July 24 Ancient Delphi

 

Today we took a trip to Delphi, an ancient place which clings to the steep slopes of Mount Parnassus. Magical names to me! It’s such a beautiful, rather special, place and the drive took us through gorgeous countryside. For me it was to be a trip down memory lane harking back to the 1980s when my kids and I, together with a dear friend who joined us from the US, toured the area by local bus. That trip was lots of fun and quite an adventure. 

Circa 1984 - an excellent year for travel, exploration and discovery for we ‘young adventurers.’

Delphi, now an archaeological site, was an ancient, sacred place and seat of Pythia the oracle.  Indulge me here 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 myth was the original name of Delphi. It seems that word, pytho, means ‘to rot’ (origins of putrefy I wonder) referring to the sickly sweet smell from the decomposing body of the monstrous python/serpent slain by Apollo.  Apollo became king but because he had killed the Python that controlled the city (through terror I think) rather than simply defeating it, he was banished from Delphi for 3 months of every year.

This was the agora, market place. The bricks in the structures were added by the Romans.

The archaeological site crawls up the mountainside, a quite steep mountainside I might add. When they started excavations they had to shift the modern village of Delphi. Not surprisingly a lot of reconstruction/restoration of the 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 amphitheater 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 heated air smelled of cypress it was delicious. 

The Treasury of Athens

The treasury of Athens was where the ‘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 wasn’t 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.

Stunning sight looking over the ruins (not Lindsay!!) into the valley way below.

The amphitheatre where Nathan did a rendition - of something Shakespearian

The Temple 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 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 sat on a tripod seat over a chasm, an opening in the earth through which toxic fumes rose, they also chewed oleander leaves - needless to say they died fairly young.

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

We didn’t have a long time to wander on our own before we were off to the museum, a more recent addition to the site. A very good 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 within the sanctuary.

The Omphalos

The ancient Greeks considered Delphi the centre of the world and marked that with the stone monument known as the Omphalos (naval).

The Charioteer

This statue ‘the Charioteer’ is preserved thanks to a natural catastrophe; it was burled in the debris of a great earthquake in 373 BC. The detail quite mesmerising. The imagine bottom right gives an idea of what the original work may have been like.

Then it was lunchtime at a local restaurant before heading to the delightful Arachova known for its weaving - we resisted the temptation! before heading home. A great albeit draining day.