Io! Io!!! Saturnalia 2005: Consult the Sybil

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Io! Io!!! Saturnalia 2005: Consult the Sybil

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The Sybil of Cumae celebrates Saturnalia by sharing her wisdom with all who seek her help. In this main thread, SCROLL DOWN below the image of Sybil to ask.

In his Metamorphoses, Vergil states that the god Apollo admired the youthful and beautiful Sybil and granted her a wish. She took up a handful of sand and asked to live for as many years as the grains of sand she held. Apollo granted the wish for longevity but became angry when she denied herself to him. Sybil forgot to ask for eternal youth and the god allowed her body to wither away to punish her effrontery. As she aged, the Sybil's body grew smaller and smaller. According to Vergil, the Sybil eventually had to be kept in a jar. Before she finally died, only her voice was left.

The Romans believed that the Sybil was a prophetess who inhabited a cave at Cumae. They regularly consulted her to obtain advice. What is believed to be the Cave of the Sybil was rediscovered in May of 1932 by Amedeo Maiuri.

There is a legend that the last king of Rome, Lucius Tarquinius, was approached by an old woman who was the Cumaean Sybil in disguise. She offered to sell the king nine books of prophecies. But Tarquin refused to pay her price which he said was too high. The woman burned three of the books and then offered the remaining six books to the king for the same price she had demanded for all nine. Again, the king refused to pay her price. She burned three more book and repeated her offer. Tarquin relented and purchased the remaining three book at the full original price. The Sybilline Books were kept in the Temple of Jupiter on the Capitoline Hill to be consulted in emergencies. The Books were lost in 83 A.D. when the temple of Jove Capitolinus itself was destroyed in a fire.

Source: Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.org)

Created by:
* Maria Marius, Dec 11, 2005 - 15:11