The ancient Greeks believed that it was not wise to anger the gods. They built temples all over ancient Greece.  Each temple, no matter how elaborate, honored only one god. The major gods had more than one temple built in their honor. 

Nearly everyone was fond of Apollo. He was the god of music, reason, and light. Apollo's chariot brought up the sun each day. 

Apollo had other powers. One was a very special skill - Apollo could see the future. He had the gift of prophecy. Many people in ancient Greece brought gifts to Apollo, and asked for advice in exchange. Apollo liked the attention. And the gifts. It was all very nice, but it was also exhausting. 

One day, Apollo decided that what he needed was an oracle, a wise woman to speak for him. In ancient Greece, an oracle was a person who could predict and interpret the future. 

Apollo used some magic and established his oracle in a temple at Delphi. There were many oracles, or fortune tellers, in ancient Greece. Apollo's oracle at Delphi was the most famous.  

The predictions made by other oracles were rather vague. A normal oracle might answer, "Yes, the frost will be gone, and spring will come, if the gods decree it."  Such an answer was not much help if your question was, "Should I plant my garden tomorrow?"   

People in ancient Greece had heard that Apollo had shared his special power with the oracle at Delphi - the power of prophecy. 

He did give her the power of prophecy. But Apollo had put a limit on her power. 

Apollo's oracle  had to tell people the truth, but she could not answer yes or no. The oracle could only make a truthful statement. It was up to you, the listener, to figure out what she meant by it. Sometimes people misunderstood what she was telling them. That was the trouble with oracles, even the best of them.

For example, legend says .... Once upon a time, a great king traveled to Delphi to ask the oracle, "Who will win the battle tomorrow?" The oracle smiled at him, and answered, "A great king." The king was very happy to hear this. He left many gifts for the oracle, and went quickly away, quite pleased that he had come. What he had overlooked in his haste is that more than one king would lead his men to battle in the morning. An oracle's smile meant nothing.