Mythology of Dodona

Abstract

The sanctuary of Dodona with the oracle of the god Zeus, located on the northern outskirts of the Hellenic world, was rightfully considered the oldest in Ancient Greece. The bulk of the information on the Dodona oracle is associated with the mythological tradition. We find the first information about the sanctuary in Dodona in the works of Homer. The most extensive passages devoted to the foundation of the Dodona oracle are contained in Herodotus, who, however, tries to give them a rational interpretation. Dodona also appears in the mythological plots of the works of such Greek tragedians as Euripides and Sophocles. The myths about Dodona were reflected not only in Greek, but also in Roman authors, in particular, in Virgil. Here we observe such a phenomenon when the number of mythological plots and the volume of material contained in them far exceeds that which, in its essence, is historical and there is no doubt about its authenticity.The genealogy of the Molossian kings goes back to the legendary Greek heroes - Achilles and Neoptolemus, and their religious center, the oracle of Dodona, was a truly common Greek sanctuary. The Hellenic origin of the royal house of the Aeacids was based on heroic genealogy, serving as proof of common blood and kinship with the Greek world, and therefore served as «proof» of their Greek origin. But this heroic genealogy was not created by the Molossian royal house, which only adapted it for itself in the 5th century BC, and it existed long before that, starting from the Homeric period.

Keywords

• dodona
• mythology
• zeus
• sanctuary
• epirus
• divination