Delphi

“Delphi is mentioned by Homer, who calls it Pytho. There is evidence that there was a cult here in the Mycenaean period. A temple dedicated to God Apollo stood here in the 8th century BC, if not before”

Delphi in Greece and its oracle was one of the most sacred places in the ancient world. Situated in the breathtaking surroundings by the mythical Mt. Parnassus, where Pan and the nymphs lived, it is still an enchanting site. The ancient Greeks believed that Delphi was the centre of the
world and in the oracle was foretold the future of kings and common men.

Temple of Apollo - Delphi

Although Delphi had been dedicated to many deities before him, Gaea, Themis and Phoebe, Apollo is the god most connected to the place. According to mythology, Apollo killed the monster Python who guarded the site and built the first temple here. He then went away to purify himself from the deed, and the Pythean games were held every eight years to commemorate the event. Later, they were held every four years and were mainly musical competitions. The winner was crowned with a wreath of laurel, since the Laurel was Apollo’s special tree.

Delphi had been defined as the canter of the earth by Zeus, who one day let his two eagles fly around the earth and where they met – the centre, Delphi, lay. A stone was put at the point called Omphalos – the Navel – and can still be seen in the museum of Delphi.

Another myth also tells us that it was here the human kind got a second chance. Zeus was sick and tired of humanity, its thievery, lies and treachery, and decided to drown them all in a flood. The good man Deucalion had been warned by his father Prometheus and had built an ark in good time. The flood drowned the earth, but Deucalion and his wife were safe in the ark, and when the water started sinking, they landed on the top of Mt. Parnassos. Deucalion then went to the oracle to ask what to do next, and the oracle told him to throw the earths bones behind him. He then took some stones which he interpreted to be the bones, threw them over his shoulder, and new humans grew out of them.

Deucalion had a son with his wife, and he was to be called Hellen (“Greek”). He, in his turn, became the father of three children Aeolus, Dorus, Xythos, and the grandfather of Ion and Achaios. These sons would all be the ancestors of the Greek tribes. Heracles had also come to Delphi, but with a wicked purpose: he wanted to steal the tripod Pythia sat on. He failed, but still a temple was built in Heracles’ honour.

Delphi Site

Finally Dionysus also had to do with Delphi. He ruled here in Apollo place during the three months the latter was away in the north. Then chaos ruled here, with enraged women, the maenads, tearing wild animals to pieces and everyone in a constant state of drunkenness.

Delphi is mentioned by Homer, who calls it Pytho. There is evidence that there was a cult here in the Mycenaean period. A temple dedicated to God Apollo stood here in the 8th century BC, if not before. In the 7th century BC the area was already quite full of buildings and statues. In the 6th century BC a big sphinx was made out of marble from Naxos and put here, as well as treasure houses for Athens, Sicyon and Knidos. It was also now that Delphi had been liberated from the Krisan state, and thus became autonomous. The games and the sanctuary was from then on organised and controlled by the 12 citystates that had formed the Amphictyonic League.

In 528 a terrible fire destroyed the old temple of Apollo. Almost all Greek city-states helped to rebuild it, and in 505 a magnificent new temple stood here. In the following century the Sifnian treasure house was built, and after the battle of Marathon Athens also built a new one.

In 373 BC an earthquake destroyed much of Delphi, including the Apollo temple. Soon, new collection began among the city states, and in 329BC it was finished. Here, the famous inscriptions “Know yourself”, “Keep the measure” and “E” were made. Pythia sat here and told the future through an incomprehensible mumble that was then interpreted by the priests. This is also where the omphalos, the navel stone, stood as well as Dionysus’ tomb. The theatre was built, but it was during the next century that it was rebuilt of stone by Eumenes II of Pergamon so that the audience would actually have seats, and not just sat on the slopes. It could hold 5000 spectators.

Amphictyonic CouncilThe third temple is attributed to Corinthian architects Spintharos, Xenodoros, and Agathon.
The temple survived until 390 AD, when the Christian emperor Theodosius I silenced the oracle by destroying the temple and most of the statues and works of art in the name of Christianity. The site was completely destroyed by zealous Christians in an attempt to remove all traces of Paganism.

The Amphictyonic Council was a council of representatives from six Greek tribes that controlled Delphi and also the quadrennial Pythian Games. They met biannually and came from Thessaly and central Greece. Over time, the town of Delphi gained more control of itself and the council lost much of its influence.

Temple of Apollo - Delphi

Treasuries
The reconstructed Treasury of Athens, built to commemorate their victory at the Battle of Marathon. From the entrance of the site, continuing up the slope almost to the temple itself, are a large number of votive statues, and numerous treasuries. These were built by the various Greek city states — those overseas as well as those on the mainland — to commemorate victories and to thank the oracle for her advice, which was thought to have contributed to those victories.

They are called “treasuries” because they held the offerings made to Apollo; these were frequently a “tithe” or tenth of the spoils of a battle. The most impressive is the now-restored Athenian Treasury, built to commemorate the Athenians’ victory at the Battle of Salamis. According to Pausanias, the Athenians had previously been given the advice by the oracle to put their faith in their “wooden walls” — taking this advice to mean their navy, they won a famous battle at Salamis. Several of the treasuries can be identified, among them the Siphnian Treasury, dedicated by the city of Siphnos whose citizens gave a tithe of the yield from their gold mines until the mines came to an abrupt end when the sea flooded the workings.

Other identifiable treasuries are those of the Sikyonians, the Boetians and the Thebans. One of the largest of the treasuries was that of Argos. Built in the late Doric period, the Argives took great pride in establishing their place amongst the other city states. Completed in the year 380, the treasury draws inspiration mostly from the Temple of Hera located in the Argolis, the acropolis of the city. However, recent analysis of the Archaic elements of the treasury suggest that its founding preceded this.
As a result of these treasuries, through the protection of the Amphictyonic League, Delphi came to function as the de-facto Central Bank of Ancient Greece. It was the abuse of these treasuries by Philip of Macedon and the later sacking of the Treasuries, first by the Celts, and later by Sulla, the Roman Dictator, that led to the eclipse of Greek civilization and the eventual growth of Rome.

Delphi

Altar of the Chians
Located in front of the Temple of Apollo, the main altar of the sanctuary was paid for and built by the people of Chios. It is dated to the 5th century BC by the inscription on its cornice. Made entirely of black marble, except for the base and cornice, the altar would have made a striking impressions. It was restored in 1920.

Stoa of the Athenians
The stoa leads off north-east from the main sanctuary. It was built in the Ionic order and consists of seven fluted columns, unusually carved from single pieces of stone (most columns were constructed from a series of discs joined together). The inscription on the stylobate indicates that it was built by the Athenians after their naval victory over the Persians in 478 BC, to house their war trophies. The rear wall of the stoa contains nearly a thousand inscriptions; supposedly any slave manumitted in Athens was obliged to record a short biography here, explaining why he had deserved his freedom.

Athletic statues
Delphi is famous for its many preserved athletic statues. It is known that Olympia originally housed far more of these statues, but time brought ruin to many of them, leaving Delphi as the main site of athletic statues. Kleobis and Biton, two brothers renowned for their strength, are modeled in two of the earliest known athletic statues at Delphi. The statues commemorate their feat of pulling their mother’s cart several miles to the Sanctuary of Hera in the absence of oxen. The neighbors were most impressed and their mother asked Hera to grant them the greatest gift. When they entered Hera’s temple, they fell into a slumber and never woke, dying at the height of their admiration, the perfect gift. The Charioteer of Delphi is another ancient relic that has withstood the centuries. It is one of the best known statues from antiquity. The charioteer has lost many features, including his chariot and his left arm, but he stands as a tribute to athletic art of antiquity.

Polygonal wall
The retaining wall was built to support the terrace housing the construction of the second temple of Apollo in 548 BC. Its name is taken from the polygonal masonry of which it is constructed.

Gymnasium
The gymnasium, which is half a mile away from the main sanctuary, was a series of buildings used by the youth of Delphi. The building consisted of two levels: a stoa on the upper level providing open space, and a palaestra, pool and baths on lower floor. These pools and baths were said to have magical powers, and imparted the ability to communicate to Apollo himself.

Hippodrome
The hippodrome of Delphi was the location where the running events took place during the Pythian Games. No trace of it has been found, but the location of the stadium and some remnants of retaining walls lead to the conclusion that is was set on a plain apart from the main part of the city and well away from the Peribolos of Apollo.

Stadium
The stadium is located further up the hill, beyond the via sacra and the theatre. It was originally built in the 5th century BC but was altered in later centuries. The last major remodeling took place in the 2nd century AD under the patronage of Herodus Atticus when the stone seating was built and (arched) entrance. It could seat 6500 spectators and the track was 177 metres long and 25.5 metres wide.

Theatre
The ancient theatre at Delphi was built further up the hill from the Temple of Apollo giving spectators a view of the entire sanctuary and the valley below. It was originally built in the 4th century BC but was remodeled on several occasions since. Its 35 rows can seat 5,000 spectators.

Tholos
The Tholos at the sanctuary of Athena Pronaia is a circular building that was constructed between 380 and 360 BC. It consisted of 20 Doric columns arranged with an exterior diameter of 14.76 meters, with 10 Corinthian columns in the interior.

Theater of Apollo

The Tholos is located approximately a half a mile (800 m) from the main ruins at Delphi. Three of the Doric columns have been restored, making it the most popular site at Delphi for tourists to take photographs.

Sibyl rock
The Sibyl rock is a pulpit-like outcrop of rock between the Athenian Treasury and the stoa of the Athenians upon the sacred way which leads up to the temple of Apollo in the archaeological area of Delphi. It is claimed to be where the Sibyl sat to deliver her prophecies.

Excavations
The site had been occupied by the village of Kastri since medieval times. Before a systematic excavation of the site could be undertaken, the village had to be relocated but the residents understandably resisted. The opportunity to relocate the village occurred when it was substantially damaged by an earthquake, with villagers offered a completely new village in exchange for the old site.

The Oracle of Delphi
At first, the oracle of Delphi could only be consulted once a year, but as its reputation grew more and more pilgrims came, and more days were added to the agenda. During the three months that Apollo was believed to be away, the oracle was silent. After going through purification rituals and paying a certain tax, the pilgrim that would be allowed to consult the oracle could ask his question to Pythia. Pythia was a woman from the village Delphi, and in most cases she was a young virgin. We do not know exactly in what state of mind she was, but she was probably under the influence of some sort of narcotic substance. Tradition holds that fumes were coming out of a crack in the ground, but no such crack has been found. After Pythia had spoken, the priests interpreted her words to the pilgrim. The answers were always vague, and in this way the oracle was almost always right. This gave the priests great political power, and their credibility was discussed even in ancient times. It is said that the fable writer Aesop had called them the “parasites of Apollo” and for this the priests killed him

“Though killed I killed the killer; but even so he didn’t go to Hades, it was I who died”
Riddle from the Delphic Oracle

: Delphi Museum

The Archaeological Museum of Delphi, one of the most important in Greece, exhibits the history of the Delphic sanctuary, site of the most famous ancient Greek oracle. Its rich collections are comprised primarily of architectural sculpture, statues and minor objects donated to the sanctuary. These reflect its religious, political and artistic activities from its early years in the eight century BC to its decline in Late Antiquity.
Two of the most famous artifacts are:

• Kouros Statues of the Archaic Period. Early 6th c. B.C. (circa 580 B.C.) They are known as Kleovis and Biton.

• Large Sphinx of Naxos sitting on an Ionic column about 10m tall. circa 560 B.C.

The museum is housed in a two-storey building with a total surface area of 2270 square metres, with fourteen exhibition rooms, 558 square metres of storerooms and conservation laboratories for pottery, metal objects and mosaics. A new lobby, cafeteria and gift shop were created during the museum’s latest refurbishment.

Additional Information
Location: 150,00 km from Athens

It is famous about
The omphalos
Oracle
Temple of Apollo
Pythian Games