July 24 Beautiful ancient Delphi

 

Travelling into the rugged countryside northwest of Athens

Today we took a trip to Delphi, an ancient place which clings to the steep slopes of Mount Parnassus. Magical, nostalgic names to me! It is such a beautiful, unique place. The drive took us through gorgeous countryside. For me it was to be a trip down memory lane harking back to 1984 when my kids and I, together with a dear friend who joined us from the USA, toured the area using local buses. That trip was lots of fun and quite an adventure. 

At Delphi 1984 - an excellent year for travel, exploration and discovery for us‘young adventurers’

Delphi, now an archaeological site, was an ancient, sacred place and seat of Pythia the Oracle.  Indulge me a little while I divert to a little Greek mythology-cum-history which I find so intriguing. The name of the Sybil/Oracle Pythia is derived from Pytho, which in mythology was the original name of Delphi. It seems that word,  pytho, means ‘to rot’ referring to the sickly-sweet smell from the decomposing body of the monstrous python/serpent slain by Apollo (perhaps Pythia was inhaling toxic perhaps sulphurous fumes coming up through cracks in the earth).  Apollo became king but because he had killed the Python that controlled the city rather than simply defeating it, he was banished from Delphi for 3 months of every year.

This was the agora, market place. The reddish bricks were added by the Romans later.

R: This spiral bronze column once stood outside the Temple of Apollo. It is now in the hippodrome in Istanbul.  L: A replica staninding where it should be 

The archaeological site which was once Delphi crawls up the mountainside, a quite steep mountainside. When excavations started they had to shift the modern-day village of Delphi. Not surprisingly a lot of reconstruction/restoration of ancient Delphi has taken place since we were there 40 years ago and many things are now roped off which was rather sad. Nonetheless it was an extremely nostalgic day for me and it was wonderful sharing it with Lindsay - in spite of the heat which reached 40C.  Utter madness climbing hills in such weather, but I was determined to get to the little amphitheatre halfway up the hill above the Temple of Apollo, the temple from where the Oracle, Pythia prophesied.  When we were able, we stopped for a wee rest in the shade, the super-heated air smelled of cypress - it was delicious. 

The Treasury of Athens

People once flocked to make supplications to the Oracle. Thry paid dearly for the possibility of that privilege. The Treasury of Athens was where those ‘gifts’ brought to the Oracle were stored. The size of the gift determined your position in line. People could only make supplications to the Oracle once a month during the 3-month period when Apollo was not there - he was the God and the Oracle was his voice, when he wasn’t there.

The ruins of the Temple of Apollo

Beautiful pencil pines. We were heading up there to the small amphitheatre.

A stunning vista looking over the ruins (not Lindsay!) into the valley way below.

The amphitheatre where Nathan did a rendition of something Shakespearian. It is now roped off

The Temple of Apollo below. And below those cracked blocks Pythia sat in darkness

Pythia (Internet pic)

Pythia, spokesperson for Apollo, sat in darkness in an enclosed inner sanctum under the floor of the Temple in an almost trancelike state making utterances which the priests of the Temple ‘interpreted’ - for a price. The Oracles were all innocent young women chosen from local villages. She would sit on a tripod positioned over a chasm - an opening in the earth through which toxic fumes rose. She also chewed poisonous oleander leaves - needless to say they died fairly young.

Way below more excavations were underway - a swimming pool and sporting arena.

The ancient Greeks considered Delphi the centre of the world and marked that with a stone monument known as the Omphalos (navel). We were to see that in the museum.  We didn’t have a long time to wander on our own around the ancient site before we were herded off to the museum, a more recent addition to the site. It is a very informative space. 

This 2m marble Sphinx of Naxos stood on a tall Ionic column next to the Temple of Apollo.
The Sphinx served as a guardian of the sanctuary.

The Omphalosm (navel)

'The Charioteer' detail is exquisite. Bottom right gives an idea of what the original work may have been like

Many artefacts rescued from the archaeloogical site were on display in the museum. One, a statue called ‘The Charioteer’, was preserved thanks to a natural catastrophe - it was buried in the debris after a great earthquake in 373 BC. The detail is quite exquisite. 

Then we were whicked off for unch at a local restaurant before heading to the delightful hill-side town of Arachova known for its weaving - we resisted the temptation - before heading home. A memorable albeit draining day.