The
famous sanctuary of Delphi is located in Phokis, in one of the
loveliest and most impressive Greek landscapes. Its ancient ruins
spread out over the southern slopes of Parnassos, beneath the
looming gigantic Phaidriad rocks, known in antiquity as Yampeia
and Nauplia. Such is the aplendour and magnificence of the setting
that the visitor is overcome with awe and ecstasynthe at the moment
he turns his gaze from the olive groves of the Pleistos valley
to those rugged crags which tower over and enclose the archaeological
site from north and east. Delphi was believed to be the center
of the world. According to the tradition Zeus, in order to find
the center of the earth, sent two eagles to fly around the earth
in opposite directions. Since they met over Delphi, he pointed
that specific area as the center of the earth.
The
trip also includes a visit to the monastery of Osio Lukas. In
the year 946 AC Osios Loukas first built his cell, a small church
in which to pray. He also made a beautiful garden in which he
grew his vegetables. He did not, however, manage to finish it.
He died in February 7, 953 at the age of 56. The monastery is
famous for its wall paintings. Those paintings have been cleaned
and restored recently and they exhibit special interest.
THE
HISTORY OF DELPHI
Archaeological
research has shown that the area of Delphi was inhabited at least
from the Mycenean period (14th-11th Century BC). The deity worshipped
here at those times was Gaia or Ge. Myth has it that she dwelt
in a cavern guarded by her serpentiform son, Python, and pronounced
oracles for devotees. The place was thus named Pytho. When the
god Apollo arrived from Delos he slew Python, after which he abandoned
the area in search of purification. He returned later, expiated
and crowned with a wreath, to establish his cult and the place
was then renamed Delphi. Apollo took the prosonym Pythios and
henceforth the oracle belonged to him. The sacred place was arranged
during the 8th and the 7th Century BC. Towards the end of the
7th Century BC the first stone temples were built, one dedicated
to Apollo and the other to the goddess Athena.
Delphi
belonged politically to the Phocian city of Krissa the present
village of Chrysso. In the early 6th Century BC the Amphictiony
was founded, a union of city-states with common political aims.
Its seat was transferred to Delphi, essentially inaugurating the
history of the city. In time the Delphic Amphictiony acquired
decisive responsibilities in the administration of the sanctuary.
In 582 BC it organized the Pythian games, which were held every
four years in honor of Apollo and in remembrance of his victory
over Python. In 548 BC the temple of Apollo was destroyed by fire
and THE construction of a new one commenced with contributions
from various Greek cities. Between the 6th and 4th Century BC
the sanctuary enjoyed a great heyday and was adorned with handsome
edifices and numerous ex-votos dedicated to Apollo by cities and
individuals. Several sacred wars affected the operation of the
oracle, since Phocians, Locrians, Athenians and others coveted
its wealth and interfered in its independence. Both the war against
Krissa (600-590 BC) and that waged to relieve Delphi of the sovereignity
of the Phocians were called Sacred Wars (first and second).
In
356 BC the third Sacred War was declared, which lasted 10 years
and ended in the domination of the Phocians. Philip II of Macedonia,
who assumed the leadership of the Amphictiony vanquished them
later. In 339-338 BC the fourth sacred war provided Philip with
the pretext for invading southern Greece, which he finally conquered
in the battle of Chaironeia. From 191 BC the Romans were in power.
In 86 BC General Sulla sacked the sanctuary. The Emperor Nero
participated in the Pythian games and transferred 500 statues
from Delphi to Rome, to grace his capital. In the 2nd Century
AD Hadrian made gifts intended to boost the sanctuary’s finances,
but efforts to regain its former glory were to no avail. The oracle
that the Pythia pronounced to the Byzantine Emperor Julian the
Apostate (361-363 AD) confirms the fact that Christianity had
prevailed. In 392 AD Emperor Theodosius banned the practice of
ancient cult and the oracle was forced to close.
ORACLE AND PROPHECIES
Pilgrims
and emissaries came from all over the ancient world to seek advice
from the oracle. First they cleansed themselves in the water of
the Kastalia Spring, then they paid a tax, the pelanon, and after
that sacrificed an animal on the altar to Apollo. The Pythia,
priestess of the god, uttered the prophecies, on a fixed day each
month, except the three winter months when it was believed that
Apollo was absent from Delphi, in the land of the Hyperborians.
The Pythia purified herself with water from the Kastalia spring,
censed the hearth and entered the adyton of the temple. There,
seated upon a tripod set above a cleft in the ground, she chewed
bay leaves, drank water from the Kassotis spring and inhaled the
fumes that sent her into a trance. Priests and theopropoi submitted
the pilgrims’ questions. The oracle was written down and interpreted
by the priests of Apollo. The oracles were ambiguous and could
be interpreted in many ways, so that the advice of the god was
never erroneous. The formal procedure of the oracle’s operation
was crystallized in the 6th Century BC and remained unchanged
until the reign of Handrian (2nd c. AD).
