The Road to Delphi The Life and Afterlife of Oracles

Cultures of all epochs have consulted oracles in times of need. This fascinating exploration of the enduring popularity of oracles examines how they are interpreted and why. Taking examples from literature and history, from the oracles at Delphi to those inMacbeth, and further still to the works of Kafka and Bob Dylan, and even in the filmThe Matrix, Wood combines storytelling and commentary to provide a lively account of humanity's persistent faith in signs, which continues to exert an important influence on the course of civilization. Michael Woodis the Charles Barnwell Straut Professor of English at Princeton University. He is the author of several previous books, includingThe Magician's Doubts, an acclaimed analysis of Nabokov;America in the Movies; and a study of the Luis Buntilde;uel filmBelle de Jour. For thousands of years, in hundreds of different cultures, individuals have consulted oracles in times of need. In this compelling exploration of the fascinating history and enduring popularity of oracles, scholar and critic Michael Wood examines how we interpret them and why. The inherent ambiguity of many oracular pronouncements and the ingenuity and tendentiousness of their readings form the basis for Wood's brilliant analyses of oracles, both real and imagined. Using examples drawn from actual oracles that existed at Delphi, Dodona, and elsewhere, and from fictionalbut influentialoracles in literature fromOedipustoMacbeth, Wood combines storytelling and commentary to provide an entertaining and concise account of humanity's persistent faith in signs. He also looks at later instances of oracles, arguing that consultations have evolved in many ways over the years, and that echoes and survivals of old practices in modern literature and popular culturein the works of Kafka and Proust and in the filmsThe MatrixandMinority Report, as well as in astrology columnscontinue to exert an important influence over human civilization. Inspired, engaging, and remarkably revealing,The Road to Delphishows an ancient art at work in many times and places, and invites us to think again about the ways in which we long for the certainties we know we can't have. "Wood, who teaches English at Princeton, is not a true believerhe is an amiable skeptic with a soft spot for the oracular utterances of astrologers. But inThe Road to Delphi, his erudite romp through the history of oracles, from the ancients to the soothsaying economists and physicians of our own time, Wood finds a beautifully clear picture of the complex mechanics of mythmaking and a helpful explication of the tangle of human desire and interpretation."Laura Ciolkowski,The New York Times "The Road to Delphiis a refreshingly original and sometimes startling rereading of oracles, from ancient ambiguities on through Shakespeare to our current perplexities of medicine and terrorism. For Wood, the gods keep returning, but only to confound us."Harold Bloom "Subtle and wide-ranging . . . Sheds light on a noteworthy aspect of human nature, the overwhelming tendency of human beings to hear what we hope for rather than fear. You don't have to believe in oracles to find them interesting."Los Angeles Times "Wood, who teaches English at Princeton, is not a true believerhe is an amiable skeptic with a soft spot for the oracular utterances of astrologers. But inThe Road to Delphi, his erudite romp through the history of oracles, from the ancients to the soothsaying economists and physicians of our own time, Wood finds a beautifully clear picture of the complex mechanics of mythmaking and a helpful explication of the tangle of human desire and interpretation."