The Seer in Ancient Greece
In the past, just as in modern times, the Seer acts as an intermediary between the Folk and the Gods. Also important to note is that the Seers of Ancient Greece were written about by people who had real life Seers in front of them, and those ancient Seers then tried to behave as the Seers in myth were portrayed to them. “So art imitated life, and life art,” so it isn’t easy to pick out a cut and dry source for how the Seers in ancient times actually worked and behaved (Flower 21).
The role of the Seer in Ancient Greece took multiple forms. They can basically be divided into the Institutional Oracles and the freelance diviners. The Institutional Oracles are the ones that most people have heard of and know about, and they are the ones who commanded the most respect in their time. The freelance diviners, the manteis, were the independent diviners who often traveled from place to place, and were paid for their services.
The Institutional Oracles were an important part of the economic ecosystem of the cities they existed around. Generally speaking, they did not provide for themselves in the way of sustenance, but rather relied on the folk they served to bring that to them. In the Homeric Hymn to the Pythian Apollo there is story asking how the people chosen by Apollo to care for his temple shall be provided for. They were reminded that “the glorious tribes of men will bring gifts to you as Iepaeon (`Hail-Healer’), and you will receive with delight rich sacrifices from the people dwelling round about” (Evelyn-White). This meant that when the people brought forth sacrifices to the altar of Apollo at his temple, the priests there would be well fed as long as the fame of the oracle lasted. In this same sense, it was also beneficial for the surrounding towns to enhance their Oracle’s reputation. The more people traveled through, and stayed for extended period of time, the better business was for that town. This was especially true of the Oracle of Delphi, which later became the site for the Pythian Games (Johnston 34-46). This being said, the Institutional Oracles, while perhaps the most famous, were certainly not the most widely used method for gaining knowledge. The oracles would only take questions once a month, and the right to ask a question was very expensive (Flower 2).
The Institutional Oracles were often described as receiving their omens through ecstatic trance. The Oracles would enter trance and as the questions were asked, they would posit answers to these questions, most of which were then translated into verse by the priests and priestesses who tended the Oracle and the temple of the god the Oracle spoke for (Flower 6-7).
For the independent diviners (manteis), they made their living much the same way other merchants did: by selling their wares and services to the public. They were well-respected as part of the aristocratic class of men (and sometimes women) who would seek to further themselves and their reputation not only through their divination, but also through feats of strength and courage (Johnston 116). The mantis is “one who speaks from an altered state” or “one who is in a special state of inspiration.” They are literally “workers for the community” and they have a special gift and skill that cannot just be learned, but rather has to be granted by the divine (Flower 23).
The manteis had a very important role in the military history of Greece. In myth, every army had its own mantis, because of how important it was to consult the will of the gods when approaching something where their good or ill will may determine the outcome of the battle. The mantis would bring out sacrificial animals before a battle. He would kill these animals and read their entrails, determining how the battle would go and what would need to be done in order to win the battle. Generals were known to put great weight in these divinations, and would even delay battle until the omens were fortuitous. The independent diviner had more freedom than the institutional oracles to persue the life they wanted. They were less tied to the people in the sense of dependency, but also had to prove themselves much more than the institutional oracles to maintain their reputation and thus be able to sell their services (Johnston 116-118).
The mantis was also a crisis manager; he was an integral part of the Hellenic society. When something went wrong, the mantis would not only look to the future, but would also look to the past. It was his job to determine how the folk might have offended the gods at some point in the past so that the correct amends could be made to set the course of history back on a good path. He coasted the line between priest and diviner, and existed in that liminal place where he was able to travel and be available for those that needed him for a variety of services (Johnston 116-118).
The manteis commanded a certain type of respect, as they straddled the line between priest and magician. The term mantis carried far more respect than the term magos. “Anyone could insult a mantis by calling him a magos, and any magos could lay claim to higher status by calling himself mantis.” And just as the authority and reliability of the Seer lays outside of the self now, so it was then: “You could call yourself whatever you wanted; the proof of expertise lay in what other people were willing to call you” (Flower 66).
As mentioned above, the manteis used a variety of methods for divination, one of which was the reading of entrails (both extispicy and empyromancy). Other methods included augury (the behavior, movement, and calls of birds), the interpretation of dreams and portents (like storms, earthquakes, and eclipses). They also occasionally, though not often compared to the institutional oracles, engaged in spirit possession (Flower 24).
It is interesting to note that the role of the mantis extended beyond only divination and was also said to include healing and purification (Flower 27). This meshes well with what I’ve experienced as a Seer, because after a reading has been given to someone, they often have a lot to think about, and sometimes a lot to deal with. I have had many readings that end with the Querant in tears, and me left in the position where my best course of action is to offer some form of comfort and healing.
