The Sibyls of the Season

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas; trees are glowing, presents are being wrapped, voices are proclaiming the birth of Christ. Yet in the ancient days at the time of Christ’s birth very different and unexpected voices proclaimed the coming of the Savior of the World: the Roman Sibyls.

The Sibyls were pagan prophetesses of the ancient world whom visitors sought out for their visions and foretellings of the future. According to the Romans and early Christians, there were about ten sybils named for the areas where they dwelt and prophesied.

Yet the question emerges: if they are essentially pagan magicians, why do the Christians depict them in artwork? The Sybils can be found in places as profound as the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling and in chants as holy as “Dies Irae,” with the line, “[t]hat day of wrath, that dreadful day, shall heaven and earth in ashes lay, as David and the Sibyl say”? The main reason is that, according to records, these sibyls prophesied many truths of the Christian faith even before the birth of Christ.

In one apt Christmas-tide example from “The Golden Legend” by Archbishop Jacobus de Voragine, the Tiburtine Sibyl was approached by Caesar Augustus as his reign began and on the day of Christ’s birth. Augustus was being adored by the people of Rome who wanted to make him a god. However, before accepting their offer, he wanted to be sure that no one greater than him would come after him. When he brought this question to the Sibyl, she received a vision of a ring around the sun. Within the ring was a Virgin holding a Child. She showed the vision to Augustus and they heard a voice saying, “[t]his woman is the Altar of Heaven.” Then the sibyl said to Augustus, “[t]his Child will be greater than thou.” 

Another sibyl who foretold the coming of Christ was the Erythraean Sibyl. In “The City of God,” St. Augustine writes about this Sibyl writing an acrostic poem which spells out “Jesus Christ the Son of God, the Saviour.”

In some tellings of these stories, the sibyls all stopped prophesying as soon as Christ was born. Others say that none of their future prophecies were true after the birth of Christ, since all their previous ones were building up to that one moment and all pagan powers fled with His coming into the world.

Either way, these stories give readers an interesting view into how Jesus’ birth affected the whole world and how ancient world paganism clashed with the oncoming of Christianity. These stories captivate great artists and have lasted through Catholic imagery for centuries.

Though these stories have become forgotten to many modern Catholics, they are a fun and reflective read for history buffs and classics lovers, especially in the upcoming Christmas season. If even the pagan sibyls could recognize the power and significance of the birth of the Son of God we ourselves should recognize how much greater our preparation and celebration of Christmas should be.