Cumaean Sibyl

Uncommon card · No. 187401

The Cumaean Sibyl ( kew-MEE-ən; Latin: Sibylla Cumana) was the priestess presiding over the Apollonian oracle at Cumae, a Greek colony near Naples, modern Italy. The word sibyl comes (via Latin) from the ancient Greek word sibylla (σίβυλλα), meaning prophetess. There were many sibyls throughout the ancient world. Because of the importance of the Cumaean Sibyl in the legends of early Rome as codified in Virgil's Aeneid VI, and because of her proximity to Rome, the Cumaean Sibyl became the most famous among the Romans. The Cumaean Sibyl is one of the four sibyls painted by Raphael at Santa Maria della Pace. She was also painted by Andrea del Castagno (Uffizi Gallery), and in the Sistine Chapel ceiling, her powerful presence overshadows every other sibyl – even her younger and more beautiful sisters, such as the Delphic Sibyl. There are various names for the Cumaean Sibyl besides the "Herophile" of Pausanias and Lactantius or the Aeneid's "Deiphobe, daughter of Glaucus": "Amaltheia", "Demophile...

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