Prophecies Of The Gods

The Prophecies Overview

Prophecies are predictions of the future. Usually, a prophecy will foretell some form of a major event about to happen or an event that will happen much later in the future.

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Rachel Elizabeth Dare, current Oracle of Delphi and speaker of prophecies.

A prophecy, or prophecies in general, is a prediction of events about to happen in the future. Prophecies can appear in a number of ways, but almost all are cryptic and their true meaning will not become clear until after the events of the prophecy have come to pass. Also, those with the ability to see the future are unable to reveal what a prophecy means, as giving the answer would make the answer irrelevant (meaning that the events in the prophecy could change if the events are told). It is also said that trying to figure out what a prophecy means or trying to force a prophecy to come to pass may result in disaster.

The most common way for a prophecy to be told is from an oracle, most notably the Oracle of Delphi. Even in ancient times, people would come from all over Greece and beyond to see the Oracle, who would speak the prophecies of Apollo. Over time the spirit of the Oracle went from host to host, eventually arriving in America. The Oracle would speak prophecies for quests for demigods, and even spoke the first Great Prophecy, warning of the possible destruction of Olympus. This prophecy eventually leads Hades to place a curse on the Oracle, trapping her in her current body. Even after death, the Oracle spoke prophecies to demigods at Camp Half-Blood until she was eventually replaced by Rachel Elizabeth Dare, who spoke the next Great Prophecy, later called the Prophecy of Seven.

The Roman Legion, however, relied on the Sibylline Books, a collection of books that were said to outline every major event in the history of Rome. The books, however, were said to be lost, with only a few pages surviving a fire. The prophecies that were saved were engraved on the floor of the Temple of Jupiter and are watched over by an Augur. Augurs are also able to see the will of the gods, usually with sacrifices of some kind (including stuffed animals). Depending on the skill of the Augur, a prophecy can appear unclear or the Augur cannot understand the message (as shown when Octavian was not sure if the message was "The Greek has arrived" or "The goose has cried" ).

There are also others that are able to give prophecies, including the gods themselves as the gods, appear to be able to see at least into the near future. Some groups like the Amazons, for example, have a prophecy that the greatest female warrior will tame Arion and bring a new age of prosperity to them. Hazel Levesque once received a prophecy from Pluto, telling her that her curse would be lifted by a descendent of Neptune.

Prophecies themselves can take two forms. The ones given by the gods reflect the will of the gods. They decide when they are revealed and often know their meanings. The ones given by Oracles are independent of the gods. They cannot always understand what the prophecy means nor can they control when it is given. Sometimes a prophecy can be spoken without the permission of the gods including Zeus and Apollo.

Regardless of how a prophecy is received, they all have one thing in common: they are cryptic. A prophecy will never say exactly what will happen and there is usually some level of choice given to those involved that will affect how a prophecy will come to pass (such as how the Great Prophecy foretold that Percy's choice would save or destroy Olympus). While it is not a requirement, prophecies usually rhyme as well. This is true of prophecies told by the Oracle and by the Sibylline Books. Octavian himself once commented that a prophecy given by Mars did not rhyme and was completely straight forward, with no hint of mystery at all.