Also called Cumaean Sibyl, Deiphobe, Amalthea.
The tale
The Sibyl of Cumae lived in a cave near Naples, where she wrote her prophecies on leaves which the wind scattered. In Virgil's Aeneid she leads Aeneas down to the underworld after he finds the golden bough. Ovid tells that Apollo offered her whatever she wished, and she asked for as many years as there were grains in a handful of dust, but forgot to ask for youth; she withered for centuries until only her voice was left. Another tale says she offered King Tarquin nine books of prophecy, burning three each time he refused her price, until he bought the last three for the full sum.
When they are met
- before a journey into the unknown
- at the new year
- when seeking guidance
Staying on their good side
- bay or oak leaves
- honest questions
- patience
- respect for what is withheld
Honouring them, or keeping safe
- Write questions for the coming year on leaves or slips of paper and reflect on them.
- Read book six of the Aeneid, where she leads Aeneas into the underworld.
- Before a big choice, pause and ask what you truly need to know.
- Accept that not everything can be foreseen.
What their tales teach
- prophecy and divination
- guidance through hard transitions
- the lesson of asking for the right gift
- knowing when to act
Symbols
- a cave with a hundred openings
- oak leaves written with prophecies
- the golden bough
- the Sibylline Books
- a jar
From Virgil, Ovid, Petronius and Roman historians; the Sibylline Books were real and consulted by the Roman state.
More Roman folklore
- Genius Loci The guardian spirit of a place
- Lemures The hungry ghosts of May
- Striges The screech-owls of the night
- Fauns The goat-legged spirits of the woods
- The Versipellis The werewolf by the tombs
- Larvae Malevolent ghosts of the restless dead
- Mania Mother of the dead and nursery bogey
- Lamia (in Roman sources) Child-devouring witch of Roman tales