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ITA
"La profetessa di Delfi "Πυθία-Pythia " e le sacerdotesse di Dodona, in istato di delirio, resero molti e segnalati servigi, sia pubblici che privati, alla Grecia; mentre erano in sè, pochi e nessuno. E taccio della Sibilla e di quanti altri servendosi di un'arte divinatoria d'ispirazione divina come l'amore, con le loro predizioni, segnarono a molti la via da seguire; perchè allungherei, per dir poi cose che tutti sanno. Questo tuttavia merita d'esser attestato, che anche quegli antichi che dettero i nomi alle cose, non ritennero la follia nè un disonore nè un'onta, perchè non avrebbero derivato da questa parola il nome di quell'arte bellissima, per la quale si discerne il futuro che i moderni, inserendovi per ignoranza un t, chiamano mantica. "
Platone -Il Fedro, (244a-244b)
ENG
The prophetess of Delphi, "Philaea-Pythia," and the priestesses of Dodona, in a state of delirium, provided many notable services, both public and private, to Greece; while they were in their right minds. And I say nothing of the Sibyl and of those others, using a divinely inspired divinatory art such as love, with their predictions, showed many the path to follow; for I would be protracted to mention things that everyone knows. This, however, deserves to be attested: that even those ancients who gave names to things did not consider madness either a dishonor or a disgrace, because they would not have derived from this word the name of that beautiful art, by which the future is discerned, which the moderns, ignorantly inserting a t call divination.
Plato - Phaedrus, (244a-244b)
Intimacy - Πυθία
Oil, gold foil pigmented and acrylics on canvas
15.35 x 11.02 x 1.88 inch
2025
Private Collection
Deepseek - into the unknown, A.i. agent first answer upon the original Italian text of 'Il Fedro' translated from ancient Greek.The passage cited from Plato’s Phaedrus (244a-244b) presents Socrates’ reflection on the value of divinely inspired madness. He observes how the Pythia of Delphi and the priestesses of Dodona, when in a state of prophetic ecstasy, rendered great services to Greece, whereas in their ordinary condition, they were far less significant. The same principle applies to the Sibyl and other seers, whose divinatory art—linked to divine forces such as love—guided countless people toward decisive choices. Socrates further emphasizes an important linguistic nuance: the ancients, when naming the art of divination, called it μανική (maniké), deriving it directly from mania (madness), without considering it a disgrace. Only later, due to an error by modern people, was a *-t-* introduced, transforming the term into μαντική (mantiké). This etymological correction demonstrates that originally, divine madness was seen as a noble gift, capable of revealing truths inaccessible to ordinary reason. Thus, the Socratic argument overturns the common prejudice: mania, when of sacred origin, is not a degradation but a form of elevation. Through this passage, Plato lays the groundwork for his famous distinction between four types of divine madness (prophetic, ritual, poetic, and erotic), each tied to a different dimension of the transcendent forge.
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