Delphic Sibyl

The Delpische Sibyl is one of the by Varro, a Roman historian of the 1st century BC, of Lactantius distinguished ten Sibyls, each provided with a geographic epithet ..

The Delphic Sibyl was a legendary prophetess who is said to have foretold in Delphi. They do not belong to the oracle of Delphi and should not be equated with Pythia, the priestess of Apollo. Thus, for example in the oracle of Delphi district outside the actual sanctuary, a separate " Sibyllenfels " to find where, according to Pausanias, the Sibyl is said to have raised their voice.

Following Lactantius understood Christian Middle Ages and Renaissance, the Delphic Sibyl as a prophet almost equivalent to the pagan proclaimer of a divine expectation.

In the art of Gothic and Renaissance, the Delphic Sibyl is usually depicted with reference to Varro as one in a series of Sibyls often. In juxtaposition to an often equal number of prophets of the Old Testament

The most well-known pictorial representation of the Delphic Sibyl by Michelangelo in the fresco on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, where a total of five Sibyls are alternating with seven prophets. It is shown than the youngest of the Sibyls, in contrast especially to the Sibyl of Persia.

Other representations of a Delphic Sibyl include be found in the following locations:

• Ulm, half - Gothic sculpture in the choir of the cathedral, as one of ten Sibyls, the total work of art with numerous ancient scholars and prophets
• Rome, Church of Santa Maria del Popolo, as one of four Sibyls by Pinturicchio.