Why do you think Ferlinghetti chose to present the poem as an appeal to an ancient Greek figure?

Ferlinghetti chose to present the peom as an appeal to the ancient Greek figure because he believed that it holds the power to confer on an individual the gift of prophecy about an incident or event that is going to happen in the future.

He also believed that, it is only art that could relieve the people from modern conformity of life hence his appeal. This could be seen in this quote below:

"Far-seeing Sybil, forever hidden,

Come out of your cave at last

And speak to us in the poet's voice

the voice of the fourth person singular

the voice of the inscrutable future

the voice of the people mixed

with a wild soft laughter -

And give us new dreams to dream,

Give us new myths to live by!"