klearchos was pretty unhappy with this sloppy carving job, and I hope he didn’t pay the full amount in advance!) These five lines are also the last five lines in Stobaeus’s text, and the surviving fragment of the stele contains two maxims in Stobaeus’s order. This is good evidence that Stobaeus’s text is the correct one, and therefore it is the text I have used in the following Oracle of the Seven Sages.93
The Importance of 147
Why 147, you ask? It seems to be an unusual and arbitrary number, but it’s not. For 147 is 3 times 49, and there is evidence that the tablet was engraved in three columns of text: some of the surviving manuscript copies are arranged in three columns, and some of the errors in the others can be explained if the scribe were copying from an original in three columns. (See Figure 7 for a depiction of how it might have looked.) In addition, we know that Solon’s Laws, oracle collections, and other important texts were inscribed on three-sided pillars.94 Moreover, 49 is 7 times 7. There were, of course, Seven Sages, and seven is Apollo’s sacred number. In the ancient Greek sacred lunar month, the seventh day (that is, the first quarter moon) is consecrated to Apollo and celebrated as his birthday (recall Chapter 2). The number seven is especially appropriate to divination, as the Pythagorean Theology of Arithmetic explains:
Since everything comes together and is distinguished by coincidence and in a critical manner at the place of the hebdomad (number 7), Pythagoreans called it “critical time” (kairos) and “Fortune” (Tychê).95
Moreover, the Theology of Arithmetic tells us that “Athena” is a Pythagorean name for the number 7, for it is not a product of any of the other numbers of the decad, except one (considered neither odd nor even), as Athena was born of neither mother (even number) nor father (odd number), but from The Inexpressible One (identified with the mind of Zeus). The name of the related Roman goddess, Minerva, comes from mens (Lat., for “mind”; Grk., nous) and symbolizes central or innermost thought. Furthermore, like Athena, the number seven is a virgin and unwed, for it does not produce any other numbers in the decad and has a masculine character (odd number). Finally, the third day is sacred to Athena as her birthday, and Pythagoreans call the triad (number 3) “Prudence” and “Wisdom” (Phronêsis), for prudence is when people act correctly in the present, look ahead to the future, and gain experience from the past, and wisdom has knowledge (gnôsis) of the three parts of time. Bernardus Silvestris says perfect wisdom arises from three powers: wit (the power of discovery: future), reason (the power of discerning what has been discovered: present), and memory (the power of retention: past).96 [See the Alphabet Oracle under (B) Beta for a discussion of kairos, Chapter 6 for the number seven, and The Oracle of the Seven Sages for phronêsis (Oracle 17 [1-3-3] “Practice prudence”) and Tychê (Oracle 68 [2-3-5] “Acknowledge Fortune”).]
In summary, 147 is a symbolic number closely connected with Apollo and his Seven Sages, but also with Athena, goddess of wisdom.
Meditating on the Counsels of the Seven
I know of no evidence that the Counsels of the Seven were used for divination in the ancient world, but it’s not an unreasonable supposition. The engraved Counsels were venerated. Socrates is said to have bowed down before them. People came to Delphi seeking oracles from Apollo. Might they not, while contemplating the Tablet, have felt that one of the maxims especially spoke to them, and have taken that as a sign from the god? Perhaps, as with the alphabet and dice oracles, a table stood nearby with dice or some other means of letting the god choose an oracle for the querent. Or an attendant priest might have cast the lots. Chilon himself said, “Do not hate divination.” In any case, I think you will find the Oracle of the Seven Sages to be a valuable guide.
Plato and other ancient philosophers recommended the Counsels of the Seven as a basis for Greek education. (It is still a good way to learn Ancient Greek. Most of the maxims are two words long, and the rest are three or four. The grammatical forms are simple.) As the distilled wisdom of the Seven Sages, the Counsels are good advice for living your life. They are terse: wisdom in concentrated form. “Say not few things in many words,” Pythagoras advised, “but much in few words.” 97 Because of their brevity, they also tend to be ambiguous, more like Zen koans. Therefore, they invited discussion and interpretation. In this way ancient Greeks refined their own wisdom. (I explained the importance of enigmatic oracles in Chapter 2.)
Contemplation on the Counsels of the Seven can be a valuable spiritual practice for you, too. If you meditate on one per day, it will take you thrice seven weeks to get through all 147 of them. This is precisely five of the sacred lunar months of the ancient Greeks. A little explanation is in order. Normally “hollow months” of twenty-nine days alternated with “full months” of thirty days to approximate the lunar month of about 29 ½ days (occasionally an extra full month was inserted to keep the lunar calendar in harmony with the sun). Therefore, five alternating months, starting with a hollow month, is exactly 147 days (147 = 29 + 30 + 29 + 30 + 29). Start on the new moon, which according to ancient practice is the first sighting of the young moon, which typically occurs a day or two after her conjunction with the sun.
Alternately, instead of working through them in order, you can allow the Oracle to choose your daily meditation. Simply cast the Oracle while asking a question such as, “What is it best for me to contemplate today?” or “What is the best advice for today?” This is one of my daily practices. It’s amazing how relevant the advice can be!
Either way, as you go through your day, think about the chosen oracle from time to time and what it means to you. This will deepen your understanding of the oracle and how it can be applied to all sorts of questions.
Although you do not need to know Ancient Greek to use the Oracle of the Seven Sages, I have provided the original Greek and a Latin translation for each of the oracles. So if you are studying either of these languages, you can use your daily meditation as an opportunity to learn the day’s oracle in Greek or Latin.
Talismans for the Counsels of the Seven
The Oracle of the Seven Sages offers you advice, which you would be wise to take, but it sometimes takes willpower to follow this advice. A talisman can help by bringing you the strength to obey the Oracle’s guidance; at the very least, it serves as a reminder. To create such as talisman, you can use the procedures and rituals for alphabet talismans (see the section “Alphabet Magic” in Chapter 6). Inscribe or paint the Greek text of the oracle on a lamella (flat object). You can find the Greek with the individual oracles in Chapter 10, or if you want it to be more authentic looking, you can copy the archaic Greek from Figure 7. You can add the English or Latin translations, if you like. For potentiation (step 5), speak aloud and concentrate on the text of the oracle or your interpretation of it.
87. The story exists in several versions. I have supplemented Plutarch’s version (Life of Solon, ch. 4) with details from Diogenes Laertius, Lives of the Eminent Philosophers (I.28–34), and Stanley, The History of Philosophy Containing the Lives, Opinions, Actions, and Discourses of the Philosophers of Every Sect (London: A. Millar, 1743), 4.
88. Papalexandrou, Warriors, Youths, and Tripods in Early Greece (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2005), 47–51.
89. Translation from Stanley, The History of Philosophy, 4.
90. Diogenes Laertius, Lives of the Eminent Philosphers, I.33.
91. Plato, The Dialogues of Plato (New York: Scribners, 1899), Protagoras, 343a–b. Plato’s list of the Seven Sages has Myson of Chen instead of Periander.
92. “Counsels of the Seven Sages” is Tôn Hepta Sophôn Hypothêkai in Ancient Greek and Septem Sapientum Sententiae in Latin.
93. For the history of the Stobaeus’s text and Klearchos’s stele, see Oikonomides, “Records of ‘The Commandments of the Wise Men’ in the 3rd c. B.C.,” Classical Bulletin 63 (1987), who also describes several third century BCE fragmentary pillars and a papyrus fragment that record many of the Counsels of the Seven in the same order as Sosiades, but there are minor differences in text and order. On this basis, he constructs a partial “new text,” which I have not used because it is too fragmentary.
94. These were called kurbeis (sing., kurbis) and usually made of three wooden tablets, joined side-by-side and tapered, something like an obelisk, set in a stone base (Davis, “Axones and Kurbeis,” Historia 60, 1, 2011: 1–35).
95. Translation adapted from Iamblichus, The Theology of Arithmetic, 99; see also Iamblichus, Theoulogumena Arithmeticae, ¶53; p. 70, lines 22–4.
96. Iamblichus, The Theology of Arithmetic, 51; and Iamblichus, Theoulogumena Arithmeticae, ¶14; p. 16, lines 17–22. On Minerva and wisdom, see Bernardus, Commentary on the First Six Books, ¶68; p. 47; and Watkins, The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo-European Roots (Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin, 2000), s.v. men-1.
97. Guthrie, The Pythagorean Sourcebook and Library (Grand Rapids, MI: Phanes, 1987), 273, #158.