The Temple of Apollo in Delphi,central Greece was an important part of Greek life. It was a holy place visited by people from all the city-states of Greece – so, it was pan-Hellenic (*) and not merely local like most religious sites.
Apollo, the god of prophecy, was believed to give prophetic words to visitors to his temple. A priestess called the Pythia would sit in a particular room with natural vapours and deliver statements, usually in poetic couplets. People would consult the oracle about decisions in their lives, and states would consult about political decisions.
Many of these oracles have survived, for example in the histories of Herodotus, and many are surprisingly accurate and insightful. There is much speculation about how this happened. People gathered from all over Greece in Delphi, many of them political delegates, and it could be that the temple officials were well informed on contemporary events and based the oracles on that knowledge.
(*) Although Greeks were made up of many small states, they had a common identity and came together for some events, such as athletic games. These were described as pan-Hellenic.
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