One final bus tour before leaving Greece and today the endpoint was Delphi, the most important location in the ancient world. The temple of Apollo and the oracle both resided on the steep mountain slopes of Delphi.
As the primary deity in the pantheon, worshippers and wisdom seekers came to Delphi to make sacrifices, give offerings of gratitude and petition, as well as compete in the most important games of the ancient world. A pilgrim's visit to this holiest of ancient sites would begin by walking through the market entrance. The former stone stalls were centuries later turned into little chapels.
(Note the crosses on the stone slabs.)
Climbing the side of the mountain and passing many smaller treasury buildings the ultimate objective was to gain access to the Temple of Apollo. The focal point of the Temple of Apollo was the ability to gain insight from the God Apollo through his earthy voice, the pythia also known as the Oracle of Delphi.
(The foundational walls of the temple are the only original structures to survive many large ancient earthquakes that ultimately destroyed the temple complex. They random cut design may have allowed greater flexibility than the standard square block designs that were destroyed.)
The pythia was a woman of at least 50 and could come from any social status. She wore the robes of the temple virgins and vocalized the earthy manifestation of Apollo’s opinions. How this divination process worked was the person seeking direction would make an offering to Apollo, cleanse himself with water from the spring of Kassotis and then present his question to the priest either verbally or “in writing”. The question was then shouted out to Apollo in the direction of the temple curtain.
(Several of the original entry columns have been re-stacked. The pythia would have been located near the center of the building where the tallest remaining stone is placed.)
Behind a curtain the pythia was sitting, having prepared herself to receive divine instruction. Her preparation included washing with water from the spring of Kassotis, drinking the holy water, chewing laurel leaves, inhaling vapors mixed with incense from a volcanic vent, sitting in the chair of Apollo (a tripod chair), and finally touching the rock of auranus.
Mythology states that Apollo released one eagle to the east and another to the west and they met directly over this very spot in Delphi. Therefore the true center of the earth, called the earth’s navel, was marked with a cone shaped stone called the auranus.
The combination of preparations left the pythia is a trance, more likely stoned, and so her response or voice of Apollo was indiscernible. The priest on the other side of the curtain would write the gibberish down in a metered form. He would then hand the answer to another and final member of the Temple of Apollo who would then decipher the writing and give a very ambiguous answer to the questioner. This rouse lasted for nearly a millennia.
If Apollo had answered and reality matched the vague response, then individuals and city states would return with great contributions. Tens of treasuries were erected, where precious statues were presented to Apollo. The treasury of Athens has been most successfully reconstructed.
Since the voice of Apollo was heard in Delphi, it made ancient logical sense to hold games in the same location in honor of the God of music and movement, among other attributes. That is why the most important games in the ancient world were in Delphi, as opposed to Olympus. Laurel crowns were given only to the top performer in each event. Accolades were given for contests of musical performance, dancing, and theatre as well as athletic events.
(Musical and theatrical competitions were held in the theatre, constructed just meters uphill from the Temple of Apollo.)
The victor won the privilege of permission to erect a statue in the temple complex. The Delphi Games were held every eight years and a region wide military truce was declared three months prior so competitors could prepare.
(The ancient athletic stadium in perched on an inspiring platue surrounded on three sides by coastal mountains.)
After viewing the archeological site, the group visited the small but important Delphi Museum that houses artifacts found in the temple complex. The most impressive was the Charioteer whose facial expression and artistic design still amazes after almost three thousand years.
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