alectryomantia

(ἀλεκτρυομαντεία). A mode of divination practised by the Greeks. The letters of the alphabet were written in a circle; a grain of wheat or barley was laid upon each letter; and a cock, consecrated or provided for the occasion, was placed within the circle. The required information was obtained by putting together those letters off which the cock picked the grains of corn. To obtain a fuller answer, they laid grains of corn upon the letters a second time, and repeated the process.