March 25: Women's Month

In ancient Greece, it was paramount not to upset the gods, and listening to prophecies was the best way to stay safe. Now, most prophets were women, collectively referred to as “sybils”. Every region had its own, and they were widely respected, as is illustrated by the story of Amalthea. She brought nine “books of wisdom” to the Roman emperor. When he refused to pay the asked price, she burnt three and asked the same price for the remaining six. After she burnt another three, he ultimately paid the whole price for the three remaining books. These were preserved and posterity later found all her prophecies to be accurate. Because sibyls are believed to have announced the birth of Christ, you can even find them depicted in churches, the Sistine chapel being one. Yet, at some moment in time, such female wisdom became dangerous, and empathy irrelevant. Sibyls disappeared, and “witches” took their place. No longer revered, but feared. No longer consulted, but burnt at the stake. Let’s honour all of them, by being proud of female intuition.

Delphic Sybil, Michelangelo, Sistine Chapel, Vatican, Roma, Italy

The Almighty with Prophets and Sibyls, Pietro Perugino, Collegio del Cambio, Perugia, Italy