Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The sanctuary site was rediscovered towards the end of the seventeenth century and
explored haphazardly from 1838 onwards; systematic
excavation
began only in 1892
when the French School of Archeology leased the land. There was initially little to be
seen other than the outline of a stadium and theatre, but the inhabitants of Kastrí
village, set amid the ruins, were evicted to a new town 1km west (now modern Dhelfí),
and digging commenced. By 1903, most of the excavations and reconstruction visible
today had been completed.
The Sacred Precinct
he
Sacred Precinct
, or Temenos (Sanctuary) of Apollo, is entered - as in ancient times
- by way of a small
agora
enclosed by ruins of Roman porticoes and shops selling
votive offerings. The paved
Sacred Way
begins after a few stairs, zigzagging uphill
between the foundations of memorials and treasuries to the Temple of Apollo. Along
each edge is a jumble of statue bases where gold, bronze and painted-marble figures
once stood; Pliny counted more than three thousand on his visit, and that was after
Nero's infamous raid.
The style and positioning of these
memorials
were dictated by more than religious
zeal; many were used as a deliberate show of strength or as a direct insult against a
rival Greek state. For instance, the Spartans celebrated their victory over Athens by
erecting their
Monument of the Admirals
- a large recessed structure, which once
held 37 bronze statues of gods and generals - directly opposite the Athenians'
Offering of Marathon
.
Further up the path, past the Doric remains of the
Sikyonian Treasury
on the left, lie
the foundations of the
Siphnian Treasury
, a grandiose Ionic temple erected in 525 BC.
Ancient Siphnos (Sífnos) had rich gold mines and intended the building to be an
unrivalled show of opulence. Above this is the
Treasury of the Athenians
, built, like the
city's “offering”, after Marathon (490 BC). It was reconstructed in 1904-1906 by
matching the inscriptions - including a hymn to Apollo with musical notation - that
completely cover its blocks.
Next to the Treasury are the foundations of the
Bouleuterion
, or council house, a
reminder that Delphi needed administrators, and above stretches the remarkable
Polygonal Wall
whose irregular interlocking blocks have withstood, intact, all
earthquakes. It, too, is covered with inscriptions, mostly referring to the emancipation
of slaves; Delphi was one of the few places where such freedom could be made official
by an inscribed register. An incongruous outcrop of rock between the wall and the
treasuries marks the original
Sanctuary of Gaia
.
Finally, the Sacred Way leads past the
Athenian Stoa
(which housed trophies from
an Athenian naval victory of 506 BC) to the temple terrace where you are
confronted with a large altar, erected by the island of Chios (Híos). The
Temple of
Apollo
now visible dates from the mid-fourth century BC, two previous versions
having succumbed to fire and earthquake. The French excavators found only
foundations, but re-erected six of the Doric columns to illustrate the temple's
dominance over the sanctuary. In the innermost part of the temple was the
adyton
, a
subterranean cell at the mouth of the oracular chasm where the Pythian priestess
officiated. No trace of cave or chasm has been found, nor any trance-inducing
vapours, but it's conceivable that such a chasm did exist and was closed by later
earthquakes. On the architrave of the temple were inscribed the maxims “Know
Thyself ” and “Moderation in All Things”.
The theatre and stadium used for the main events of the Pythian Festival occupy
terraces above the temple. The
theatre
, built during the fourth century BC with a
capacity of five thousand (the seats sadly roped of), was associated with Dionysos,
the god of ecstasy, the arts and wine, who ruled Delphi during the winter when
the oracle was silent. A path leads up through cool pine groves to the
stadium
(its
seats also off-limits), artificially levelled in the fifth century BC to a length of
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