The foundation of the temple of Delphi itself reaches far beyond all historical knowledge, forming one of the aboriginal institutions of Hellas.  It is a sanctified and wealthy place even in the Iliad; the legislation of Lycurgus at Sparta is introduced under its auspices, and the earliest Grecian colonies, those of Sicily and Italy in the eighth century B.C., are established in consonance with its mandate.  Delphi and Dodona appear, in the most ancient circumstances of Greece, as universally venerated oracles and sanctuaries:  and Delphi not only receives honors and donations, but also answers questions from Lydians, Phrygians, Etruscans, Romans, etc.:  it is not exclusively Hellenic.  One of the valuable services which a Greek looked for from this and other great religious establishments was, that it should resolve his doubts in cases of perplexity; that it should advise him whether to begin a new, or to persist in an old project; that it should foretell what would be his fate under given circumstances, and inform him, if suffering under distress, on what conditions the gods would grant him relief.

The three priestesses of Dodona with their venerable oak, and the priestess of Delphi sitting on her tripod under the influence of a certain gas or vapor exhaling from the rock, were alike competent to determine these difficult points:  and we shall have constant occasion to notice in this history with what complete faith both the question was put and the answer treasured up—­what serious influence it often exercised both upon public and private proceeding.  The hexameter verses in which the Pythian priestess delivered herself were indeed often so equivocal or unintelligible, that the most serious believer, with all anxiety to interpret and obey them, often found himself ruined by the result.  Yet the general faith in the oracle was no way shaken by such painful experience.  For as the unfortunate issue always admitted of being explained upon two hypotheses—­either that the god had spoken falsely, or that his meaning had not been correctly understood—­no man of genuine piety ever hesitated to adopt the latter.  There were many other oracles throughout Greece besides Delphi and Dodona; Apollo was open to the inquiries of the faithful at Ptoon in Boeotia, at Abae in Phocis, at Branchidae near Miletus, at Patara in Lycia, and other places:  in like manner, Zeus gave answers at Olympia, Poseidon at Taenarus, Amphiaraus at Thebes, Amphilochus at Mallus, etc.  And this habit of consulting the oracle formed part of the still more general tendency of the Greek mind to undertake no enterprise without having first ascertained how the gods viewed it, and what measures they were likely to take.  Sacrifices were offered, and the interior of the victim carefully examined, with the same intent:  omens, prodigies, unlooked-for coincidences, casual expressions, etc., were all construed as significant of the divine will.  To sacrifice with a view to this or that undertaking, or to consult the oracle with the same view, are familiar expressions embodied in the language.  Nor could any man set about a scheme with comfort until he had satisfied himself in some manner or other that the gods were favorable to it.