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Delphi 005 * These pictures are from a day trip to Delphi, the ancient site of the Oracle to Apollo. This is looking down onto the valley, with parts of the temple to 'Athena Proneia' in the lower left * 1600 x 1200 * (530KB)
Delphi 006 * If you look carefully there is a goat in the middle there (black and white). This huge outcropping towers over the Castellian Fountain, a spring that was used for purification and other rites before entering the site of Delphi proper. * 1600 x 1200 * (932KB)
Delphi 007 * Modern day water channel for the Castellian Spring. * 1600 x 1200 * (684KB)
Delphi 008 * First look of the grounds of Delphi. The columns above are from the Temple to Apollo. * 1600 x 1200 * (695KB)
Delphi 009 * Now looking down on that same temple. * 1600 x 1200 * (678KB)
Delphi 010 * Delphi's theater. Because the Pythia (Priestess of Delphi) only gave oracles one day a month there was often a 'backlog' of oracles. Delphi in turn developed a full complement of entertainment and athletic facilities, including this theather, a stadium, baths, and a gymnasium. Visitors didn't mind waiting I imagine -the multitude of sacrifices being performed (one needed to sacrifice to even see if an oracle could be taken on a certain day) would have provided a lot of food. * 1600 x 1200 * (779KB)
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Delphi 011 * At the back is the 'adyton', a sacred place where only the Pythia could go. According to some testimonia she sat on a tripod, chewed laurel leaves, and breathed 'fumes' that came up from a chasm in the temple floor. Upon entering a trance she would speak the will of Zeus (by invoking Apollo). This would then be translated and delivered to the oracle seeker. * 1600 x 1200 * (450KB)
Delphi 012 * More of the theater. As an aside...some oracles were meant to be ambiguous. The king of Lydia, desirous to invade the Persians consulted the Oracle and got this response 'A great empire will fall'. Taking this to be a divine go-ahead he attacked Persia and was soundly defeated. The empire was his own! * 1600 x 1200 * (814KB)
Delphi 013 * Getting higher... The Athenians also consulted the Oracle when attacked by the Persians in 480. They got a response to 'hide behind your wooden walls'. Some thought this to be the wooden walls of the Acropolis. The statesman Themistocles saw an alternate meaning though - the Athenian navy. Those who followed him found victory at Salamis, those who stayed were defeated when the Persians razed the city. * 1600 x 1200 * (406KB)
Delphi 014 * We finally made it up to the stadium. * 1600 x 1200 * (639KB)
Delphi 015 * 1600 x 1200 * (736KB)
Delphi 016 * This archway was behind the starting line. Runners could come back and process here after victories. Notice the two notches. Runners here could crouch down in a pose very similar to the one used in modern days with supports. * 1600 x 1200 * (744KB)
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Delphi 017 * 1600 x 1200 * (605KB)
Delphi 019 * 1600 x 1200 * (659KB)
Delphi 020 * This is an underground recess below the temple. It winds beneath the temple for a short way before emerging from the ground to the right. * 1600 x 1200 * (839KB)
Delphi 021 * A (lopsided) picture of a stoa (columned, roofed, promenade) built by the Athenians. The inscription (still visible) on the steps describes the dedication to the Athenians. * 1600 x 1200 * (687KB)
Delphi 022 * This is a reconstructed treasury, also built by the Athenians. The emerging city-states would export luxury goods to these treasuries in an effort to show off to other powers (almost everyone had a treasury here). These were also found at other panhellenic sites like Olympia. The side contains an inscribed hymn to Apollo that some scholars use as a source to 're-enact' ancient Greek music or drama. * 1600 x 1200 * (505KB)
Delphi 023 * This is marker showing the 'Omphalos'. Ancient Greeks believed this spot to be the navel of the universe, citing a myth were Zeus released two eagles, one from the East, the other from the West, and they met over Delphi. * 1600 x 1200 * (791KB)
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