Welcome to the Academics weekly assignment for the week of October 31st, 2021! These weekly assignments will give our Professors the ability to showcase some of their lesson ideas here on the website. Each assignment will be posted for a week, in which everyone will be able to read about the topic and respond to the assignment prompt. This week's assignment is "Mythology - High Priestess of Delphi,” created by Courtney (epic_cool_mcgee).
The assignment is as follows:
Background
The High Priestess of Delphi was the most prestigious oracle among the Greeks. Her name, Pythia, comes from the word Pytho, which was the original name of Delphi in myth. As an oracle, she told powerful prophecies as a vessel for a god (who was usually Apollo). Both the rich and poor would line up to hear her prophecies. They would bring her gifts and pay large sums of money in order to consult with her. However, her prophecies would often have double meanings and were not easily interpreted.
The Pythia worked in the Temple of Apollo in Delphi, which is on the slopes of Mount Parnassus in Greece. Originally, this area was guarded by Python, a worshipper of Gaia (Earth), but he was killed by Apollo, who then claimed the land as his own sanctuary. The Temple of Apollo was later destroyed by Emperor Theodosius I in 390 CE. Theodosius did this in order to get rid of Greece’s old pagan beliefs. The ruins of the temple still remain today as an iconic tourist attraction in Delphi.
As for the oracle, her time came to an end with the rise of Christianity in Rome in the 4th century.
The oracle’s prophecies were crucial in some Greek myths. In one myth, Croesus, the king of Lydia, consulted with the oracle. He wanted to know if he should declare war on the Persians. The oracle answered, “If you go to war against Persia, you will destroy a great empire.” Croesus thought he would destroy Persia, so he went to war. Lydia then lost the war, and Croesus realized that his great empire was the one to be destroyed.
Assignment
The Pythia has been transported to the modern world! You find her looking quite confused and you decide to ask her if she’s okay. When you walk up to her, her eyes glow and she begins to speak a prophecy to you. What was the prophecy about? Are you in it? How do you react once the Pythia has finished her prophecy?
Please make sure to write at least 5 full sentences to get AC for this assignment! Your assignment must be entirely written by you, and may not be plagiarized (including copying anything from online sources, books, or movie plots) in any way. Assignments must follow all PotterworldMC rules, which can be found here; assignments that do not follow all PotterworldMC rules will be subject to punishment. If your assignment does not meet the requirements, you will be unable to redo your assignment for this week. Assignments are due at 12am PST on Sunday, November 7th, 2021. You may submit as soon as you would like, but any assignments submitted after that time will not receive grades. You may receive up to 20 ACs for your submission. House points will not be awarded to any submissions. If you have any questions, please reach out to a Jr. Professor, Sr. Professor, Academics Advisor, or Head of Academics on Discord.
Click here to submit your assignment, and click here to view your submission.