“The Priestess of Delphi,” by John Collier (1891). This haunting painting of one of the famous oracles from Ancient Greece – known as the Sibyls – is reflective of the lack of certainty modern scholars have about what specific prophecies the oracles pronounced. We know that the Romans truly believed that one of the Sibyls sold a collection of pronouncements to the last king of Rome, who only reluctantly purchased them. Once the Roman Republic commenced, they were held in high esteem, and were consulted for many reasons, such as when religious rituals ought to be performed. In 83 BCE the Sibylline Books burned in a fire, but they were so significant to the Romans that the Senate sent an expedition to recover the prophecies from other areas of the Mediterranean. Thereafter, the Sibylline Books were increasingly used as political propaganda, with various leaders claiming to have a “correct” prophecy as Rome tumbled into civil war. Not even a fragment of any writings of the Sibylline Books remain — according to one source, they were burned by a Roman general in the early 5th century because his opponents were using the prognostications to attack his leadership.
Source(s): Image: wiki commons. See “Re-visiting the _live Sibyllini_: some remarks on their nature in Roman legend and experience,” by Jesse Keskiaho. Mika Kajava ed, _Studies in Ancient Oracles and Divination, Act a Instituti Romano Finlandiae 40, 2013.
