About the event

Join us for the Virtual Reality Oracle Experience!

Using VR, step back 2,500 years and experience what it was like for ordinary people and community leaders to ask their questions of the oracle of mighty Zeus at Dodona. Take part in the oracular ritual for yourself – what would you ask Zeus?

VR experience recommended for children aged 12+.

Talks

Listen to talks all about diving into the future. Talks take place in the Sir Victor Blank Lecture Theatre. 

No booking required, just drop in!

Professor David Zeitlyn: Anthropological takes on divination

10.30—11.10am

What does it all mean? Human universals: big questions we all have to answer one way or another.

Dr Michelle Pfeffer: Astrology at Oxford

11.25am—12.05pm

If you were an undergraduate at Oxford in the Renaissance, you would have been taught astrology. Come along to this talk to discover the history of how astrology was researched, taught, and practiced at Oxford, and to learn more about the Bodleian's beautiful collection of astrological texts.

Professor Esther Eidinow: Consulting the Oracle of Zeus—in Virtual Reality

12.20—1pm

The oracle of Zeus at Dodona, northwestern Greece, was said to be the oldest in the ancient Greek world. Although thousands of questions posed by the pilgrims who visited the oracle have survived, inscribed on lead tablets, we know very little about the process of consultation. In this talk, Esther explores the mysteries of Dodona and explains how she and her team brought the oracle and its visitors to life in virtual reality.

Dr Selena Wisnom: Asking the entrails — liver divination in ancient Babylonia

1.15—1.55pm

The ancient Babylonians told the future from sacrificing sheep. This talk will show how and why they did it – and give the audience the chance to ask the entrails their very own question using the same method (from photographs rather than live sheep).

James Frost: Tarot — from play to divination

2.10—2.50pm

This talk explores the historical and iconographical evolution of the tarot pack from a gambling game to a powerful divinatory system, with particular focus given to the Wheel of Fortune card and its philosophical implications. James Frost (Canterbury Christ Church University) has published academic papers on the tarot following his MA thesis on the subject, and regularly reads the cards for himself and acquaintances.

 Location

This event is held in Blackwell Hall and the Sir Victor Blank Lecture Theatre at the Weston Library.

Weston Library, Broad Street, Oxford, OX1 3BG

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 Wheelchair access

The Weston Library is wheelchair accessible.