"At that time, in public discourse in Greece a woman had no voice of her own for she
was supposed to be silent and thus in politics and power lacked any right to be heard [12, p.
27]. However both in ancient Greece and Rome, side by side with the philosophic and
mathematical way of knowing as expounded by Pythagoras, we find places where women as a
"sisterhood of mystics" [2, Prologue] were the pronouncers of oracles. Ironically, therefore, the
greatest authority of ancient Greece was a woman [2, chap. 1] and the most famous site was
Delphi."
"The Pythia was available for prophecy one day a month for nine months for the year, starting
when the weather got warmer in spring. She therefore worked nine days a year. No women
except the Pythia were allowed into the innermost part of the temple, but there were women
who kept the sacred fire of laurel wood going on the inner sacred hearth [1, p. 18]. It is unclear
the role the priests played and whether they interpreted what she said. It is also not clear
where the person who asked the question was positioned or whether it was in writing. There
are also discrepancies in how she responded with some writers claiming she entered into a
frenzy through the inhalation of vapor and as a result raved which the priests then interpreted
[17], whereas others claimed that she responded in a normal voice [1; 6]. This view of a mad
Pythia is mainly from late Roman and anti-pagan sources [1]. Often the temples of Apollo were
situated on geographical faults and this was no exception [12]. In modern times, investigations
have revealed that two faults intersect directly below the Delphic temple. "The study also
found evidence of hallucinogenic gases rising from a nearby spring and preserved within the
temple rock" [18]. This implies that the trance like state of the Pythia might have been drug
induced."
"From Pausanias, we know that the famous maxim Know Thyself was inscribed on the
forecourt temple of Apollo [20]. This saying is similar to a saying that is found in the Luxor
Temple in Egypt- "Man, know thyself, and you are going to know the gods" [21].
"To Lao Tzu, the origin of the world is female, like a mother of any species. Heaven and Earth
are rooted at the entrance to this womb, but there is a vast depth beneath the entrance, from
which so much more can emerge. This mother of all is endlessly fertile. She never ceases to
breed and nurture.
This mystical female is Tao, the Way. Again an intriguing imagery. The way to this primordial
female leads into the dark gorge.
Tao as a mother of all, like the Greek Earth goddess Gaia, is a returning theme in the Tao Te
Ching. Although ancient China was indeed a patriarchal society, Lao Tzu praised the
traditionally female qualities repeatedly. Since the nature of Tao resembles the female much
more than the male, so should people behave. Giving instead of taking, humble instead of
proud, yielding instead of forcing, and so on."
