Delphi
This morning didn’t look too promising weather-wise. However, we set off with very enthusiastic guests to pay our “respects” to one of Apollo’s most important sanctuaries – Delphi. Apollo was the god of divination and prophecy. He delivered his oracular responses through a medium known as the Pythoness, or the Oracle.
Arriving at Delphi, we climbed up the Sacred Way, visualizing what it was like in its heyday. Thousands of people for centuries had travelled to Delphi seeking answers to unanswered questions. Thousand had visited just to experience its glory.
The site was very quiet and covered with a thin mist. It reminded us of the “vapor” that had inspired the creation of the oracle. The stones came alive and the votive-offerings, the treasuries, the walls, the inscriptions and most of all the Temple of Apollo and the theatre filled with imaginary guests waiting in line to consult the oracle or leaving the temple after a consultation, with a bewildered look on their face – not being able to understand what message the god was trying to convey with the ambiguous response he had given them.
The museum was a pleasant place after being in the rain for nearly two hours. The Sphinx of Naxos smiled at us. The frieze from the Treasury of Siphnos brought to life the Trojan War and the Gigantomachy. Kleovis and Biton reminded us that to be remembered as a hero you must die a hero’s death. The Charioteer transferred us to the Hippodrome where the crowd cheered him making the winner’s victory round. We returned to Itea where the Panorama was waiting. Off to Ithaka…
