ENGLISH (PRECIS & COMPOSITION) || Make a Precis
Write a précis of the following and suggest a suitable title:
The fear of human beings when faced with the mysteries of life and their weakness by comparison with the vastness of nature created in them a need to communicate with the divine, with the superior powers that they believed regulated the universe and determined their own fates. Knowledge of the wishes of the gods was always a sure guide for human behavior. In ancient Greece, the precise nature of these wishes was ‘decoded’ by the art of giving oracles, practiced by soothsayers who had the gift of understanding the signs or signals sent by the gods.
The soothsayers uttered their oracles by interpreting flashes of lightning, rolls of thunder, or the flights of certain birds of prey (omens), alternatively, they might observe the direction in which the fire burned when a sacrifice was made, examine the entrails of animals which had just been sacrificed or base judgments on the sacrificial beast’s willingness to approach the altar. The interpretation of dreams was popular too, and so was palmistry. The most notable soothsayers of ancient Greece were Tiresias, Calchas, Helenus, Amphiaraus, and Cassandra.
However, there were abundant instances in which the gods did not manifest themselves to the faithful in the forms of signs but spoke directly to an intermediate who for a short time was overcome by a ‘divine mania’ and transcended his own human essence. Here the prophet- or more usually the prophetess_ entered a state of ecstasy in which he or she delivered the message from the gods to the suppliants.
These practices for foreseeing the future were the basis on which the ancient Greek oracles operated. Each oracle was located within a properly-organized sanctuary and was directly associated with one or other of the gods. Apollo was the archetypal soothsayer for the Greeks, the god who was responsible for conveying to mortals the decisions pronounced by Zeus. The most important of all the oracles, that at the Delphi, delivered the messages with the intervention of Apollo, while the oldest or Dodona, functioned with the assistance of Zeus.
Solution:
Title:
"The Ancient Greek Oracles: Communicating with the Divine"
Precis:
The ancient Greeks believed in the existence of superior powers that governed the universe and controlled their fates. To communicate with these divine powers and learn their wishes, they turned to the art of giving oracles, practiced by soothsayers who could interpret various signs and signals sent by the gods. These included observing the direction of fire during a sacrifice, examining the entrails of sacrificed animals, interpreting dreams and palmistry, and interpreting the flights of birds or the sounds of thunder and lightning. In some cases, the gods spoke directly to an intermediary in a state of ecstasy, who delivered the message to the suppliants as a prophet or prophetess. Oracles were located in sanctuaries and were associated with specific gods, with Apollo and Zeus being the most important in this role.
OR
The ancient Greeks believed that superior powers regulated the universe and determined their fates, and therefore sought to communicate with the divine in order to understand their wishes and guide their behavior. This communication was facilitated through the art of giving oracles, practiced by soothsayers who interpreted various signs or signals from the gods. These could include natural occurrences like lightning or thunder, the behavior of animals, or even the interpretation of dreams and palmistry. In some cases, the gods directly spoke to an intermediate individual in a state of ecstasy, known as a prophet or prophetess, who delivered the message to the suppliants. Oracles were located within sanctuaries and were associated with specific gods, with Apollo and Zeus being the most prominent. The Delphi and Dodona oracles were the most important in ancient Greece.