SANCTUARY OF APOLLO - DELPHI GREECE

Hi, welcome to Athens. Today we're going to explore one of the most picturesque ancient sites where the boundary between reality and illusion fades, the ancient sanctuary and oracle of Delphi. Let's go! About 10 kilometers from the Gulf of Corinth in the Phocis region, on the steep lower slope of the Mount Parnassus, we can wander through the ancient site, also known as the navel of the world. For centuries it was a home of the legendary oracle. More than 4 000 years ago it was a sacred place where Gaia, the mother of earth, and Poseidon were worshipped and at that time it was goddess Gaia who delivered prophecies. Around the 8th century BC the religion changed and according to a legend it was god Apollo, who by the way reached adulthood in just four days, killed the terrifying dragon Python, the son of the mother of earth, which was guarding her oracular fountain. And now the story becomes even more interesting and shows us the shift of morality. Apollo knows that he needs to exile himself as punishment, thus the vengeance known as the blood for blood no longer prevails. Restoration triumphs over retribution. After seven years he came back from banishment with Cretan sailors to erect the sanctuary. He guided them under the form of a dolphin. Dolphin in greek is Delphis, thus the name of the site. Our exploration begins at the Roman Agora, where pilgrims would purchase votive offerings and cultic objects. In front of the colonnade altars and statues of benefactors of the sanctuary were erected. From here pilgrims followed the sacred way to consult the oracle. Today we associate the oracle with Pythia, a woman who in order to issue a prophecy fasted for three days, bathed in the Castilian spring, burned laurel incense, drank holy water, sat on the tripod and went into a holy trance to deliver prophetic messages directly from Apollo. But there were actually three older oracles in Delphi. Ancient Greeks believe that God lives within his holy plant laurel and he issues prophecies with the swishing of the leaves. Then there was an oracle by Lot. Lots had different shapes and colors, thus different meanings. Another way to receive God's maxims was to sleep in the holy place. The answer was revealed in a dream. This is the Omphalos of Delphi. It was thrown by Zeus to mark the center of the world. The most known treasury is the treasury of the Athenians erected around 500 BC. It's almost 10 meters high and around 7 meters wide. Wonderfully preserved Doric in style, the treasury was entirely built of Parian marble. Originally, it was adorned with 30 sculptures presenting exploits of Heracles and Theseus. On a small triangular terrace, Athenians placed their loot from the Battle of Marathon and engraved an inscription with dedication to Apollo. According to legend, Zeus sent two eagles from two different parts of the universe to establish the center of the world, also known as the navel of the world. Right behind the remains of the Athenian stoa, a retaining wall known as the Polygonal Wall of Delphi brings our attention. In 548 BC, after the burning of the Temple of Apollo, the wall was built to strengthen the land of the dyke. It's circa 87 meters long and its height varies from 2 to 4 meters. Several centuries later, between the 2nd century BC and 1st century AD, the wall was carved with hundreds of inscriptions of freed slaves, so their freedom was secured by Apollo. The wall is made of stones with curved joints, which are perfectly fitted, and due to their irregular shape, a lifeless wall gets a vibrant and decorative appearance. Doesn't it resemble another wall? Maybe in Peru? There it is, the principal temple in the sanctuary, the Temple of Apollo, with a great altar in the front. However, it is the third temple made of stone, and if you would count the buildings of very early date, it is the sixth one. According to Delphic traditions, the first temple was built of laurel wood, the second of beewax and feathers, and the third one of bronze or copper. The construction of this temple began in 369 BC and is attributed to the architect Spintaurus from Corinth. Even though the temple wasn't finished, it started to function in 330 BC. The temple measures about 60 by 24 meters and was built in Doric order, with peristyle, which means surrounding colonnade, with 6 by 15 columns. Probably three of the Delphic maxims, Know thyself, nothing in excess, and surety brings ruin, were inscribed on the front column. The variety of materials used for construction is just astonishing. Great stone, cypress wood, parian marble, limestone, and white stucco as coating for columns and entablature. Presumably in the chamber, cellar, were two altars, one of Poseidon and one of Hestia with the immortal flame, as well as statues of Zeus and Apollo and many other precious objects. At the back of the cellar was probably a crypt, where the famous oracle issued prophecies. This is a part of the huge gold tripod almost 7.5 meters high. It was an offering made to Apollo by almost all Greeks together, after they triumphed in Plataea in 479 BC. This battle was of enormous significance, as after this victory, Greeks became masters of Europe. Unfortunately, what we see today is only a copy of a pillar, which was set up in 2015. The original column, along with one of the snake's heads, was moved to Constantinople by Constantine the Great in 324 AD. This huge monument is the Stelae of Prusias. It reaches 9.7 meters in height and was built after 182 BC. At the top stood the statue of the king of Bithynia, Prusias II, on the horse. The Delphic Oracle was the highest religious authority of the ancient world. It attracted not only Greeks, but people from Asia, Egypt or Italy. Initially, anyone who sat on the tripod could convey the maxim. Later on, the prophecies were issued by priests on tripods inside the sanctuary. They inhaled gas from a crevice under their feet and drank water from the sacred spring and fell into trance. Centuries later, the prophecies were delivered by Phimono, a young and beautiful virgin, but in the late 3rd century BC Phimono was kidnapped and violated. Since then, Pythia, a woman older than 50 years old, dressed like a young maiden girl, served as the Oracle of Delphi. The ancient stadium of Delphi, as well as the ancient theater in front of us, hosted the Pythian Games, one of the four Panhellenic competitions of the ancient Greek world. The participants of the few first Pythian Games competed only in music and the games were held every eight years. After some time, sports competitions were added and the Pythian Games were organized every four years. As the games were dedicated to Apollo, the champions were crowned with a laurel wreath. The theater had a capacity of 5,000 spectators, whereas the stadium 6,500. There's a theory saying that Pythia knew what prophecies she should utter, as the sanctuary area was almost always crowded and Pythia had some kind of helpers hearing what people say. I'm now at the top with the most breathtaking view. Even though Nero robbed votive offers and took them to Rome, the sanctuary continued to function until the 2nd century AD and finally lost its importance in 4th century AD, when all ancient worship and rituals were banned by the Roman emperor Theodosius I. It became the seat of a bishop but was forsaken in the early 7th century. Eventually, the village Kastri was built over it. The last, but for sure not least, is the Tolos of Delphi, in the sanctuary of the Athena Pronaia. It's one of the most recognizable monuments of the Delphi archaeological site, built between 360 and 380 BC. The epithet Pronaia, the one before, results from the fact that the pilgrims reached Athena's temple before Apollos and, according to mythology, Athena's duty was to protect her half-brother Apollo. The exterior of the Tolos was built in the Doric order, with 20 columns, from which only three remain today. On the exterior and around the top of the cellar, there were two large friezes, each containing 40 metopes. The outer ones displayed scenes from mythological battles against Amazons and Centaurs. Based on the archaeological findings, it's believed that a female goddess, a kind of mother deity, was worshipped here since the Bronze Age. It was the time when Mediterranean people recognized their descent from the mother and not the father. As a whole, Delphi archaeological site are many more structures and monuments which I didn't mention. It's like Disneyland for ancient sites maniacs like me. Thank you for watching. I hope you enjoyed this video. If so, please subscribe to my channel. And see you on another ancient site!