Ingannevoli come monete false. I κίβδηλοι χρησμοί in Erodoto

Abstract

Summary:Herodotus uses the adjective κίβδηλος only three times in order to refer to a misleading prophecy of the Delphic oracle. Once, that is the episode of the Spartan liberation of Athens from the tyrants (V, 91), the deceit is clear because we are told that the Pythia was corrupted. The other two occurrences, i. e. the prophecy the Spartans receive about the conquest of the Arcadia and the one that Croesus obtains about the Persians, are more problematic, but in both cases the expansionism of the characters have a catastrophic outcome. The analysis of the occurrences of κίβδηλος in previous, contemporary or slightly later texts shows the extremely negative meaning of this adjective: a fraudulent alteration of the reality is often implied. Traces of disillusion emerge from the narration: people that are anxious to possess always more and more clash with the intrigues of the Delphic god and are finally forced to face the difficulty to know in advance what only the experience can teach.