The Asia Minor alphabetical oracle: the history of the definition of the genre
The alphabetical oracle is the collection of 24 independent prophecies, arranged according to an acrostic: every new prophecy of the oracle begins with the next letter of the Greek alphabet - from alpha to omega. Up to date only 12 inscriptions with the text of the alphabetical oracle are known, and they are of very different state of preservation. The term alphabetical oracle (Alphabetorakel) was proposed in 1897 by R. Heberdey and E. Kalinka. The author considers the history of the study of this type of ancient Greek divination, unknown from ancient literature, from a copy of the first such inscription made by Ch. Cockerell in 1812, to Kaibel’s bright idea about the purpose of this collection of prophecies, and then to the approval of a scientific term for its name. Emphasizing the accuracy of the term alphabetical oracle, the author points out that the inhabitants of the southern regions of Asia Minor believed that the inscription with the alphabetical oracle created a sanctuary around itself and that there the god gave his responses with the help of the oracle, that is the prophetic spirit of the place, as it was in the great sanctuaries.