Delphi

Donna wanted to visit Delphi, which is a day trip from Athens. Delphi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We booked a tour that started at a hotel that was a short walk away from where we were staying.

It’s a couple hour bus ride out to Delphi. Our guide led a tour of the site for a little over and hour and then gave us 45 minutes free time before we were to meet at the on-site museum, for a guided tour of it.

The Treasuries were built by various city-states to thank the Oracle at Delphi for her advice, often leading to a military victory.

Near the Treasury of the Athenians is Rock of Sybl where legend has it the first oracles announced their prophecies.

A stoa is a covered porch, often by marketplaces. This was built along the sacred way (road) leading up to the temple of Apollo near the Treasury of the Athenians.

The smooth cut rocks behind the stoa are the base for the Temple of Apollo. Manumission, contracts that dedicated slaves to Apollo to be freed, were recorded on this wall.

The Temple of Apollo is just up the hill.

We have seen the original Serpent Column in Istanbul, Turkey in the Hippodrome. This one is a replica.

The theater was built further up the hillside above the Temple of Apollo. I used our free time to go up the theater and to the hippodrome (stadium) even higher up.

In the museum we saw the Charioteer of Delphi. It was buried in ruble in the earthquake of 373 BC, which prevented it from being looted in later wars.

The island of Naxos sent a sphinx to Delphi around 560 BC.