Delphi & The Temple of Apollo

Upon our return to Athens from Mykonos, we had an evening to relax and then it was off early the next morning to Delphi, a 3 hour drive from Athens and into the mountains.  Once into the mountains the scenery was beautiful.

Delphi is in lower central Greece along the slope of Mount Parnassus, and is comprised of multiple terraces built along the slope of the mountain overlooking the Pleistos Valley.  Delphi sits high above the valley below, which stretches just over 9 miles down to the city of Kirrha and the Corinthian Gulf.  Delphi is the location of the Temple of Apollo and was the site of the Delphic Oracle, the most important oracle in Ancient Greece.  Extensive occupation and use of the site dates back to the Mycenaean Period (1600-1100 BC), with most of the ruins that survive today dating to about 600 BC.

Delphi was thought by the ancient Greeks to be located at the middle of the earth, who believed the site was selected by Zeus when he sent two eagles flying from the eastern and western extremities of the Earth, and where they crossed he marked as the center.  That spot is marked at Delphi with the navel stone.  At that time Greece did not exist as a country, but was dominated by city- states such as Athens, Corinth, and Sparta.  People identified themselves as Athenians, or Corinthians rather that Greeks.  So, the history of the site is heavily influenced by the people from these city-states.  Each of these city-states built treasuries at the site for storing the gifts brought by their people to the site to dedicate to Apollo.  At one time there were rows of these treasuries.

The history surrounding Delphi is heavily tied into the history and mythology of Ancient Greece and is well beyond my ability to summarize here.  But it is very interesting and if you are interested, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delphi to learn more.

We had a terrific local guide who was an expert in the site and in the Greek history and mythology surrounding the site.  We entered the site from the bottom and walked up the many stairs connecting the terraces that defined the sections of the site.  At the bottom were retaining walls and fortifications to protect the site, followed by the market area where animals were sold to visitors to use for sacrifices to Apollo, then the treasuries where gifts to Apollo were housed.  Above that level was the temple itself, and above that the theater carved into the side of the mountain.  Finally well above the theatre as the stadium for sporting events.  It was a challenging climb and many steps, but well worth it for the views and for the experience.

Following is a rendering of how the site might have looked at its prime.  It would have been impressive.

Over the centuries the site was impacted by invaders and earthquakes. The site's treasures were raided many times.  In 66 AD the Roman emperor Nero came to Greece and took 500 of the best statues back to Rome.  Subsequent Roman emperors continued raiding the site until emperor Theodosius I in 395 AD eliminated the oracle.  Eventually the town of Delphi was built on top of the ruins and was ultimately moved when excavations began in modern times.  Now the modern Delphi is located down the road a few miles from the site.

A few photos follow to show an overview of our visit.  The full set will be uploaded to the photo library.

Approaching the site from below, pillars from the Temple of Apollo visible up the slope.

Typical path we climbed.

The navel stone marking the center of the earth.

One end of the Treasury of the Athenians.

Ruins of the temple of Apollo in the background.

The theatre and the temple from above.

Corinthian Gulf from the restaurant where we had lunch in modern Delphi.