For us, this is the last official day of scheduled sites... :( (tomorrow will be a free day in Athens after about a three hour drive). So, for this occasion we visited Delphi, the religious center of the Greek world (and all the world in some ways. The city is literally built into Mount Parnassos and is considered the center of the world according to Greek mythology, as apparently Zeus sent two eagles from Mount Olympus on a journey to find the center of the world, and where they crossed each other would be the place. Guess where they crossed.
This is the remains of the Roman Forum (Agora). We can tell this is late Roman by the brick and mortar walls behind these columns. If you look really closely, you can see that these walls were also built using pieces of broken brick and not brand new ones, indicating it was built during the late Roman period (between 300-500 AD).
These two buildings are called treasuries, and were donated to the city of Delphi during the fifth and sixth centuries BC by surrounding city-states. These buildings were designed very simply with a cubic shape, only two pillars, and a small porch, but the inside is what is truly spectacular, as they were filled mostly with spoils of war from these city states. Why do this? To keep the gods (especially Apollo to which this whole site is dedicated) happy and on their side during wartime.
This rock in the center of the city just below the Temple of Apollo is known as the Navel Stone, or the Omphalos. According to legend, this is where Zeus' eagles crossed paths and was raved as the center of the Earth.
Here is the Temple of Apollo, the most prominent structure in the entire sanctuary. However, there are a few stories about the god to whom the building is dedicated to.
First, Apollo's birth: Apollo was born to the human Leto and Zeus, the father of the Greek Pantheon. Out of anger for her husband's infidelity, Hera sent a Python to kill Leto. In order to save his mother however, Apollo fought the serpent in the mountains surrounding Delphi, where he finally killed the beast and was granted an oracle (called a Pythia) for his work. It is this oracle to which people from literally all across this region of the world to hear what Apollo predicts what will occur to that person and whether or not the gods agree with the plans at hand.
When someone wished to hear from the Oracle, they first had to cleanse themselves in the Castalian Spring nearby, pay a tribute, and sacrifice an animal at the Altar of Apollo. It was not a guarantee to hear from the Oracle though because when the animal was being washed in the cool water, if it did not shiver, it was a bad day to hear from the gods, so nothing would be read. Once the sacrifice was completed, the Oracle woman would enter the temple somewhere in the middle near the cult statue, hear what Apollo had to say about the question posed to him, and the answer would be read aloud to a priest. This priest then decoded the message (they were often rather vague and cryptic visions) and would deliver the results to the guest. Clearly a bit different way of practicing religion...
Here is the 5,000 seat theater built directly into the side of the hill, a classic Greek design with a more than semi-circle orchestra.
As a means of proving that Delphi was force to be reckoned with during the 6th-4th centuries BC, the citizens arranged for the start of the Pythian games in 582 BC, very similar to those played in Olympia 200 years earlier. After a long hike up the hill, we were all dying to get this picture taken of all of us.
This is a gorgeous view from the stadium walkway. From the bottom to the top, you can see the theater, temple of Apollo, the gymnasium (the place where athletes would train from the games), and the Tholos Temple of Athena in the very top (the circular building with three standing pillars dedicated to the goddess of wisdom).
In addition, we made a stop to the museum on site. Here are some highlights.
This is the only restored frieze and pediment from the Treasury of the Siphnians. Originally, the structure was made of solid marble and was intended to represent the workmanship and style of those people on the Aegean Islands and modern day Eastern Greece. Since the Siphnians collapsed in the year 524 BC at the hands of a barbaric tribe, this building must have made its way here at some point before then, just before the classical period of Greece. The pediment itself shows Zeus breaking up a fight between Apollo (who had received an oracle from Pythia) and Herecles (who had not. Here, Herecles is grasping onto a tripod used for religious ceremonies and Apollo is grasping for it back. The frieze depicts the assembly of the gods following the Trojan War with several dead heros laying on their sides. Most notably, Zeus, Area, Aphrodite, Artemis, and Apollo attended this gathering.
These two panoramas show the metopes (the square pieces of marble of a Doric temple between the triglyphs but under the roof) of the Athenian treasury here in Delphi. The building, just like the first one by the Siphnians, was constructed to demonstrate the strength of the Athenian people as well as the strength of their democracy during the Classical Period (between 510-480 BC). The top photo is dedicated solely to Theseus, the supposed savior of Athens, and therefore their political system, who was credited with securing victory in the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC. The second photo depicts Hercules and some of his superhuman abilities, including the killing of the "Cerynean Hind," a mythical horse creature, chargin at an Amazon fighter with a shield, and grabbing an opponent around the waist and throwing him to the ground (notice all of these were done in order to show the superiority of the Athenians over the barbaric peoples).
And now for the HIGHLIGHTS!
Callan gave an awesome presentation on Delphi and the Oracle on site. Thank you!
Until Athens again, ECGT signing off!
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