The prophecies of the Pythian sibyl, the high priestess at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi, were considered the most powerful in ancient Greece. Generations of priestesses summoned the Greek god Apollo’s oracles while seated on a tripod-shaped seat. The frenzied, trancelike state the sibyl entered while predicting the future or giving orders was ably captured by sculptor Adèle d’Affry, the Duchess of Castiglione-Colonna, who exhibited her artwork under the masculine name “Marcello.” See this work on view in our New European Galleries.
“Pythian Sibyl,” after 1869–70, by Marcello
