Gods, nature, humanity: the role of the sacred oak in the mantica of the dodonian oracle

Abstract

The ancient Greeks, being superstitious people, like other people, worshiped the forces of nature. They always strived to live in harmony with nature. The most popular tree, associated by the Greeks with the supreme god Zeus, was the oak. One of the most ancient and authoritative sanctuaries of ancient Greece was the oracle of Dodona, on whose grounds grew a sacred oak tree, the fame and authority of which dates back to Homeric times. Despite the assertions of some scholars, the sacred oak tree was not the "home" of Zeus–the ruler of all the gods resided high on Olympus. At a certain stage in the functioning of the Dodona oracle–a role also once played by the sacred spring and copper cauldrons–the sacred oak tree acted as a relay for Zeus's will, which was heard through the rustling of leaves, the creaking of branches, and so on. Thus, a connection was established: the questioner–the sacred oak tree–the god Zeus. The sacred oak survived until the reign of Theodosius, when it was destroyed by order of the emperor.