Dreams, Visions, And Oracles In Homer's Odyssey

Dreams, visions, and oracles have not always been the most reliable sources of information, yet time and time again it is these materials that have been used in order to understand the world and it’s relationship the humanity. All of these mystical sources of information have had a very heavy influence on how people of past civilizations have approached the events in their lives, and as such these sources have also become important tools used to interpret historical knowledge, for they provide insight into how certain cultures viewed the world around them. Dreams, visions, and oracles are either very specific, or very broad. They always relate to one distinct person, but the meaning can often be interpreted many different ways, or one concrete way that eventually …show more content…
They focus on how either this person will shape the world, or how the world will interact with this person. Through this relationship, the individual is what allows the message to have an influence on history. Two examples of this personal connection between people and the messages they are given are the dream that Clytemnestra has in The Oresteia, and the oracle recounted by Herodotus in The Histories. The dream Clytemnestra has is very personal, yet to the audience it reveals attitudes and values present in Athenian culture that might not have been obvious otherwise. In The Histories, the oracle's message relates the larger issues at hand regarding the world, but also offers a glimpse into the way Herodotus sees history. This glimpse lets the audience gain a better perspective on the way that Herodotus structures The Histories, something that is important in regards to studying the author himself. Both examples show the different ways that oracles can affect both the history itself, and the interpretation of the history.
While The Oresteia is a play, the historical influence it has is something that can’t be separated