Augury
The practice of interpreting the flight patterns and behaviour of birds to discern divine will
The Meaning of Augury
Augury was one of the oldest and most widespread forms of divination in the ancient Greek world. Practitioners, known as oiōnoskopoi, observed the species, number, direction, and behaviour of birds to determine whether the gods favoured or opposed a proposed action. Eagles, hawks, and herons were considered especially significant, as they were associated with Zeus and other major deities. A bird appearing on the right side was generally considered auspicious, while one on the left was ominous. The practice features prominently in Homer: in the Odyssey, an eagle clutching a goose is interpreted as an omen of Odysseus's return. Calchas, the seer who accompanied the Greeks to Troy, was renowned for his skill in reading bird signs. Augury influenced military decisions, marriage arrangements, and political assemblies throughout the classical period, and was later adopted and formalised by the Romans into an official priesthood.
Parents
None recorded
Symbols
Fun Fact
The English word "inaugurate" derives from the Latin adaptation of Greek augury practices used to consecrate leaders
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
Divination
💭 conceptReligion
The practice of seeking knowledge of the future or hidden things through divine communication
Mopsus
🗡 heroProphecy, bird augury
Celebrated seer and Argonaut who could read the future in the flight of birds
Omphalos
💭 conceptsacred, cosmology
The navel stone at Delphi believed to mark the centre of the world, placed where two eagles sent by Zeus from the ends of the earth met.
Stymphalian Cranes
🐉 creaturebirds
War-birds sacred to Ares on the Isle of Ares that attacked the Argonauts with bronze feather-darts
Haruspicy
💭 conceptReligion
The divinatory practice of examining the entrails of sacrificed animals to interpret the will of the gods
Halitherses
🗡 heroNone recorded
Elderly Ithacan prophet who interpreted bird omens and supported Telemachus
God of the Sky
💭 conceptSky, weather, thunder, law, kingship
Zeus rules the sky and all its phenomena, serving as king of the gods and enforcer of cosmic order.
Fauna
💭 conceptLanguage and zoology
An English scientific term for the animal life of a region, derived from Faunus, the Roman god of the wild and forests who was identified with the Greek god Pan
Glaukos
💭 conceptmythology, perception
The gleaming grey-green color of the sea and the owl's eye — a color term that blurred the boundary between grey, green, and blue, associated with divine sight and sea-light.
Catasterism
💭 conceptTransformation into a constellation
Catasterism was the process by which a mortal or creature was placed among the stars.
Oracle
💭 conceptSacred site of prophecy
Oracles were sacred sites where mortals could consult the gods — the most important decision-making institutions in ancient Greece.
Jovial
💭 conceptCheerfulness, good humour, warmth
Cheerful and good-humoured, from Jove (Jupiter/Zeus), whose planet was thought to bring happiness.