pythia means A priestess of Pythian Apollo, the Oracle of Delphi.
pythia is pronounced /ˈpɪθiə/.
Why “pythia” is a great word
The priestess of Apollo at Delphi who, seated upon a tripod above a fissure, delivered the god's prophetic utterances in a state of ecstatic possession. From Ancient Greek Πυθία (Puthía), from Πυθώ (Puthṓ, the ancient name of Delphi) + the feminine suffix -ία (-ía). Unlike an oracle—which could name the shrine, the message, or the deity—or a sibyl, a wandering prophetess of written lore, the Pythia was singular: one woman, at one place, speaking for one god. Hers was the weight of laurel leaves, the acrid scent of ethylene rising from stone, and the voice that was hers yet not hers, rasping with riddles for kings—proof that divine truth must first pass through human fragility, a body shaken, yet still willing to speak.
Etymology
From Ancient Greek Πυθία (Puthía), from Πυθώ (Puthṓ) + -ία (-ía).
noun
- A priestess of Pythian Apollo, the Oracle of Delphi
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