The predictions from the oracle at Delphi were known to be the most accurate in the ancient world. When King Croesus of Lydia sought the best oracular reading, he tested eight oracle sites and found the oracle at Delphi, the Pythia—goddess and priestess to Apollo—predicted the correct answer he sought. Through a series of visits to the oracle at Delphi, each with a different set of questions, King Croesus decided to wage war upon the Persians and Cyrus after an oracle said, “A great empire would be lost if he waged war against the Persians.” Fate and destiny of King Croesus was predicted four generations prior from the oracle at Delphi.
After spending too many days in the oracle chamber, one of the oracles collapsed and died from inhaling the toxic fumes.