---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Cultures have long heard wisdom in…"
description: "\"Cultures have long heard wisdom in non-human voices: Apollo, god of music, medicine and knowledge, came to Delphi in the form of a dolphin. But dolphin..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a52/jay-griffiths-20658_apollo_cultures-have-long-heard-wisdom-in-non-h_3219993.png"
---

#  Cultures have long heard wisdom in non-human voices…

![“Cultures have long heard wisdom in non-human voices: Apollo, god of music, medicine and knowledge, came to Delphi in the form of a dolphin. But dolphins, which fill the oceans with blipping and chirping, and whales, which mew and caw in ultramarine jazz - a true rhapsody in blue - are hunted to…” quote by Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a52/jay-griffiths-20658_apollo_cultures-have-long-heard-wisdom-in-non-h_3219993.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a52/jay-griffiths-20658_apollo_cultures-have-long-heard-wisdom-in-non-h_3219993.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a52/jay-griffiths-20658_apollo_cultures-have-long-heard-wisdom-in-non-h_3219993.png)

> “Cultures have long heard wisdom in non-human voices: Apollo, god of music, medicine and knowledge, came to Delphi in the form of a dolphin. But dolphins, which fill the oceans with blipping and chirping, and whales, which mew and caw in ultramarine jazz - a true rhapsody in blue - are hunted to the edge of silence.”

[Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Human cultures have traditionally revered animal sounds as sources of wisdom, yet modern exploitation threatens these creatures and the knowledge they embody.

**In simple terms:** Animals once seen as wise are now endangered.

Key Takeaway

Protect marine life and listen to nature.

Themes

environment mythology conservation culture wisdom

Mood

concerned reflective

Type

ethical environmental

When to use this quote

- marine conservation
- education
- policy advocacy
- ecotourism

Key Concepts

ecology mythic symbolism anthropology

Questions to Reflect On

- How can societies revalue animal voices?
- What policies could protect marine mammals?

A Different Perspective

Human exploitation silences valuable ecological insight.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Apollo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apollo/) [Blue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blue/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Delphi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/delphi/) [Dolphin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dolphin/) [Dolphins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dolphins/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Jazz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jazz/) [Medicine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medicine/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Ocean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ocean/) [Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence/) [Voice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voice/) [Whale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whale/) [Whales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whales/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/)

## Related quotes

> [“Saint Delphi my ass.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-l-armentrout/saint-delphi-my-ass/)

[Jennifer L. Armentrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-l-armentrout/)

> [Over the entrance to the temple at Delphi was a famous inscription: KNOW THYSELF! It reminded visitors that man must never believe himself to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/over-the-entrance-to-the-temple-at-delphi-was-a-famous-inscription/)

[Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/)

> [“It’s my fault Python retook Delphi,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/it-s-my-fault-python-retook-delphi/)

[Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/)

> [It is difficult to see anything but infatuation in the destructive temperament which leads to the action ... that each of us is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-gladstone/it-is-difficult-to-see-anything-but-infatuation-in-the-destructive/)

[William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/)

> [At Delphi I prayed to Apollo that he maintain in me the flame of the poem and I drank of the brackish spring there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-levertov/at-delphi-i-prayed-to-apollo-that-he-maintain-in-me-the-flame-of-the/)

[Denise Levertov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-levertov/)

> [The Lord whose oracle is at Delphi neither reveals nor conceals, but gives a sign](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heraclitus/the-lord-whose-oracle-is-at-delphi-neither-reveals-nor-conceals-but/)

[Heraclitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heraclitus/)

> [Zagreus was the son of Zeus. He was slain by the Titans, buried at the foot of Mount Parnassus, and rose from the dead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-remsburg/zagreus-was-the-son-of-zeus-he-was-slain-by-the-titans-buried-at-the/)

[John Remsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-remsburg/)

> [GM will do what's best for GM, and Delphi should do what's good for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-tepper/gm-will-do-what-s-best-for-gm-and-delphi-should-do-what-s-good-for/)

[David Tepper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-tepper/)

> [At the end of the day, none of us are the Oracle of Delphi, so we don't get everything right. It's always good to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-bhattacharya/at-the-end-of-the-day-none-of-us-are-the-oracle-of-delphi-so-we-don-t/)

[Arundhati Bhattacharya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-bhattacharya/)

> [And for Incoherent Speech, it was amongst the Gentiles taken for one sort of Prophecy, because the Prophets of their Oracles, intoxicated with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/and-for-incoherent-speech-it-was-amongst-the-gentiles-taken-for-one/)

[Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/)

> [Antique art has come down to us in a fragmentary condition, and we have virtuously adapted our taste to this necessity. Almost all our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-clark/antique-art-has-come-down-to-us-in-a-fragmentary-condition-and-we/)

[Kenneth Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-clark/)

> [For what are the classics but the noblest thoughts of man? They are the only oracles which are not decayed, and there are such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/for-what-are-the-classics-but-the-noblest-thoughts-of-man-they-are/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [All too willingly man sees himself as the centre of the universe, as something not belonging to the rest of nature but standing apart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/all-too-willingly-man-sees-himself-as-the-centre-of-the-universe-as/)

[Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/)

> [Apollo at Delphi, through the oracular utterance of his priestess, pronounced Socrates the wisest of men. Of him it is related that he said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/apollo-at-delphi-through-the-oracular-utterance-of-his-priestess/)

[Marcus Vitruvius Pollio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/)

> [We are living in the era of the busybody. In ancient Greece, if a person wanted guidance, it involved a long, arduous expensive journey…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margo-kaufman/we-are-living-in-the-era-of-the-busybody-in-ancient-greece-if-a/)

[Margo Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margo-kaufman/)

## More by Jay Griffiths

> [Society understands the architecture of academia and knows there are relevant qualifications in different fields, and the media accepts the idea of specialisations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/society-understands-the-architecture-of-academia-and-knows-there-are/)

[Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/)

> [Language is wild - you can't fence it or tell it what to do - and it's the same with people. Even under the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/language-is-wild-you-can-t-fence-it-or-tell-it-what-to-do-and-it-s/)

[Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/)

> [In many traditions, the world was sung into being: Aboriginal Australians believe their ancestors did so. In Hindu and Buddhist thought, Om was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/in-many-traditions-the-world-was-sung-into-being-aboriginal/)

[Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/)

> [We are animal in our blood and in our skin. We were not born for pavements and escalators but for thunder and mud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/we-are-animal-in-our-blood-and-in-our-skin-we-were-not-born-for/)

[Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/)

> [As a writer you have a duty to be a messenger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/as-a-writer-you-have-a-duty-to-be-a-messenger/)

[Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/)

> [All definitions of wilderness that exclude people seem to me to be false. African 'wilderness' areas are racist because indigenous people are being cleared…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/all-definitions-of-wilderness-that-exclude-people-seem-to-me-to-be/)

[Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/)

> [Clearly, many branches of science need an exquisite precision of timekeeping and the infinitesimal decimals of calibration, so space launches, for example, are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/clearly-many-branches-of-science-need-an-exquisite-precision-of/)

[Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/)

> [A wild creature is not subject to any will except its own](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/a-wild-creature-is-not-subject-to-any-will-except-its-own/)

[Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/)

> [All humans are essentially wild creatures and hate confinement. We need what is wild, and we thrill to it, our wildness bubbling over with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/all-humans-are-essentially-wild-creatures-and-hate-confinement-we/)

[Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/)

> [Human language is lit with animal life: we play cats-cradle or have hare-brained ideas; we speak of badgering, or outfoxing someone; to squirrel something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/human-language-is-lit-with-animal-life-we-play-cats-cradle-or-have/)

[Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/)

> [I don't write quickly, and I don't want to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/i-don-t-write-quickly-and-i-don-t-want-to/)

[Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/)

> [“My brothers and I spent weeks with our grandparents by the sea where we learned so much more than it may have seemed. Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/my-brothers-and-i-spent-weeks-with-our-grandparents-by-the-sea-where/)

[Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/)

> [A functional media is as important to democratic freedom as voting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/a-functional-media-is-as-important-to-democratic-freedom-as-voting/)

[Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/)

> [Time is found in the calibration of the individual to the timing of a collective endeavour, the social grace that less clock-bound societies must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/time-is-found-in-the-calibration-of-the-individual-to-the-timing-of-a/)

[Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/)

> [Singing with others is an unmediated, shared experience as each person feels the same music reverberating in their individual bodies. Singing is part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/singing-with-others-is-an-unmediated-shared-experience-as-each-person/)

[Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/)

[Explore all 30 Jay Griffiths quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/)

## More Apollo quotes

> [“I have found it an amusing strategy, when asked whether I am an atheist, to point out that the questioner is also an atheist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-have-found-it-an-amusing-strategy-when-asked-whether-i-am-an/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [Kennedy had made a mess in Cuba at the Bay of Pigs. He had to do something to look good. The Apollo program of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-schirra/kennedy-had-made-a-mess-in-cuba-at-the-bay-of-pigs-he-had-to-do/)

[Wally Schirra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-schirra/)

> [Apollo?” I guessed… He put a finger to his lips. “I’m incognito. Call me Fred.” A god named Fred?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/apollo-i-guessed-he-put-a-finger-to-his-lips-i-m-incognito-call-me/)

[Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/)

> [As a former Apollo astronaut, I think it's safe to say that SpaceX and the other commercial developers embody the 21st century version of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rusty-schweickart/as-a-former-apollo-astronaut-i-think-it-s-safe-to-say-that-spacex-and/)

[Rusty Schweickart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rusty-schweickart/)

> [I think if you were between maybe 6 and 16, there was nothing like Apollo, and I wonder if there can be something like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/i-think-if-you-were-between-maybe-6-and-16-there-was-nothing-like/)

[Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/)

> [Apollo was a big, unwieldy vehicle. I had a problem with the flight controllers over that. It would try to fare its way like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-schirra/apollo-was-a-big-unwieldy-vehicle-i-had-a-problem-with-the-flight/)

[Wally Schirra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-schirra/)

> [I used to be a street performer, and performances on Venice Beach, it's like playing the Apollo: They let you know if they don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cary-hiroyuki-tagawa/i-used-to-be-a-street-performer-and-performances-on-venice-beach-it-s/)

[Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cary-hiroyuki-tagawa/)

> [I owe much of my success to Seann Walsh. He kept recommending me for Live At The Apollo until eventually the producers offered me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romesh-ranganathan/i-owe-much-of-my-success-to-seann-walsh-he-kept-recommending-me-for/)

[Romesh Ranganathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romesh-ranganathan/)

> [A typical smart phone has more computing power than Apollo 11 when it landed a man on the moon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/a-typical-smart-phone-has-more-computing-power-than-apollo-11-when-it/)

[Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/)

> [Armstrong, sitting in the commander's seat, spacesuit on, helmet on, plugged into electrical and environmental umbilical's, is a man who is not only a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/armstrong-sitting-in-the-commander-s-seat-spacesuit-on-helmet-on/)

[Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/)

> [Have any of you taken a look out at Greece in the last, say, hour or so? (Hermes) What? Are they reacting to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/have-any-of-you-taken-a-look-out-at-greece-in-the-last-say-hour-or-so/)

[Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/)

> [“I couldn’t say I was surprised that Apollo hadn’t given me a lot to work on. The jerk was known for delivering little to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-l-armentrout/i-couldn-t-say-i-was-surprised-that-apollo-hadn-t-given-me-a-lot-to/)

[Jennifer L. Armentrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-l-armentrout/)

> [“As additional precautions, Kranz requested that a two-hundred-foot radio antenna (called a deep-space dish) in Australia be added to the global network tracking and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-s-f-cooper-jr/as-additional-precautions-kranz-requested-that-a-two-hundred-foot/)

Henry S.F. Cooper Jr

> [“He saw her eyes bright as stars; he saw her lips, and was not satisfied with only seeing them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/he-saw-her-eyes-bright-as-stars-he-saw-her-lips-and-was-not-satisfied/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Among the gods, there is a dispute as to which one of them originally thought of Christianity; or, as they call it, the Great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-holt/among-the-gods-there-is-a-dispute-as-to-which-one-of-them-originally/)

[Tom Holt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-holt/)

[Browse all 382 Apollo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apollo/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Cultures have long heard wisdom in non-human voices: Apollo, god of music, medicine and knowledge, came to Delphi in the form of a dolphin. But dolphins, which fill the oceans with blipping and chirping, and whales, which mew and caw in ultramarine jazz - a true rhapsody in blue - are hunted to the edge of silence.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Jay Griffiths"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/cultures-have-long-heard-wisdom-in-non-human-voices-apollo-god-of/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Apollo"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/cultures-have-long-heard-wisdom-in-non-human-voices-apollo-god-of/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a52/jay-griffiths-20658_apollo_cultures-have-long-heard-wisdom-in-non-h_3219993.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a52/jay-griffiths-20658_apollo_cultures-have-long-heard-wisdom-in-non-h_3219993.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a52/jay-griffiths-20658_apollo_cultures-have-long-heard-wisdom-in-non-h_3219993.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Cultures have long heard wisdom in non-human voices: Apollo, god of music, medicine and knowledge, came to…” — Jay Griffiths",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Jay Griffiths",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Cultures have long heard wisdom in...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/cultures-have-long-heard-wisdom-in-non-human-voices-apollo-god-of/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/cultures-have-long-heard-wisdom-in-non-human-voices-apollo-god-of/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
