The Oracle of the Dead
Beside the river the ancient Greeks believed flowed to the underworld, pilgrims came to a temple to speak with the dead.
What was reported
The ancient Greeks believed the river Acheron, in north-west Greece, was a river of the underworld. Writers including Homer and Herodotus mention an oracle of the dead nearby, a necromanteion, where people could consult the spirits of the dead.
In 1958, the archaeologist Sotirios Dakaris excavated a building on a hill above the river and identified it as the necromanteion, with a maze of dark corridors and an underground vaulted chamber. He imagined pilgrims fasting, eating special foods and walking through darkness before seeing the 'dead', perhaps raised by a machine.
Explanations offered
Later archaeologists have questioned this: they argue the building may have been a fortified farmhouse from a later period, and the 'machinery' parts of a catapult. The real site of the oracle may have been nearby. The place remains evocative, and open to visitors.
- When
- Described by ancient writers; excavated from 1958
- Where
- Necromanteion of Acheron, Epirus, Greece
- Witnesses
- Ancient Greek writers, then archaeologists
- Status
- Debated
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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