Sibyls - Siena Cathedral

On the marble floor of the Cathedral in Siena there are mosaics of several Sibyls devised by different professionals.

No pavimento marmóreo da catedral de Siena existem mosaicos de várias Sibilas idealizados por diversos profissionais.

Vito di Marco (15th century)-‘Delphic Sibyl’-mosaic

Neroccio di Bartolomeo (1447-1500)-‘Hellespontine Sibyl’-mosaic

Antonio Federighi (15th century)-‘Erythraean Sibyl’-mosaic

Vito di Marco (15th century)-‘Phrygian Sibyl’-mosaic

Vito di Marco (15th century)-‘Persian Sibyl’-mosaic

Cumaean Sibyl (Sibíla de Cumas)

The Sibyl of Cumae or Cumana accompanied Aeneas to Hell (Virgil, Aeneid). That is why Dante chose Virgil to guide him through Hell in the Divine Comedy. He wrote the Sibylline Books, which would disappear later in a fire, and offered them to king Tarquin.


A Sibila de Cumas ou Cumana acompanhou Eneias aos Infernos (Virgílio-Eneida). Por essa razão Dante escolheu Virgílio para o guiar no Inferno da Divina Comédia. Escreveu os Livros Sibilinos que ofereceu ao rei Tarquínio, mais tarde desaparecidos num incêndio.

Salvator Rosa (1615-1673)-'river landscape with Apollo and Cumean Sibyl'-oil on canvas-ca 1655 London-Wallace collection

Elihu Vedder (1836-1923)-'the Cumean Sibyl'-oil on canvas-1876 Detroit-Institute of Arts

Circle of Nöel Halle (1711-1781)-'the Cumean Sibyl'-oil on canvas Private collection

Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (Guercino) (1591-1666)-'the Cumean Sibyl with a putto'-oil on canvas London-National Gallery

Claude Gellée or Lorrain (ca 1600-1682)-'coast view with Apollo and Cumaean Sibyl'-(1645-1649)

Sibyls (Sibilas)

The Sibyls, women with prophetic powers conferred by the god Apollo, of whom they were priestesses, performed in locations scattered throughout the Roman Empire. They were known by the name of the place where they exercised their profession. The participants of the First Council of Nicaea (325 AD) accepted what they believed to be the Sibyls’ messianic prophecies, mentioned by Virgil in the Eclogues. For this reason they appeared next to the prophets in many paintings, as in the frescoes of Michelangelo Buonarroti in the Sistine Chapel.


As Sibilas, mulheres com poderes proféticos conferidos pelo deus Apolo, de quem eram sacerdotisas, actuavam em locais dispersos pelo Império Romano. Conheciam-nas pela designação do lugar onde exerciam a sua profissão. Os participantes do I Concílio de Niceia (ano 325 AD) aceitaram o que acreditavam ser as profecias messiânicas das Sibilas mencionadas por Virgílio nas Éclogas. Por essa razão aparecem ao lado dos profetas em várias pinturas, como nos frescos de Michelangelo Buonarroti na Capela Sistina.

Raffaello Sanzio (1483-1520)-'Sibyls'-fresco-(1511-1513) Roma-Basilica de Santa Maria della Pace (cappella Chigi)

Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot (1796-1875)-'Sibyl'-oil on canvas-1870 New York-Metropolitan Museum of Art

Pietro di Cristoforo Vanucci or Perugino (1450-1523)-'Prophets and Sibyls'-fresco Perugia-Collegio del Cambio

Francesco Ubertini or Bacchiaca (1494-1557)-'Sibyls'-oil on wood-(1525-1550) Wien-Kunsthistorisches Museum Gemäldegalerie

Jacopo Negretti or Palma il Vecchio (1480-1528)-'a Sibyl'-oil on poplar wood Windsor Castle-Royal collection