It is said that the oracular books known as the Libri Sibyllini, which date from the Ancient Roman Kingdom Period, were brought to Rome by a mysterious woman named Sibylla. She has always been described as an old woman. According to legend she offered nine books either to Tarquinius Priscus (according to Varro), the fifth king of Rome or to Tarquinius Superbus (according to Plinius and Gellius), the last king of Rome. When Tarquinius said that the price she offered was too high, she burned three of the books and offered the remaining six at the same price but when the king again refused to accept this offer, she burned three of the remaining six books, just as she had done before. Finally after the soothsayers advised the king to buy the last three books, he bought three books for the price sought for the nine. Owing to these books, which were believed to predict the future, the people of Rome managed to cope with calamities, disasters and wars. Ancient writers have put forward different views on the origin and name of this mysterious woman, some based her origin on Erythrai, one of the twelve Ionian cities, and some on Kyme, one of the first Greek colonies in Italy. The reason for this is that both cities are believed to be the home of the famous seeress called Sibylla.

A few ancient writers suggest that Sibylla once existed. A quotation from Heraclitus in Plutarch is the earliest reference to Sibylla. Euripides mentioned Sibylla in his lost play, Bousiris. Although the first clear evidence can be found in Aristophanes’ comedies Equites and Pax, much concrete evidence about Sibylla and the Sibylline Books dates from the second century to the first century BC. Especially in the works of ancient writers such as Titus Livius and Dionysius of Halicarnassus, there is important information about the subject. In the light of these works, although many authors have information about them in the Ancient Period, they inevitably fell into disagreement about the origin of Sibylla. The most detailed research on Sibylla in the Roman Period was done by Varro. Although the book Antiquitates Rerum Humanarum et Divinarum, which was published in 47 BC, was almost lost, a detailed perspective on Sibylla and the Sibylline Books has been obtained thanks to quotations made by ancient writers. 

The books known as the Libri Sibyllini containing the Sibylline oracles were kept in the temple of Jupiter on the Capitoline hill in Rome until the War of the Allies (Bellum Sociale). In the time of Tarquinius two noble people (duumviri) were appointed to consult the books. After that, this number was increased to ten (decemviri) and in the time of Sulla the priests known as the quindecimviri sacris faciundis were appointed to consult and interpret the books. As the Sibylline Books were destroyed when the Capitol was burned in 83 BC, a new collection was formed in AD 12 and deposited by Augustus in the temple of Apollo on the Palatine hill, where they lasted until the fifth century AD. Considering all oracular consultations as historical, it is clear that the reason was to get a conclusive response about inconceivable prodigies, calamities, disasters and wars. As a result, it is understood that sacrificial ceremonies were held to appease the gods and goddesses, as recommended by the oracular response to ward off all disasters. Owing to these events narrated by ancient writers, while it is known at least why the Sibylline Books were consulted, it is not possible to obtain precise information about exactly what was written in every oracle. Despite this, an oracle was obtained after some centuries which is a unique example today. The oracle, which was brought to light owing to the work Περὶ Θαυμασίων by Phlegon of Tralles – the freedman of Emperor Hadrianus, written in hexameter using the acrostic technique, strengthens the fact that this could be a real Sibylline oracle and gives unique information about its content.

It is explained in the book De Reditu Suo by Rutilius Namatianus that the Sibylline Books, known to have been consulted in ancient Rome from 504 BC, were burned on an order given by General Flavius Stilicho in 405 AD. Although the relevant chapter in the work is the only known document that the Sibylline Books were burned by Stilicho, it is doubtful that this document is exact evidence for some reasons when looking at the background of the subject. Regardless, the Sibylline Books, which remained as ashes after this incident, had a different transformation under the name of the Sibylline Oracles (Oracula Sibyllina) which are believed to be a collection of Jewish and Christian writings between the second century BC and the fourth century AD. Numbering fifteen books by the fourth century AD, they have preserved their existence owing to manuscripts from the fourteenth century surviving to this day