"He-goat" Prophecy: The Murderous Statue of Theagenes as Oracles of Delphi, Pausanias (Greek historian) - Symbolism & Narratives, + Cultiral Prophecy: Irish vs Greek + Qumran Judaism perspective & Prophet-theology w. Jeremiah

Oracle of Delphi "He goat" prophecy - "When the he-goat drinks Neda's swirling water, I have abandoned Messene; destruction comes." Delphic Oracle - After the battle in which the Arcadians had been bought off, The Messenians had gone to Delphi to get an oracle. The Pythian priestess prophesied: In the middle of a wayu with Sparta, the Messenians were, of course, terrified that a he-goat might come near Neda. There is a wild fig tree named olynthe, which Messenians call "he-goat." The Messenian prophet, Theokles, discovered to his horror a wild fig tree that had grown over the river Neda and whose leaves touched the water, and realized the meaning of that. Theokles informed Aristomenes who took it to heart. Although he believed the end was nigh, Aristomenes and Theokles kept it secret from the Messenians. Now, according to folklore, there was a Laconian herdsman who had fallen in love with a Messenian woman in Eira. Whenever her husband was on guard duty, he would sneak in the house to make love to her. On the night of a terrible storm with lashing rain, and while Aristomenes was laid down by a wound, the guards decided to seek shelter from the storm. The herdsman, who realized that Eira was for the moment defenseless, he escaped and went to the Laconian general who immediately launched an attack and gained entry to the town. The fighting was fierce. The Laconians took the strategy of staggering the duties of the men so that while one group slept, the other fought, and vice-versa. When the Messenians were exhausted, Aristomenes decided to lead the women and children out, and the Laconians permitted that. That was how the Messenians met the end after eleven years of constant warfare. The bottom line is that the Messenians were defeated by the Spartans. In the end – the oracle and prophecy became an integral part of social consciousness. Narrative psychology has shown that narratives are integral to peoples' views – and worldviews. So, prophecy in the ancient world played an important role in designating a narrative – a story which also shaped the future as well as current thinking.