The Oracle: The Lost Secrets and Hidden Message of Ancient Delphi

Of all the stories of Ancient Greece, few capture the imagination as much as the Oracle of Delphi. Human mistress of the great god Apollo, the Oracle had the power to enter into ecstatic union with him and bring back his prophecies and counsel for all who came seeking answers. Residing in Apollo's temple on the sacred slopes of Mount Parnassus in central Greece, the Oracle was consulted on matters large and small. Though the air of magic that surrounds her might cast her as a legend like the cyclops or the mythical Cassandra, the Oracle did in fact exsist and her visions caused her to become the single most influential figure in all of ancient Greece.

William J. Broad is a senior writer at The New York Times and with colleagues there has twice won the Pulitzer Prize as well as an Emmy. For three decades, he has covered topics ranging from biology and geology to astronomy and nuclear arms. He is the author or coauthor of six books, most recently Germs: Biological Weapons and America's Secret War, a number-one New York Times bestseller. His books have been translated into more than a dozen languages and his work featured in The Best American Science Writing 2005. He holds a master's degree in the history of science from the University of Wisconsin and lives with his wife and three children in Larchmont, New York.