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Ancient Delphi   A UNESCO World Heritage Site  Click for Delphi Photo Gallery


View of Pleistos Valley from Mt. Parnassus. Photo by Josh Clark.
See many more photos in our Delphi Photo Gallery.


The Sacred Way. Photo by Josh Clark.


Spectacular mountain views from Delphi. Photo by Frank Fleschner.


The Temple of Apollo. Photo by Francis E. Luisier.


The Treasury of the Athenians. Photo by Francis E. Luisier.

 
Treasury of the Athenians (Josh Clark); carved blocks (Show Chen).


Cross revetment from the Christian period at Delphi. Photo by Show Chen.


The Tholos. Photo by Francis E. Luisier.


The Tholos. Photo by Show Chen.


View of the Sanctuary of Athena. Photo by xymox.


The Theater in March. Photo by Ben Lowery.


The stadium. Photo licensed under GFDL.


The Omphalos. Photo by Francis E. Luisier.


Winged sphinx in the Delphi Museum. Photo by Show Chen.


Relief from the Treasury of the Siphnians. Photo by Josh Clark.

Interactive satellite map of Delphi. For a larger view,
see our Greece Map or Google Earth download.


Located amidst breathtaking scenery in central Greece, Ancient Delphi is the site of the Sanctuary and Oracle of Apollo, the most important sacred site in ancient Greek religion. Nearby is the Sanctuary of Athena, which includes the Tholos pictured above. The archaeological site also includes the excellent Delphi Museum.

There are several good hotels near the ruins in the lovely modern town of Delphi. You can also easily visit Delphi as a day trip, as it is a scenic 2.5-hour drive or bus ride northwest from Athens. Delphi is included in many guided tours, ranging from day trips from Athens to extended tours of Greece.

History

For the ancient Greeks, Delphi was quite literally the center of the world. According to Greek myth, Zeus released two eagles from opposite ends of the earth and they met in the sky above Delphi. Impaling one another with their beaks, they fell to the ground on the very center of the world. The site was marked by the Omphalos, or "navel" stone, a Roman copy of which can be seen in the Delphi Museum.

According to legend, the serpent Python was the ancient guardian of Delphi's Castalian Spring before he was killed by Apollo. Python was the son of the Greek goddes Gaia, "Earth." And significantly, the name Delphi is related to δελφός (delphos), "womb." It is probable that an Earth Goddess was originally venerated at the site before Apollo arrived.

Excavations reveal that Delphi was first inhabited in late Mycenaean times (as early as the 15th century BC), and that priests from Knossos on Crete brought the cult of Apollo to Delphi in the 8th century BC.

According to Homer, Apollo himself founded the oracle of Delphi, saying:

In this place I am minded to build a glorious temple to be an oracle for men, and here they will always bring perfect hecatombs, both they who dwell in Peloponnesus and the men of Europe and from all the wave-washed isles, coming to question me. And I will deliver to them all counsel that cannot fail, answering them in my rich temple. (Hymn to Pythian Apollo, 285-295)

Regarded as the center of the world and the dwelling place of Apollo, Delphi attracted pilgrims from across the ancient world. Generals, kings, and individuals of all ranks came to the Oracle of Delphi to ask Apollo's advice on the best course to take in war, politics, love and family. After the inquirer made a sacrifice, a woman known as the Pythia uttered cryptic pronouncements which were then translated by a priest (see "The Oracle," below, for more information).

The Temple of Apollo seen today at Delphi dates from the 4th century BC. There were two earlier temples on the site: the first was burned in 548 and the second was destroyed by an earthquake. Some archaic capitals and wall blocks are preserved from the first temple and many of wall blocks and some pediment sculptures are extant from the second.

The Pythian Games held at Delphi were one of four Panhellenic games held in ancient Greece, and they attracted competitors from all over the Greek world. Founded in the 6th century BC and held in honor of Apollo, they originally centered around the talents the god exemplified - music and poetry. But soon, athletic competitions were added as well. The best known was a great chariot race, held in the stadium that can still be seen at Delphi. The winners of the Pythian Games received a laurel wreath from the city of Tempe in Thessaly, where Apollo was said to have picked a laurel on his way to Delphi.

The 6th century BC saw the political rise of Delphi and the reorganization of the Pythian Games, ushering in a golden age that lasted until the arrival of the Romans in 191 BC. Numerous treasuries were built in the Sanctuary of Apollo to house votive offerings of grateful pilgrims. In the 4th century BC, a theater accommodating 5,000 spectators was constructed nearby. It was restored in 159 by the Pergamene king Eumenes II and later by the Romans.

The oracle of Delphi was abolished in 393 AD by Emperor Theodosius, who made Christianity the official religion of the Byzantine Empire.

Archaeological excavations began in earnest around 1900, and exciting new studies of the site and its geology were carried out in the late 1990s (see "The Oracle," below). Delphi was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987.

What to See

The site of Ancient Delphi is widespread and there is much to see. The Sanctuary of Apollo is immediately beyond and just above the museum. The less famous Sanctuary of Athena is on the lower slopes of Mt. Parnassus, a 10-minute walk past the museum. The Castalian Spring is between the two sanctuaries.

The most ancient sacred site at Delphi, and perhaps the reason the site was chosen as the abode of Apollo, is the sacred Castalian Spring that wells up in a ravine in the Phaedriades mountains. It is connected with the chemical vapors that arise from the earth to inspire the Pythia's oracles (see "The Oracle," below). Two fountains fed by the sacred spring survive: an ancient (early 6th century BC) fountain house with a marble-lined basin surrounded by benches, and a Roman fountain with niches for votive gifts. In classical times, all pilgrims to Delphi stopped here to ritually bathe before entering the sacred precinct.

The modern visitor to Delphi follows the exact path along the "Sacred Way" that was followed by ancient pilgrims and visitors to the site. The path begins at the southeast corner of the site and winds its way up the hillside, past ancient treasuries and monuments, to the Temple of Apollo.

At its peak, every available space along the Sacred Way at Delphi was filled with treasury buildings, statues and votive offerings. These were donated by important cities to thank the Oracle for helpful advice that led to victories and to establish a presence at the important site of Delphi.

The most notable of these treasuries and offerings is the Treasury of the Athenians, dating from 490 BC. It was funded by the spoils of Athens' victory over the Persians at the Battle of Marathon, which was won after an oracle advising the Athenians to put their faith in their "wooden walls." They understood this to refer to their navy, and went on to win the famous battle at Salamis. The small, Doric-style building with two central columns was reconstructed in 1906 by French archaeologists. The treasury includes a wall covered with Greek inscriptions, including musically annotated hymns to Apollo.

The focus of Delphi, both in ancient times and today, is the Temple of Apollo, dating from the 4th century BC. It originally had 6 columns on the front and 15 on the sides, which were stuccoed over. The exterior was decorated with shields captured from the Persians at Plataea. Today, visitors can see one complete column of the facade and portions of five more columns. Also visible are the foundations of the outer colonnade and the interior sekos.

There were two earlier temples of Apollo on this site: the first was burned in 548 and the second was destroyed by an earthquake. Some archaic capitals and wall blocks are preserved from the first temple and many of wall blocks and some pediment sculptures are extant from the second.

The 4th-century-BC theater of Delphi, just above the Temple of Apollo, is one of the best preserved in Greece. It has 35 rows of seats and could seat 5,000 people. The front of the stage was decorated with a frieze of the Labours of Herakles, which is now in the Delphi Museum.

The sight most at ancient Delphi is the Tholos at the Sanctuary of Athena Pronaiais. A round structure ringed by 20 slender Doric columns, the Tholos was built in the early 4th century BC by Theodorus. After its completion he proudly wrote a treatise on its construction. The interior featured 10 Corinthian half-columns. The purpose of this elegant little building is not known for certain; it may have housed an important statue. Three columns and the entablature were re-erected in 1938, and it is one of the most picturesque remains of Delphi.

The on-site Delphi Museum should not be missed, as it contains attractive displays of a wide variety of artifacts from Delphi, most of which were extravagent gifts from far-away cities. Each room has a specific focus, such as sculpture from the elegant Siphnian treasury; finds from the Temple of Apollo; works from the Roman period (including a marble sculpture of the epicene youth Antinous, the beloved of the emperor Hadrian); bronzes; and finds from the countryside around Delphi.

The star exhibit of the museum, with a room to himself, is the famous 474 BC Charioteer of Delphi, a larger-than-life bronze figure that originally included a four-horse chariot. He was a gift from the wealthy Sicilian city of Gela to honor its tyrant Polyzalos's chariot victory here. The statue is justly famous: the handsome youth's delicate eyelashes shade wide enamel-and-stone eyes and realistic veins stand out in his hands and feet.

The Festival of Delphi is held each summer (usually in June) and features ancient Greek drama and works inspired by ancient drama. Tickets and schedules are usually available at the European Cultural Center of Delphi's Athens office at 9 Frynihou, Plaka (tel. 210/331-2798), and at the center's Delphi office (tel. 22650/82-733), just out of town on the Itea road (set back from the road in a grove of trees).

The Oracle

The famous oracles of Delphi were given in a small chamber in the Temple of Apollo called the adyton, which only the Pythia could enter. The Pythia (named for the python slain by Apollo) was a priestess who spoke as a possessed medium for Apollo, the god of prophecy. She was usually a middle-aged peasant woman, and was specially selected and trained for her role. She practiced sexual abstinence and fasting before giving oracles.

Questions were submitted to the Oracle on a tablet, some of which survive. When she was delivering oracles, the Pythia was said to be in a mild trance. The Pythia spoke for Apollo in an altered voice and often chanted her responses. The response was then written down and sealed by a priest and given to the inquirer. No copies of any answers have yet been found.

The Oracle only functioned on certain days and under specific circumstances. On one occasion recorded by Plutarch, the Delphi temple authorities forced the Pythia to prophesy on an inauspicious day to please the members of an important embassy. She went to the adyton unwillingly and was seized by a powerful and malignant spirit. In this state of possession, instead of speaking or chanting as she normally did, the Pythia groaned and shrieked, threw herself about violently and eventually rushed at the doors, where she collapsed. The frightened consultants and priests ran away, but later came back and picked her up. She died after a few days.

According to many ancient authors — including historians Pliny and Diodorus, the philosopher Plato, poets Aeschylus and Cicero, the geographer Strabo, the traveler Pausanias, and even a priest of Apollo who served at Delphi: the famous essayist and biographer Plutarch — the Pythia received her oracles from a chasm in the earth that emitted vapors "as if from a spring." Plutarch noted that the gas smelled of sweet perfume. Strabo (64 BC-25 AD) recorded:

They say that the seat of the oracle is a cavern hollowed deep down in the earth, with a rather narrow mouth, from which rises a vapor that produces divine possession. A tripod is set above this cleft, mounting which, the Pythia inhales the vapor and prophesies.

Modern study of the site of Delphi began around 1900, when French excavations of the site were undertaken. When no chasm was discovered that matched the ancient reports, the English classicist Adolphe Paul Oppé declared that no chasm or gases had ever existed at Delphi. His strongly-argued reported was immediately accepted. His theory was reinforced in 1950 when French archaeologist Pierre Amandry added that only a volcanic area, which Delphi was not, could have produced a gas such as the one described in the classical sources.

But in the 1980s, a geological survey discovered an active fault line that ran along the south slope of Mount Parnassus and under the site of the oracle. Given the prevailing opinion, no significance was attached to the find. But faults are known to bring gases to the earth's surface, and experts began to question the accepted doctrine.

Finally, in 1996, further exploration of Delphi was undertaken in order to explore this possibility. This and other recent studies have revealed that:

Quick Facts

Location: Central Greece, 2.5 hours from Athens
Contact: 22650/82-313
Hours: Summer Mon 11am-7pm; Tues-Fri 8am-7pm; Sat-Sun and holidays 8am-3pm. Winter Mon 11am-5:30pm; Tues-Fri 8am-5:30pm; Sat-Sun and holidays 8am-3pm. (Be sure to check these times as soon as you arrive at Delphi, as they can change without warning.)
Cost: 9€ (museum and site); site or museum only: 6€
When to visit: Delphi is especially breathtaking in the spring, when it is surrounded by blooming almond trees.
Both the site and museum are usually least crowded before closing (but be sure to allow a couple of hours) and around lunchtime.
Tips: Starting your tour with the museum will help you better visualize what Delphi looked like in its glory as you tour the ruins.
A map is very useful for touring Delphi, as labels aren't always clear and the site is so widespread. Either print this one to take along, or get one at the entrance.

Sources

  1. Encyclopaedia Britannica Premium Service - "Delphi"
  2. Odyssey Adventuries - Margaret E. Morden, "Delphi and the Temple of Apollo"
  3. Scientific American - "Questioning the Delphic Oracle" by John Hale, Jelle de Boer, Jeff Chanton and Rick Spiller, August 2003
  4. Clyde E. Fant and Mitchell G. Reddish, A Guide to Biblical Sites in Greece and Turkey, p. 37.

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