At the foot of Mount Parnassos, in the evocative natural landscape formed between two majestic rocks, the Phaedriades, is the pan-Hellenic sanctuary of Delphi and the most famous oracle of ancient Greece.


Delphi was the center of the earth, where, according to mythology, the two eagles sent by Zeus from the ends of the universe to find the center of the world met, and for many centuries were the spiritual and religious center and its symbol. unity of ancient Hellenism.

The history of Delphi is lost in the prehistory and myths of the ancient Greeks. According to tradition, here originally there was a sanctuary dedicated to the female deity of the Earth, and its guardian was the terrible dragon Python. Apollo killed Python and his own sanctuary was founded by Cretans who arrived at Kirra, the port of Delphi, accompanied by the god, transformed into a dolphin. This myth about the reign of Apollo survived in festive representations in Delphi, Septoria, Delfinia, Thargilia, Theophania, and, of course, the famous Pythia, which were held to commemorate the victory of the god against Pythagoras. and included music competitions and nude competitions.

The oldest finds in the area of ​​Delphi date back to the Neolithic era (4000 BC) and come from the Korykeio Cave, a cave on Mount Parnassos, where the first worships took place. Remains of a Mycenaean settlement and a cemetery were found within the boundaries of the sanctuary. The traces of habitation are minimal and very fragmentary until the 8th century B.C., a period during which the worship of Apollo finally prevailed and the development of the sanctuary and the oracle began. Towards the end of the 7th century B.C. The first stone temples were built, one dedicated to Apollo and the other to Athena, who was also officially worshiped under the name "Pronea" and had its own mosque. According to philological testimonies and archeological findings, Artemis, Poseidon, Dionysus, Hermes, Zeus Polyeus, Hygeia and Eilithia were also worshiped in Delphi.

The sanctuary is associated with the institution of amphictyony, the federation of twelve tribes of Thessaly and Mainland, which was initially a religious union, while later acquired political significance. The Delphic amphictyony had control of the property and operation of the sanctuary, as it appointed priests and other officials, always electing them from among the inhabitants of Delphi. Under its protection and administration in the 6th c. e.g. The sanctuary consolidated its autonomy vis its claimants (First Holy War), increased its pan-Hellenic religious and political influence, grew in size and reorganized Pythia, the second most important pan-Hellenic Games after the Olympics, held every four years.

The period from the 6th to the 4th century B.C. coincides with the great prosperity of the Delphic oracle.

His oracles, considered the most reliable, were expressed by Pythia, priestess of the oracle, and were interpreted by the priests of Apollo

Cities, rulers and ordinary people hurried to consult the god and expressed their gratitude with brilliant votive offerings, which gradually flooded the sanctuary. The fame of the oracle reached the ends of the earth and its beginning was lost in the depths of antiquity and myth.

It is believed that the Delphic oracle made decisive predictions about the flood of Deucalion, the Argonaut campaign and the Trojan War, while the important role of its opinion in the establishment of the Greek colonies is confirmed. Exactly, however, the prestige and power of Delphi provoked two more Holy Wars, in the middle of the 5th and in the middle of the 4th c. e.g. During the 3rd c. e.g. a new political and military force appears in the foreground, the Aetolians, who express their dynamic presence in the sanctuary with various votive offerings. During the period of Roman rule (after 168 BC) Delphi was sometimes favored and sometimes looted by emperors, as by Sulla in 86 BC.

The decline of the oracle occurred with the philosophical movement of rationalism in the 3rd c. BC, however, the standard in its operation remained unchanged until the 2nd c. AD, in the time of Hadrian. It was then visited by the traveler Pausanias, who recorded in detail many remains of buildings, inscriptions and sculptures. His detailed description contributed significantly to the reconstruction of the space. In 394 AD The oracle was finally put to an end by decree of the Byzantine emperor Theodosius AD. With the rise of Christianity, Delphi became the seat of a diocese, but was abandoned in the early 7th century. AD, the time of the Slavic invasion. Gradually, the ancient sanctuary was retained and covered, while, much later, an entire village, Kastri, was installed on its buried ruins, which in modern times received the visits of archeological travelers.

The research at the archeological site of Delphi was started around 1860 by Germans. In 1891 the French received approval from the Greek government to conduct systematic investigations and then the so-called "Great Excavation" began, after the village of Kastri was first removed.

During the Great Excavation, impressive finds came to light, including about 3,000 inscriptions, which reveal various aspects of ancient public life.

Today, the works in the area of the two Delphic sanctuaries continue with the cooperation of the Hellenic Archaeological Service and the French School, with excavation and restoration activity. The only monument that had the ancient material for its almost complete restoration was the treasure of the Athenians, which was restored in 1903-1906 by the French at the expense of the Municipality of Athens. Other monuments that have been restored are the altar of Chios, the temple of Apollo and the dome.

In modern times, the Delphi area was associated with the attempt to revive the Delphic idea, by the poet Angelos Sikelianos and his wife Eva, who presented two performances of ancient drama, in 1927 and 1930, wanting to create a new spiritual center of the earth.

Source: Ministry of Culture and Sports