Plutarch's Lives
λογίων προὔφερε παλαιῶν μέγα κλέος τῶν Ἀθηναίων ἀπὸ Σικελίας ἔσεσθαι. καὶ θεοπρόποι τινὲς αὐτῷ παρ᾿ Ἄμμωνος ἀφίκοντο χρησμὸν κομίζοντες ὡς λήψονται Συρακουσίους ἅπαντας Ἀθηναῖοι· τὰ δ᾿ ἐναντία φοβούμενοι δυσφημεῖν 2ἔκρυπτον. οὐδὲ γὰρ τὰ προὖπτα καὶ καταφανῆ τῶν σημείων ἀπέτρεπεν, ἥ τε τῶν Ἑρμῶν περικοπή, μιᾷ νυκτὶ πάντων ἀκρωτηριασθέντων πλὴν ἑνός, ὃν Ἀνδοκίδου καλοῦσιν, ἀνάθημα μὲν τῆς Αἰγηΐδος φυλῆς, κείμενον δὲ πρὸ τῆς τότε οὔσης Ἀνδοκίδου οἰκίας, καὶ τὸ πραχθὲν περὶ τὸν βωμὸν τῶν δώδεκα θεῶν. ἄνθρωπος γάρ τις ἐξαίφνης ἀναπηδήσας ἐπ᾿ αὐτόν, εἶτα περιβὰς ἀπέκοψεν αὑτοῦ λίθῳ τὸ αἰδοῖον.
3Ἐν δὲ Δελφοῖς Παλλάδιον ἕστηκε χρυσοῦν ἐπὶ φοίνικος χαλκοῦ βεβηκός, ἀνάθημα τῆς πόλεως ἀπὸ τῶν Μηδικῶν ἀριστείων· τοῦτ᾿ ἔκοπτον ἐφ᾿ ἡμέρας πολλὰς προσπετόμενοι κόρακες, καὶ τὸν καρπὸν ὄντα χρυσοῦν τοῦ φοίνικος 4ἀπέτρωγον καὶ κατέβαλλον. οἱ δὲ ταῦτα μὲν532 ἔφασαν εἶναι Δελφῶν πλάσματα πεπεισμένων ὑπὸ Συρακουσίων· χρησμοῦ δέ τινος κελεύοντος αὐτοὺς ἐκ Κλαζομενῶν τὴν ἱέρειαν τῆς Ἀθηνᾶς ἄγειν, μετεπέμψαντο τὴν ἄνθρωπον· ἐκαλεῖτο δὲ Ἡσυχία. καὶ τοῦτο ἦν, ὡς ἔοικεν, ὃ παρῄνει τῇ πόλει τὸ δαιμόνιον ἐν τῷ παρόντι, τὴν ἡσυχίαν ἄγειν.
5Εἴτε δὴ ταῦτα δείσας εἴτ᾿ ἀνθρωπίνῳ λογισμῷ
Nicias
and from sundry oracles reputed ancient he cited one saying that great fame would be won by the Athenians in Sicily. To his delight also certain envoys who had been sent to the shrine of Ammon1 came back with an oracle declaring that the Athenians would capture all the Syracusans; but utterances of opposite import the envoys concealed, for fear of using words of ill omen. For no signs could deter the people from the expedition, were they never so obvious and clear, such as, for instance, the mutilation of the “Hermae.” These statues were all disfigured in a single night, except one, called the Hermes of Andocides, a dedication of the Aegeïd tribe, standing in front of what was at that time the house of Andocides. Then there was the affair of the altar of the Twelve Gods. An unknown man leaped upon it all of a sudden, bestrode it, and then mutilated himself with a stone.
At Delphi, moreover, there stood a Palladium, made of gold and set upon a bronze palm tree, a dedication of the city of Athens from the spoils of her valour in the Persian wars. Ravens alighted on this image and pecked it for many days together; they also bit off the fruit of the palm-tree, which was of gold, and cast it down to the ground. The Athenians, it is true, said that this whole story was an invention of the Delphians, at the instigation of the Syracusans; but at any rate when a certain oracle bade them bring the priestess of Athena from Clazomenae, they sent and fetched the woman, and lo! her name was Peace. And this, as it seemed, was the advice which the divinity would give the city at that time, namely, to keep the peace.
It was either because he feared such signs as these,