Editing Pythia (section)

===The Role of Consultants===
The relationship between the Pythia, Delphic officials, and consultants who sought advice at the temple is shown in contemporary research on the Delphic Oracle. Individuals, city-states, and political officials were among the advisors. Additionally, they have actively contributed to the influence of the Pythia's oracular pronouncements. This interpretation challenges earlier views that considered the Delphic Oracle as a centralized political force that helps to exert a unilateral influence across the Greek and Mediterranean region. Instead, the production and interpretation of oracles emerge as collaborative processes involving multiple stakeholders. 

The idea that Delphi’s prominence as a religious and cultural center was strengthened by its reputation as the “navel of the world” (omphalos). The Pythia was seen as providing a channel and connect between the divine and human realms, her words imbued with the authority of Apollo. Scholars such as Simon Hornblower suggest that the Delphic Oracle’s influence extended beyond religion, serving as a mechanism for conflict resolution, interstate diplomacy, and political legitimation.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hornblower |first=Simon |title=Pindar's poetry, patrons, and festivals: from Archaic Greece to the Roman Empire |last2=Morgan |first2=Catherine |date=2007 |publisher=Oxford university press |isbn=978-0-19-929672-9 |location=Oxford}}</ref> However, this view often considered as overestimating the power of the Pythia and her attendant priests. Hence reducing the level of influence of the consultants to passive recipients of divine messages. Recent studies challenge this assumption by highlighting the role of consultants played in framing questions, interpreting responses, and implementing decisions during the process. 

In modern theories, consultants shaped the form and content of oracles through their own political, social, and personal contexts.<ref name=":1">{{Cite thesis |last=Dobyns |first=Norita Dalene |title=Power, performance and the Pythia: the political use of Delphic oracles |date=2005 |publisher=The Ohio State University |url=https://etd.ohiolink.edu/acprod/odb_etd/etd/r/1501/10?clear=10&p10_accession_num=osu1302718588 |language=en}}</ref> This dynamic undermines the notion of the oracle as an independent political force, instead stressing the shared agency between Delphic officials and those who sought the god’s counsel.