Trivia of the day

The Manila Bulletin, which arrived at our house in the rural Philippines at 5 am said Obama is ahead: but since we live 3 hours drive from Manila, that means the story was printed at midnight (noon Monday in the US, i.e. hours before the polls opened) meaning that the AFP writer has probably the prophetic powers of the Sybil.

Ah, but who is the Sibyl?

Atlas Obscura tells ter story and includes photos.

Antro della Sibilla

Source www.flickr.com

"The gates of hell are open night and day;
Smooth the descent, and easy is the way:
But to return, and view the cheerful skies,
In this the task and mighty labor lies... "
—The Aeneid, book VI, Virgil

Written in 19 BC, the Aeneid chronicles the adventures of Trojan warrior Aeneas, including his encounter with a mysterious ancient fortune teller. It was said this oracle, or sibyl, dwelt in the mouth of a cave in Cumae, the ancient Greek settlement near what is now Naples.
"A spacious cave, within its farmost part,
Was hew'd and fashion'd by laborious art
Thro' the hill's hollow sides: before the place,
A hundred doors a hundred entries grace;
As many voices issue, and the sound
Of Sybil's words as many times rebound."
In the poem, the Sibyl acts as a kind of guide to the underworld, to which Aeneas must descend to seek the advice of his dead father Anchises and fulfill his destiny.
This was not the first appearance of the Cumaean Sibyl in art and literature, nor the last. The most famous story dates to the time of the last Roman King, Tarquinius Superbus, around 500 BC.
According to the story, the Sibyl approached the king with nine books of prophesy, collected from the wisest seers, available to the king for a very dear price. The king haughtily refused her price. In response, the sibyl burned three of the books, then offered the remaining six books at the original high price. Again he refused. Of the remaining six books, she threw three more onto the fire, and repeated her offer of the final three books, at the original price. Afraid of seeing all the prophesy destroyed, he finally accepted.

Michaelangelo put the five Sibyls of antiquity on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel

The Sibyls were prophetic women who were resident at shrines or temples throughout the Classical World. The five depicted here are each said to have prophesied the birth of Christ. The Cumaean Sibyl, for example, is quoted by Virgil as declaring that "a new progeny of Heaven" would bring about a return of the "Golden Age". This was interpreted as referring to Jesus.^[39]

The Cumaean Sibyl of Virgil is an old lady, given immortality but not youth from one of the gods:

But the most famous of the Sibyls is the Delphic Sibyl:

both pictures via wikipedia commons.

A Japanese corporation helped fund the cleaning of the Sistine Chapel's ceiling so it is more vivid than it was 50 years ago, since a couple hundred years of candle smoke has been removed.  more HERE...
and video



 


they were saying that the authorities might limit visitors to keep the humidity down since humidity damages art work...presumably they haven't heard of dehumidifiers in Rome...