Oracle of Cumae

The Cumean Cave which was the location of the Cumaean Oracle.

The Oracle of Cumae was home to the Cumaean Sibyl, author of the Sibylline Books.

History

The Sibyl of Cumae

Although she was a mortal, the Cumaean Sibyl lived about a thousand years, at the age of seven hundred she met Aeneas. She was able to live for so long due to Apollo offering her a wish on a beach near Southern Italy. The god loved everything about her, even though she already gave up everything to become his oracle, he wanted to marry the sibyl. She refused saying that guiding people to a better future was all she wanted. Apollo told her that if she were immortal she could do that forever, he'd never get tired of her. So the Sibyl picked two heaping handfuls of sand and asked if he'd grant her as many years of life as the grains of the sand. Apollo complied, but the sibyl said that she was just being hypothetical and refused to keep her end of the bargain, having heard about Apollo's other lovers. Apollo got mad that she was refusing payment, the sibyl thought that he thought of her as a transaction. She decided to love him after the grains of sand run out, that was when Apollo began to hate her. So he told her that since she didn't ask for eternal youth, she would grow old and wither but not die.

According to the myth, the Cumaean Sibyl came to Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the last Roman king, from another country and offered nine books. Seeing how immense the price was, Tarquin simply sent her away and continued doing his work. The Sybil burned three of the books and offered them for the same price, which was promptly rejected. She burned three more and offered the same thing, King Tarquin reluctantly agreed to buy them in fear of what would happen if he didn't. All of the prophecies affecting the Roman Empire were said to have been in these books, but they have been lost for centuries after the Temple of Jupiter burned.

Around the end of the Roman Empire, rumors spread that the body of Cumaean Sibyl had crumbled away completely. But she could still not die, her attendants put the faintest whisper of her voice in a glass jar.

The Trials of Apollo

The Hidden Oracle

Apollo mentions that she is overrated on RateMyOracle.com. He says that her hotness factor is 'completely off'.

The Tyrant's Tomb

Apollo dreams about what he did to the Sibyl and shows remorse for his actions.

It's later revealed that the jar she was in fell into the hands of Triumvirate Holdings who gave it to Harpocrates who shared the Sibyl's hatred for Apollo. During their imprisonment, the two grew close and formed a romantic relationship of sorts. When Apollo, Reyna Ramírez-Arellano and Meg McCaffrey arrived, Apollo's friends attempted to convince the two that Apollo had changed for the better and to help them. The Sibyl interrupted the argument and stated that she forgave Apollo as she didn't want to leave the world with regrets. Harpocrates willed himself to fade and took the Sibyl with him, giving her the final end that she had long desired.

The Tower of Nero

Nero lists her among the people who have valid reasons to hate Apollo.

Appearance

At the time she first became an oracle, the beautiful Sibyl of Cumae (described by Apollo) had 'auburn hair that caught the sunlight and a mischievous gleam in her eyes'. This is not the case due to Apollo granting her near-immortality.