Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The influence of the oracle had a major impact on political and intellectual life, de-
termining - directly or otherwise through the prophecies - such decisions as the estab-
lishment of colonies and wars.
The sanctuary survived fire (548 BC) and earthquake (373 BC), and in the 3rd century
BC it was conquered by the Aetolians, and then by the Romans in 191 BC. Although the
Roman Sulla plundered the sanctuary in 86 BC, other emperors, fascinated by its reputa-
tion, kept the rituals at Delphi alive well into the 2nd century AD, when the oracle's in-
fluence began to dwindle. The sanctuary was finally abolished by the Byzantine emperor
Theodosius in the late 4th century AD. By the 7th century a new village, Kastri, had ap-
peared over the ancient site. Much of what is known about Delphi today comes from the
notes of 2nd-century AD Athenian geographer Pausanius.
