Memoirs of a Pythia

I am my name and my name is me. 

I say this because in my country and in my culture, we build our names throughout our lives the way the pyramids of Aegyptus have been constructed brick by great brick. But only few of us attain the capstone as I have. I know I have had an extraordinary life, and now that I am the Oracle of Delphi, “The Lady”, I am able to look upon my life and how it is reflected in the total of the name I have been blessed to attain. 

All those years ago the Amazonian Queen gave birth to me, the first of a garden of daughters. She named me Lysippe in honor of the first Amazon queen. As was our tradition, she chose Cyrene as the name between mother and daughter, Ithaxis as the name of our royal house, and Themiscyra for the spectacular gleaming capital city where we lived. There I was, a princess only a few hours old and I already had four names describing who I was and my place in the world.  

The whispered wisdom of the goddess Artemis encouraged my mother to name me heir to her throne. This designation gained me the name Askera, signifying not only that I would one day be queen, but more importantly my dedication to divine service in the temple and on the battlefield. Artemis would be with me always. 

I will not glorify my career as a warrior, as there is nothing glorious about war. Yet I fulfilled my promise to goddess and nation well enough to win the name Penthesilea or general for my prowess. I take some consolation in knowing I saved and freed more people than I harmed. Battle has always been the art of the Amazons. I know this. All in all, I preferred to bring peace. 

Following the years of war I was rewarded with a tenure in the great Temple of Artemis in the city of Ephesus. The life of a priestess suited me so much better, even if the rules seemed strict to most Amazons—more strict than in the hottest warfare. As I took on the title of Melyssa, one of Artemis’ honeybees, I was swearing to accept and obey the wishes of the goddess. I lost myself in the natural world, becoming one with flora and fauna until I could attain the spiritual mind of life around me. 

After many years, Artemis herself declared that she would adopt me as her own daughter for my achievements and skill in the temple. For this she would crown me with the title Otrere, who had been a great Amazon ancestress. This was as close as I could come to my own divinity, or so I believed then. 

But ah, Cyrene the Amazon. Did you never feel love? Was there never a man or woman to discover your passions or warm your heart? Through my whole life I loved but one person, and that a man. From my earliest days into this very morning Hesperos has been my twin flame. We could not always walk the same path, of course. That he had been born into a noble Amazon house put him in my sphere, yet I could not act on the urges of Aphrodite until I had met my obligations to Artemis.   

My mother passed the throne onto me and went on to her reward in the garden paradise of Arcadia. I became queen under the traditional name of Vasilissa. I could finally formalize my union with Hesperos, another change I reflected in my name. I added Hespera to embrace my love in my own being. 

During my reign Amazonia experienced the longest era of peace in its history. I had seen and lived so much that I could bring my experiences to the throne. Every year celebrated Artemis and the bond between our people and the goddess.  Themiscyra shone in the sun, thriving with trade and culture.  Hesperos stood off to the side, watching me rule with a wise smile on his lips.  

In Amazonia, no one ever gave much thought to who had fathered a child and I was no exception. After all, who could really know other than the mother, and even then she may not be certain.  Hesperos and I never had children. My sisters would supply Amazonia with her future. 

Yet in the year I attained a half century, my own father came for me. He is no less than Phoebus Apollo, the sun god, master of oracles and brother of my beloved Artemis. There I became Zenobia, the daughter of the divine. 

Apollo has given me a new challenge, a new life beyond Amazonia and the endless dances of royalty. For all that I had achieved and conquered as a faithful mortal in service to the goddess, I had one more title and vocation. Apollo removed Hesperos and me to the mountain town of Delphi. There, in the fragrant clouds of smoldering bay laurel, I took up the mantle of the Pythia. Seekers began to approach me to discover what their futures held, what wisdom would best guide them in their lives. I love the people. 

Thus I am.

Lysippe Cyrene Ithaxis Themiscyra Askera Penthesilea Melyssa Otrere Vassila 

Hespera Zenobia. 

But in the end, I am the Pythia, the Oracle of Delphi, the lady of the bay laurel. This is how I want to be remembered.   

This is my capstone.

Emilie J. Conroy

ejconroy778@gmail.com