August
29
/ 2018
In 2015, an ancient well was uncovered in Kerameikos in central Athens, Greece, with inscriptions calling upon Apollo, the Greek god of prophecy. Archaeologists speculate that Kerameikos seers used the well to try to foretell the future using hydromancy rituals. It is the first known place in Athens where Apollo was invoked to divine the future, in this case by consulting the waters to see if the god would deliver messages or visions in them. (“Hydro” means water and “mancy” means divination or prophet). The archaeological team working at the site, from the German Archaeological Institute, says the oracle (a shrine consecrated to the worship and consultation of a prophetic deity) was in use in early Roman times. “The finding
