Point of Know Return
POINT OF KNOW RETURN
Long ago in the days when Zeus drove his thundering chariot across the heavens and the gods and goddesses dwelt in divine splendor upon Mount Olympus, men made pilgrimages to the temple of Apollo at Delphi. They brought sacrificial rams to the temple and presented their questions to the oracle.
The oracle was a priestess known as the Pythia. She would descend into her private chamber beneath the temple to be inspired by the god. Then she would sit upon her tripod, a laurel branch in one hand and a bowl of sacred water in the other, and she would prophesy. This is the priestess who told Chaerephon that his friend Socrates was the wisest of men.
Inscribed in stone at this temple were the words, “Know Thyself.” Socrates took this inscription to heart. He chose a life of self-examination. He posed questions about virtue and knowledge. And he gave his life trying to convince others to do the same.
Thus did Socrates become the father of philosophy. His legacy lived on long after the Greek gods and goddesses descended from Mount Olympus into the pages of Bulfinch. But to know ourselves, to be the seekers of wisdom Socrates urged us to be, we must know our myths.