In the earliest times of the sacred oracle site of Delphi, an ill-fated marriage arrangement was said to have been formed between a woman from a powerful local family and a man from a seemingly weaker clan. The groom was a superstitious fellow and he grew concerned about foreboding omens he began witnessing in the days leading up to his wedding day. Paranoia over the bad omens reached a boiling point as the man was traveling to meet his prospective wife. Overcome by his nagging unease, the groom ultimately chose to run away from the marriage, abandoning his bride without meeting her. Understandably, the scorned woman and her family were outraged, and they decided to wield their insight into the rules and loopholes of their sacred homeland of Delphi in order to concoct a brutal scheme of revenge against the man who had insulted their family. Aristotle (c. 384-322 BCE), the famous philosopher, described the curious tale. He wrote, “The intended bridegroom, forecasting bad luck by an omen which he saw when he came to fetch his bride, went away without her. Her family considered that they had been ill-treated, and when the young man was sacrificing, they planted some temple-property, and subsequently put him to death for sacrilege” (Aristotle, Politics, 1303b). Curiously, the groom’s demise is fitting for a figure linked to Delphi, as the site was known for oracular riddles that were often fatally misunderstood by the recipients of the prophecies. He thought the marriage, itself, would lead to a bad future, but it was actually his own action of rejecting the bride that brought about his downfall. As told by Aristotle, this incident sparked political tensions and factions at Delphi, but he did not elaborate any further on the issue.
Written by C. Keith Hansley
Picture Attribution: (Muse of Tragedy, by Elihu Vedder (c. 1836-1923), [Public Domain] via Creative Commons and the Smithsonian).
Sources:
- The Politics by Aristotle, translated by T. A. Sinclair and revised by T. J. Saunders. London: Penguin Classics, 1962, 1992.
