The Homeromanteion

The Homeromanteion, or Scimitar, was a text used between the 2nd and 4th centuries to provide automatic oracular answers to questions.

Three dice are cast to generate one of 216 possible numbers, each referring to a line selected from Homer's Odyssey or Iliad1.

This line can be interpreted to give an answer to the question posed.

English Translation © Arabella Currie 2015.

Contact Us


1. Maltomini, Franco. "P. Lond. 121 (= PGM VII), 1–221: Homeromanteion." Zeitschrift Für Papyrologie Und Epigraphik 106 (1995): 107-22.