Delphi or Dodona?

[lucian]

Did Alexander really go to Delphi? I have seen more information on his visit to Dodona, and only Plutarch says that he visited Delphi. Anyone know of other sources that state this?

[jona]

As a rule of the thumb, I believe that one should be suspicious of information that can be found in only one source. In my view, the first chapters of Plutarch are not very useful, especially as he is quoting from at least one fake source (the letters).Jona

[heinrich]

What's the evidence on Dodona? Of course it is likely that Alexander visited the shrine in the country of his mother.HM

[marcus]

On the other hand, I would have thought it unlikely that Alexander *didn't* visit Delphi, as he was in the area at least 3 times in his life ... and you don't miss the opportunity to visit such an important shrine/oracle, especially when you're a prince or a king.Whether the result was as Plutarch said is more open to debate, of course ... would Alexander's reverence for all things spiritual have allowed him to manhandle the pythia in that way?All the bestMarcus

[ruthaki]

I believe he visited Delphi after? the Battle of Chaironeia. Didn't the oracle there have a special reading for him? (Besides, I actually 'saw' him there on the path coming down from the stadium. When he was about 18...really!)
Also, didn't his mother and him retreat to Dodoni after the big fracas at Philip's wedding to the younger Macedonian girl?
(I will have to go thru my research notes to find out exactly where I read this information.)

[smittysmitty]

I don't recall there being any reference to ATG being in Dodona; at least none that I'm aware of - thats not to say he never had been, just no particular reference to it. Also it has been suggested, that as Plutarch himself had been a priest at Delphi, Alexander's visit and the incident with the priestess may very well have been kept on record at Delphi.cheers!

[lucian]

Michael Wood mentions that he visited Dodona, and that there when Alexander walked in, the spring came back to life. He makes no mention of Delphi. He uses Curtius and Arrian for the most part. Green mentions the visit to Delphi as a special detour Alexander took after the league confirmed his leadership. Dodona is mentioned in Fuller as a "check mark" basically if you go to both Delphi and Dodona and then Siwah your in good shape for reliability. Same was said on the translation for Arrian under the Penquin version. I suppose any chance he got to talk to some god, he took it?

[smittysmitty]

Hi Lucian,
as I said earlier, I don't recall any mention of Alexander visiting Dodona, either in Arrian or Curtius or for that matter any of the primary sources. I'd much appreciate if you could cite me where such information comes from, I'm very interested in this matter.
I'm not ver familiar with the works of Woods, didn't he make movies like Oliver Stone?
Cheers!

[marcus]

I'm certainly not aware of any source that mentions Alexander at Dodona - the only spring that comes back to life that I recall is that of the Branchidae, about which Alexander hears after his return to Memphis from Siwa.Michael Wood made a travelogue called "In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great", which was first shown on the BBC some years ago (mid 90s?). Certainly nothing like a feature film. I suspect that, if he did say what Lucian says he did about Dodona, it was speculative, rather than source driven.It's certainly more than reasonable to assume that, at some point in his life, Alexander went to Dodona. It certainly isn't mentioned in one of the five main sources. It might be in Pausanias, or someone like that?All the bestMarcus

[amyntoros]

There's mention in Justin of Alexander having received an oracle from Delphi:XII.2 To this was added, that as the oracle at Delphi had forewarned Alexander the Great against treachery in Macedonia, so that of Jupiter at Dodona had admonished the other Alexander (of Epirus) GÇ£to beware of the city Pandosia and the river Acheron;GÇ¥...Alexander could have just sent a messenger to Delphi, much as he did to Siwa after Hephaistion's death, but as someone else said here, when Alexander was in the area, he surely would have visited the shrine.

[Taphoi]

Just to clear up a few points and defend the innocent:a) Michael Wood talked about Didyma not Dodona. Didyma had been the oracular shrine of the Branchidae, where the spring is said to have come back to life.b) Diodorus mentions Alexander's visit to the oracle at Delphi at 17.93.4 (he doesn't mention Delphi, but he does mention the Pythia [prophetess at Delphi]). This means the story was almost certainly in Cleitarchus.c) I am not sure offhand whether any source explicitly states that Alexander visited Dodona, but it is very likely he did. I believe it was the childhood home of Olympias and it was one of the sites chosen for a magnificent temple in the Hypomnemata (Last Plans). Alexander visited Dodona in Fire From Heaven, of course.Best wishes,Andrew

[agesilaos]

Might this not be in the Romance? I cannot check as I do not have a copy, certainly it features in the fiction as Irecall the method of divination was to write your question on lead and roll it up, rather like divine consequences.

[lucian]

Whoa my fault!!!! DIDYMA not Dodona!!!!!