Cultures of all epochs have consulted oracles in times of need. This fascinating exploration of the enduring popularity of oracles examines how they are interpreted and why. Taking examples from literature and history, from the oracles at Delphi to those in Macbeth, and further still to the works of Kafka and Bob Dylan, and even in the film The Matrix, Wood combines storytelling and commentary to provide a lively account of humanity's persistent faith in signs, which continues to exert an important influence on the course of civilization.

A history of oracles considers such examples as the oracles at Delphi, pre-Hispanic America, and in numerous works of fiction and popular culture, offering insight into humanity's beliefs about signs and astrology while noting the influence of oracles over civilization.

Annotation This work engages with the complex archaeological development of the religious sanctuaries of Delphi and Olympia. It investigates the physical remains of both sanctuaries to show how different visitors interacted with the sacred spaces of Delphi and Olympia in an important variety of ways during the archaic and classical periods.

Two bodies, one on the Island of Rhodes, the other in the northern forests of mainland Greece. Are they connected? Is one, or are both, a victim of murder? By whom, and how? A woman goes missing, a man's body is found, recently dead, washed in by the stormy seas a thousand miles away. Pericles Kostakides, detective, finds himself in a spider's web leading him from his quiet island life on Rhodes to Glastonbury, to north Queensland and back in his attempt to piece together a mystery. Meanwhile his mother decides to perform a ritual of healing, in the manner of the priestesses of old, at Delphi, where the Oracle remains.

In 1938, three orphans--Theo, Carl, and Ian, ages ten to thirteen--lead three teachers through a portal that takes them from Dover, England, to Morocco in their quest to locate six silver boxes before the ancient prophecies therein are found by the evil Demogorgon's offspring.

This is the story of Akos. A boy from the hills of ancient Greece, who becomes an actor and then the Regent of Athens.