Walking Through Delphi: Experiencing Greece’s Sacred Center of the World

This is the spectacular ecological site of Delphi in Greece. Delphi but I had to stop because look at those birds. There are millions. They're on the... I think they are migrating. Is that the correct word? Can you see them on the on the wire? So I'm gonna get a bit closer. That's the most... I have never seen migrating birds before. Oh my god, look at them and they're all... They look like... Ah, they're drinking water. They scared them off. Oh my goodness, that's such an amazing view and they are... I think they're also eating. Oh, can you see them? I do hope that the camera can catch the whole... the beauty, the amazing beauty of this huge swarm of birds. They're absolutely everywhere. And you know what I did? I just dropped the car over there and run to catch the birds but they're afraid of me. I'm really amazed of this view. Those birds, I really have never seen anything like that before. We do see sometimes in Athens small groups of swarms of birds but absolutely nothing like that. Look at that. My god, it's so beautiful. Oh, wow. Wow. Oh, they're leaving. Oh, they came here to drink and I'm in the way. Okay, I'm going. Okay. Oh, wow. Oh, you know, someone... I do hope nobody... Oh, there are more. There's more there. There's more there. There's a huge wave there. Huge, huge. Starts from all over, goes like that and then a few and then there is over there. Wow, okay. I'm already too late for Delphi, yeah. So today, I didn't tell you that, today is Sunday, November 16th, 2025. The weather is just magnificent. I thought I was prepared for something like 18, 19 degrees Celsius and then right now it must be like 25. It's crazy and if you think that we are on a mountain. Delphi is built, the archaeological site and the village, is built on the southwest slopes of Parnassos mountain in central Greece and at about 595 meters high and at one of the most spectacular positions and landscapes in Greece. Since October 2025, the Greek ministry decided that every first and third second, every first and third Sunday of March, between November and March, you can get the archaeological sites and museums run by the public ministries for free. Today is the third Sunday of November, it's 16th as I said and so a lot of other people had the same idea. So, I went to the entrance but they told me to go back because even though it is a free entrance, they need a ticket. So, I have to go to the area where the museum is and issue a zero ticket and then go back. Just to let you know that if you are visiting during winter and you don't have a ticket, go first to the ticket area. Taken in hand, entrance is granted. First, you have to climb a little some steps so it's not very mobility. We have mobility issues, it's not very friendly this piece here and I know that there is a project trying to make it a bit more accessible. I don't see it happening in 2025, maybe for next year. So, what happened here? Why here? First of all, I want to tell you that this was the most powerful oracle in ancient Greece. Everyone would come here. It was not a city Athens or nothing like that. This was a sanctuary dedicated to Apollo and in there, through the centuries, it was established the oracle where the mighty and the powerful people of the time, but even common people, if they could afford it, they would come here to get an advice and a prophecy. So, first, that we find when you come into the site because the site goes all around like that. It's like a snake road and it's uphill, very difficult during summer, but nice in November. So, first is the Roman Agora. So, those are what is left. It says the northern Ionic stoa is preserved from the Agora, the area where meetings and commerce occurred in late antiquity, fourth century AD. We're talking about AD. Why here? According to Greek mythology, Zeus was trying to find the center of the world. So, to find it, he released two large eagles and he released them, one going to the east and the other going to west, and they flew all around the earth and they landed here. So, it was decided that this is the center of earth or omphalos, as we call it in Greece, in Greek. Omphalos, we also call our navel. So, it is the navel of the earth here, according at least to the ancient Greeks. So, as the visitors were going towards the temple of Apollo, they would go past all those and they would see that Argos has dedicated that and Tarantac has dedicated this and Athens would do that. And it was kind of preparing you for the impressive monument that you were going to see next. So, as you walk by, those flanking this road, it's not just ruins, it's important dedications. And of course, this is the most important treasury, as I was telling you, the Athenian one, which is actually a temple, a small temple, where they kept all the treasuries inside. Now, what kind of treasuries, I'm not sure, probably silver items, coins, but I can't tell for sure, I just imagine. So, this is the temple, treasury of the Athenians. So, I was telling you about this and the eagles and they landed here. He decided this is the omphalos of the world. And then Apollo, the god, said, okay, I love this area, it's beautiful, it has spectacular location, I love the mountain, this is where I'm going to build the sanctuary. Unfortunately, another goddess had already taken the area. It was the goddess of Ea, meaning earth, because in Greek, Yi is earth, but the goddess was called Ea. So, anyway, so when he came here, he saw the sanctuary of Ea, where it was guarded by a large dragon, Pythonas. And of course, Apollo being a god and mighty and very powerful, he slayed the dragon and he turned this into his own sanctuary. The thing is that here, this area is called Alos or Aloni. Aloni is the threshing hole, the threshing field, where the animals go around and do something with the seed. Yeah, my farmer knowledge is null. So, every eight years here, along with this doggy, hello, they had this ritual, if I remember correctly, it was called Septirion, and they were reenacting the whole drama. Apollo comes here and then the Python attacks him and Apollo kills it. And it was every eight years. So, besides all the other spectacles that were happening here, besides the prophecies, besides the Delphic competition, the games, which I will speak in a minute, they also had that, which to be honest, I'm not sure that I knew that before. So, we continue to the next level there. And this is, it says don't touch, okay, I was not going to, but look at the detail here. This is an Ionic, I believe, or is it Corinthian? I'm not saying, it's definitely not Doric, but I'm not sure if it is Corinthian or Ionic. The difference is that Corinthians are a little bit too elaborate, like this one. Yeah, it doesn't say anything, doesn't say where it's from, but it's absolutely gorgeous and looks, it's marble. So, there's more climbing up. Okay, yeah, I'm gonna see what this blue circling column is. It's an interesting one. So, this is called the column of the snake, maybe it's a python. As you can see, it continues up and up and up. And this is the most magnificent and large building in the whole temple, in the whole Delphi, the Temple of Apollo. Look how big it is. As you can see, it's quite massive. It was built in 510 BC. It is of Doric style. Doric is the simplest and most original, the initial Greek style of building temples. For instance, the Parthenon in Athens, in the Acropolis, is a mixture of Doric and Ionic style. But this one is completely Doric. And here is where the Theia, the prophecies, what's the word? The woman who offered the prophecies, used to be. So, there was, imagine all that, in the middle there was, there were columns all around, right? So, she would sit there on a tree pot and it was always a woman and she would come in and breathe all that steam, which I don't know what kind of steam was, I'm not getting into these details. She would breathe the steam and she would give the oracle, the prophecy, the advice, whatever you call it. It's getting hotter and hotter and now I'm gonna climb to the theater. It's not mobility-friendly at all. Oh my god, look at the view, guys. The temple, huh? The Athenian treasury and the gorge of the one million olive trees. And here we have the next monument, which is the theater. The best preserved monument at the archaeological site of Delphi testifies to the intellectual and cultural acme of Apollo's sanctuary. So, here we are. You see there, the people. So, you may ask yourself, a theater in an oracle, why? Well, like a lot of sanctuaries, like the Olympia sanctuary, where the Olympian games were held, and Nemea, where the Nemean games, the Isthmia, where the Isthmian games, or Livadia, where the Basilia games were held. Delphi also had games. That's why there was this gymnasium right in the beginning. Remember in Pronea, where today it's closed. And the gymnasium was where they were trained. And on top, where we will go next, the stadium is where they competed. And then, and like all sanctuaries, like the healing sanctuary of Epidaurus, Greeks believed that art, music, and competition healed the mind. So, a lot of people that I believe, I haven't read that in any book, but I believe that all these people, besides the kings and the mighty and generals that just wanted more power, but the simple people that would come here and would seek advice for personal issues, they think that if they come here and offer them, besides a nice prophecy of what to do and save them from stress of decisions and dilemmas, they would offer them as well theatre, plays, and competition. Because they strongly believe that art, a healthy body, offers a healthy mind, which kind of believe modern society also believes the same. And this is, so that's why the theatre. Just left the theatre, moving towards the stadium. But there's more uphill, of course, and you see this road there? That leads to the modern village of Delphi. So, what happened here? Oh, my God, I have to catch up with my breath. I was walking to the stadium, I'm almost there, and then I saw this little stream of water. I wonder if this is Kastalia fountain. The fountain where everybody had to wash before they entered the sanctuary. Even the priests had to wash. And nobody was allowed dirty inside the sanctuary, but I'm not sure if this is it. Oh, the climbing is a killer, I have to tell you. But let's see if this is Kastalia fountain, Kastalia spring, perhaps. There's no sign about that, but maybe it is. If I had lost my breath in November, imagine what will happen if you come here in August. Okay, thank God we're here. How impressive is this, huh? It's a big one. There's a door over there, you see? Maybe this is where the audience was coming in? No, because I believe the athletes would come in more somewhere. There's some remnants of gates over there, maybe this is where they come in. So, I showed you before the road to Delphi, the village, because there's Delphi, the archaeological site, and Delphi, the village. But until 1892, there was no archaeological site. This is when the excavation began, and they couldn't do that earlier, they couldn't start the excavations, because there was a village here, on top of the archaeological site, not where it is today. So, they had to persuade them to move, like exactly what they did with Ancient Agora in Athens. They did the same, they moved all the demolished houses and excavated Ancient Agora, so they did the same here. And they offered the owners of the houses, new houses, where Delphi, the Delphi village is today. And the process was accelerated, because there was an earthquake, and there was some damage to the houses back then. And there was an excuse to move them easier, because a lot of them had lost their houses anyway, so why not move to a new area. So, that's why. So, I think it was called Castro, but I'm not sure, I have to check it out. So, what's next? I'm going to the museum, because there we will see some absolutely stunning artifacts from the temples of, from the temple of Apollonia, the temples, and then the actual navel of Earth. So, next visit is the museum here, but I'm not sure if they're going to allow me to film, so I'm going to try, I'm going to give it a try and see. Surprisingly, they let me film. Oh, wow. Two magnificent kuri in front of me. This looks like a votive. Ah, here, votive weapons. They're really heavy. So, what's next? I'm going to Arachova. I'm going, I'm not going to Delphi village, going straight to Arachova to have a coffee and have something to eat, basically, because it must be something like, I don't know, two half past two. So, let me cross the road so I can show you a little bit of the, of the view right across here. And right over there is Athena Can you see it? Well, I get a little closer. The peak of Delphi was between the 6th and the 4th centuries before Christ. It continued working, of course, until it became a Roman, or Romans occupied it about in 186 before Christ, if I remember correctly. And Romans used it a lot and it continued working as an oracle and as a sanctuary. But about 200 years later, in 86 AD, another Roman general Silas, he just destroyed Delphi completely and took a lot of the treasuries. In first Christian years, Delphi had fallen into decline and Theodosius, the decree of Theodosius, one of the first Byzantine emperors, was the final hit. However, the town of Delphi, the little town of Delphi, around the archaeological site, continued to thrive for another 300 years. And until the final liberation from the Ottomans in 1821, or a little bit later than maybe after 1830, I have to look it up exact date, Delphi became Greek again. And many years later, as I told you, we started excavating it.