Consulting the Oracle

Croesus

In 560 BCE the mighty King Croesus of Lydia issued a request for proposals (RFP) to the major oracles of ancient Greece. “Why should I choose you as my oracle of choice?” he asked.

“I know the number of the sand and the measure of the sea,” began the Pythia, sybil, sorceress, lead consultant for Delphi.

“I understand the speech of the dumb and hear the volcanoes. . . .” She went on as sybils do, but Croesus interrupted.

“OK, OK, you had me at ‘the number of the sand,’ Delphi is the winner. You’re my new Oracle Pythia-baby, Here’s my question, I’m thinking of attacking Persia. I think this Cyrus guy’s a real cream puff and they have all those pomegranates, and the rugs – you should see the rugs!”

As a hedge, Croesus also asked the Oracle at Thebes, but both Thebes and Delphi gave the same answer. “If you attack Persia, a mighty empire will be destroyed.”

He asked some other questions about which city states would make the best allies and lined up Team Greece, but before he left, he asked,

“Just checking here, gotta think about the kids and grandkids. How long will my dynasty last?”

“You and your issue will rule Lydia until a mule is king.”

“Well, that ain’t never gonna happen,” said Croesus.

Cyrus it turned out was only half Persian and half Mede, on his mother’s side. The Mede joined the fight, despite the fact that the Persians called Cyrus a “mule” because he wasn’t purebred Persian. The great empire that was destroyed was Croesus’ own.

Leaders in change are always looking for oracles, consulting firms, university professors, other firms that have gone through a similar change. It is understandable; in change, there are a lot of unknowns.

An important leadership lesson from Croesus at Delphi is:

When asking for advice make your question specific and even if you think you know the answer ask, ”Tell me what you mean by that.”

The Oracle and her Prophesies

Historians are divided about the origins of the Oracle at Delphi. Some place it as early as 1400 BCE, when it was a Temple of Phoebe, a Titan associated with the moon and grandmother of Apollo and Artemis. By the eight century BCE, Delphi had become a Temple of Apollo and the Pythia, the high priestess received her gifts directly from Apollo.

There is some disagreement about the Oracle’s process. Did she go into a trance from inhaling fumes from under the cave? Did she just mediate and come clear speaking dactylic hexameter? We don’t know, but we do know that leaders in Ancient Greece sought her out to ask advice.

She may or may not have given Lycurgus the constitution of Sparta, helped Solon create the laws that laid the foundation of the world’s first democracy and given Pythagoras his moral precepts.

The Pythia allegedly called Socrates “the wisest of men.” This may have gone to Socrates head who started saying he took “no instruction from the gods, but only from my own intuition.” This, according to Professor Paul Cartledge of Cambridge, in staunchly religious Athens led to his charges of “Impiety and corruption of youth ” Can’t be smack-talking against the gods especially right after a plague and a big loss to the Spartans.

According to Dr. Cartledge, Socrates could have still avoided death if he hadn’t mocked the charges saying he should be rewarded or fined small change. So Socrates might not have been so wise, but in the end did his civic duty, followed the verdict of a majority of 501 jurors and drank hemlock. Personally, I would have “blown that pop stand.”

The Pythia’s words did tend to puff leaders up. The priestess of the Oracle of Delphi was the most powerful woman in male dominated ancient Greece, and she wasn’t above “blowing a little smoke” to get you to listen.

Lycurgus was “a god,” Euripides was the “wisest of artists.”

She apparently didn’t like Macedonians. She told Phillip he couldn’t conquer the world because he couldn’t ride her unbroken stallion. She first refused Alexander an audience, but the impetuous twenty-something dude stomped into her cave and pulled her out by her hair.

“OK, OK you are immortal.”

Alexander felt he then had her blessing to conquer the world and he did pretty well, until he didn’t. We still call him the Great, but he wasn’t immortal in the physical sense. He died at thirty-two in Babylon of malaria, or typhoid or alcoholic liver failure or poisoning or the neurological disorder Guillain-Barré Syndrome. In the end he was reported to have said, “All is vanity,” and asked that his empty hands be shown at his funeral to demonstrate “You can’t take it with you.”

Leaders got some good answers from the Oracle at Delphi and some misleading ones accompanied by flattery, not unlike oracles we consult today. In the case of Delphi some advice is carved in stone, the Maxims of Delphi.

The Maxims

There are three main maxims carved into Doric columns at the temple entrance.

The first is “Know thyself.”

I often say that change leaders have two primary accountabilities.

• Be clear about direction – the “why” we are changing, the vision of the world after the change, the path to get there, all those places to display your optimism and passion.
• Attract followers – people have to come with you. You can attract them by the excitement and passion of your vision, or your belief and support of them or both.

The Delphi maxim “Know thyself” tells us to know what aspect of these accountabilities we’re good at and to attract others you fill in our flat-sides. “Know thyself” also says –“Don’t let this stuff go to your head. Caesar Augustus had a slave ride behind him in his parade-chariot whispering Alexander’s dying words, “All is vanity.”

The second maxim of Delphi is “Nothing to excess.”

Too much vision and passion can make a leader out of touch. Too much focus on attracting followers can make a leader a doormat, or otherwise perceived as catering to the unwilling at the expense of the people who have already signed up.

The third main maxim at Delphi has a translation problem.

Some translate it as “A pledge brings trouble”- be careful not to make easy promises that you might not be able to keep i.e. don’t say “Nothing will change,” or “No one will lose their job.” Some translate it as “Surety brings pain,” – be careful of guarantying others debts, “All shareholders, or depositors, will be made whole.” Still others translate it as “Certainty brings danger,” – never stop questioning what you think you now and how you know it.

I don’t read ancient Greek, but I think all three are good advice.

The 147

There are also 147 other maxims that have come down to us from a fifth century CE anthology assembled by Macedonian Joannes Stobaeus . These are often attributed to the Oracle at Delphi, but are really from many collected writers.

They make interesting reading. Some say they are blueprint for a happy life. 

They range from the hopefully obvious, #31 shun evil, #51 shun murder, to the ones that should stay in ancient Greece, #95 rule your wife.

Leading change is about direction, vision, insight so I like #9 “know your opportunity.”

Leading change is also about attracting followers so I like #11 Think like a mortal.

And the last four I see as a blueprint for progressing through change and maybe through life.

#144: As a youth – self-disciplined  I wasn’t a self-disciplined youth, but In the beginning of a change discipline to a process is critical.

#145: As of middle-age – just – visible fair process in change.

#146: As an old man – sensible – accepting our mistakes and correcting them.

#147: On reaching the end – without sorrow – in change as in life we want to look back without regret.

The ancient Greeks focused on growing the leaders for their city state. Spartans trained disciplined warriors; the Athenians trained thinkers and statesmen. All the Hellenic leaders asked oracles for advice. The smartest may have questioned more or just followed the maxims.