The mysterious Sibylline Books were a number of secretly kept Greek oracle collections that the rulers of Ancient Rome consulted in times of crisis.
Only fragments of the Sibylline Books have survived. They were partially destroyed in a fire in the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus in 83-82 BC, and finally burned by order of the Roman General Flavius Stilicho (365-408 AD).
There are legends surrounding the books of oracles put in Greek hexameter verses by a sibyl (Σιβύλλα), a prophetess of the ancient world. There were several sibyls in Ancient Greece and its colonies.
The last of the seven kings of Rome, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, purchased the Sibylline Books (Libri Sibyllini, in Latin) from the most legendary sibyl, the Sibyl of Cumaea.
The Roman king consulted the oracles in times of war, natural disasters, plagues and other crises in the kingdom. Future leaders through the history of the Roman Republic and the Empire also consulted the books when needed the most.
The books are said to have been obtained when the Cumaean Sibyl presented herself before the king, and offered nine books of oracles for sale. Upon the king refusing to purchase them she went and burnt three of the books. She then returned and demanded the same price for the remaining six as she had done for the nine.
The king, again, refused to purchase the books, whereupon she burnt three more and demanded the same sum for the remaining three, as she had done at first for the nine. Her act now turned the king’s curiosity to excitement, so that he purchased the oracle books. As soon as she sold the books, the sibyl vanished, to later become a legend in the Roman culture.
Books kept to be used only in crises
The books were written in Greek, which the ancient Romans considered to be the language of prophecy, and were kept secret from all but a select few officials. This shows the strong religious and intellectual ties of Rome with Ancient Greece, as Roman religion had borrowed several gods from the Greek pantheon.
The Sibylline Books of oracles were kept in the Temple of Jupiter on the Capitoline Hill and the Roman Senate consulted them in times of crisis. Specifically, the Senate ordered a college of 15 priests – the Quindecimviri sacris faciundis – to access the books behind closed doors and find the sections pertinent to the crisis and then give their report to the Senate. The Senate would then decide whether to accept the oracle or not and then take the appropriate steps.
According to historical accounts, the Sibylline Books played a crucial role in Roman history, attested throughout the early and the mid Republic era. During times of crisis, such as wars, famines, and plagues. The Roman Senate consulted the oracles for guidance on how to appease the gods and avert disaster.
It is difficult to ascertain whether they contained prophetic predictions, as they were mostly directions as to what was to be done to conciliate or appease the gods. They remained shrouded in mystery since the time that one of their keepers was put to death for divulging their secrets.
While there is no clear pattern regarding the kind of situations on which the consultation of the books was required, it is certain the that they were used regularly, often in association with other divinatory practices, according to Federico Santangelo, Professor of Ancient History at Newcastle University.
Historical use of the Sibylline Books
According to historical accounts, the Sibylline Books of oracles where used during certain crucial moments in the history of Rome. For example, in 216 BC, the Romans had suffered a devastating defeat at Cannae by the Carthaginian army of King Hannibal. A total 120,000 Roman soldiers were killed or captured while several southern Italian cities allied to Rome defected to Carthage.
The Roman Senate consulted the Sibylline Books and the oracle instructed them to perform various rituals, to appease the gods and avert further calamity. In addition, it instructed them to import the cult of the Great Mother from Asia Minor to Rome.
The oracle said that Rome’s fortune would change if they invited a goddess from Phrygia into the Roman pantheon of gods. The Romans took the prophecy to heart and brought the cult of Cybele, the Magna Mater (Great Mother), into Rome with great honors around 204 BC.
And, indeed, it changed. In 204 BC, the Roman army under Publius Scipio invaded Africa and destroyed two Carthaginian armies. After that, Rome and Carthage entered into peace negotiations and Carthage recalled both armies of Hannibal and general Mago from Italy.
In 202 BC, Hannibal’s army fought the Romans in Carthaginian territory, in Zama. This time, it was the Romans who devastated Hannibal’s army, with the latter being one of the few that escaped the battlefield. After that Rome took back all Italian territories previously conquered by Hannibal and some of Carthage’s African ones.
Destruction of the books
In 83-82 BC, a fire broke out at the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, and most of the books of oracles perished in the fire.
In order to restore them, ambassadors were sent to various cities in Italy, Greece, and Asia Minor, to make fresh collections of oracle books. Once the temple was rebuilt, the books were deposited in the same place that the former had occupied.
However, many of them were fake Sibylline books. Augustus commanded that all such books should be delivered up to the praetor urbanus by a certain day and burnt, and that in future none should be kept by any private person.
Those which were considered genuine and were in the custody of the state were deposited in two gilt cases at the base of the statue of Apollo, in his temple on the Palatine, and were entrusted as before to the Quindecimviri sacris faciundis.
The writing of those kept was fading over time, and Augustus commanded the priests to write them over again. A fresh examination of the Sibylline books was again made by Tiberius, who rejected many of them considering them spurious. A few years afterwards, also in the reign of Tiberius, it was proposed to add a new volume of Sibylline oracles to the received collection.
However, around 407 AD, General Flavius Stilicho destroyed all remaining oracle books along with any pagan objects and properties in an attempt to gain new, anti-pagan, allies in his rule.
Another collection of “prophecies” called the Sibylline Oracles has survived until the present day. These, however, are not the original Books, but are forgeries of the originals, combining historical events, mythology and even Jewish and Christian religious teachings. These hoax Sibylline works have been loosely dated to between the 2nd and 6th centuries AD.
