View source for Delphi

{{short description|Sacred site and oracle of Ancient Greece}}
{{For|the modern town|Delphi (modern town)}}
{{other uses}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox ancient site
| name           = Delphi
| native_name    = {{lang|el|Δελφοί|italic=no}}
| relief         = yes
| image          = Delphi, Greece - panoramio.jpg
| alt            = Delphic Tholos
| caption        = The Athena temple complex, including the [[Tholos of Delphi|Delphic Tholos]]. The background is the Pleistos River Valley.
| image_upright  = 1.3
| map_type       = Greece
| coordinates    = {{Coord|38.4823|N|22.5013|E|type:landmark_region:GR|format=dms|display=inline,title|}}
| map_size       = 290px
| location       = [[Phocis]], Greece
| map_dot_label  = Delphi
| type           = Ruins of an ancient sacred precinct
| height         = Top of a scarp {{convert|500|m|ft}} maximum off the valley floor
| discovered     = 
| excavations    = 
| archaeologists = [[French School at Athens]]
| cultures       = [[Ancient Greece]]
| ownership      = Hellenic Republic
| management     = Ministry of Culture and Sports
| public_access  = Accessible for a fee
| other_designation =
| website = {{cite web | author=E. Partida | title=Delphi | website=Odysseus | publisher=Ministry of Culture and Sports, Hellenic Republic | year=2012 | url=http://odysseus.culture.gr/h/3/eh351.jsp?obj_id=2507}}
| notes = 
| designation1          = WHS
| designation1_offname  = Archaeological Site of Delphi
| designation1_date     = 1987 <small>(12th [[World Heritage Committee|session]])</small>
| designation1_number   = [https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/393 393]
| designation1_criteria = i, ii, iii, iv and vi
| designation1_type     = Cultural
| designation1_free1name = Region
| designation1_free1value = [[List of World Heritage Sites in Europe|Europe]]
}}
[[File:Map greek sanctuaries-en.svg|thumb|upright=1.75|Delphi among the main Greek sanctuaries]]
'''Delphi''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|d|ɛ|l|f|aɪ|,_|ˈ|d|ɛ|l|f|i}};<ref>{{cite book |title=Longman Pronunciation Dictionary |url=https://archive.org/details/longman-pronunciation-dictionary/page/209/mode/2up |first=John C. |last= Wells |publisher=Longman |location=Harlow, England |year=2000 |orig-date=1990 |edition=new |isbn=978-0-582-36467-7 |page=209}}</ref> {{Langx|el|{{lang|grc|Δελφοί}}}} {{IPA|el|ðelˈfi|}}),{{efn|1=In English, the name ''Delphi'' is pronounced either as {{IPAc-en|ˈ|d|ɛ|l|f|aɪ}} or, in a more Greek-like manner, as {{IPAc-en|ˈ|d|ɛ|l|f|iː}}. The fundamental [[etymology]] of "Delphoi" relates it to ''delphus'', "[[womb]]", consistent with the ''[[omphalos]]'' stone at Delphi as the "[[navel]]" of the universe, and the whole site as the womb of [[Gaia]]—the Earth. The ''delphis'', or "[[dolphin]]", connection is an accidental result of the dolphin being named for its [[uterus]]-like appearance. The full etymology is to be found in Frisk.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | title=δελφίς, Δελφοί, δελφύς | encyclopedia=Griechisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch | first=Hjalmar | last=Frisk | volume=Band I | year=1960 | location=Heidelberg | publisher=Carl Winter}}</ref> The inscriptional variants "Dalphoi", "Dolphoi", and "Derphoi"<ref>Also given in {{cite encyclopedia | title=Δελφοί | encyclopedia=A Greek-English Lexicon | author1=Henry George Liddell | author2=Robert Scott | author3=Henry Stuart Jones | year=1940 | publisher=Perseus Digital Library | url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aalphabetic+letter%3D*d%3Aentry+group%3D18%3Aentry%3D*delfoi%2F}}</ref> might appear to be from [[Ancient Greek dialects|dialects]]—particularly "Dalphoi", usually taken as [[Phocis (ancient region)|Phocian]] as the Phocians spoke [[Doric Greek|Doric]]. Frisk labels them as secondary developments, including the apparent Doric original "a" in "Dalphoi". It could well be Phocian, but was not originally Doric. The true dialect form, the [[Aeolic Greek|Aeolic]] "Belphoi", along with "Delphoi", must be reflexes of a [[Bronze Age]] *G<sup>w</sup>elp<sup>h</sup>oi, which does not have an original "a".<ref>{{cite book | title=Luwian Identities: Culture, Language and Religion Between Anatolia and the Aegean | author1=Alice Mouton | author2=Ian Rutherford | author3=Ilya Yakubovich | year=2013 | location=Leiden | publisher=Brill | page=66}}</ref> Frisk's [[Proto-Indo-European language]] root is *g<sup>w</sup>elb<sup>h</sup>-u-, with a -u- extension. Without the extension there is no relation between "Delphoi" and "''delphus''". However, Frisk, a major Indo-Europeanist, cites some parallels of -''woi''- to -''oi''- in other words. The evidence from [[Greek mythology]] adds strength to his hypothesis. Without the ''w'', "Delphoi" is not actually related to "Delphus" but only seems so (see [[false cognate]]). The etymology of "dolphin" is fairly standard.}} in legend previously called '''Pytho''' (Πυθώ), was an ancient [[sacred precinct]] in central [[Greece]]. It was the seat of [[Pythia]], the major [[oracle]] who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient [[Classical antiquity|classical world]]. The [[Ancient Greece|ancient Greeks]] considered the centre of the world to be in Delphi, marked by the stone monument known as the [[Omphalos of Delphi]]. The term ''[[omphalos]]'' was the Greek word for "navel".

According to the [[Suda]], Delphi took its name from the [[Delphyne]], the she-serpent (''[[Drakaina (mythology)|drakaina]]'') who lived there and was killed by the god [[Apollo]] (in other accounts the serpent was the male serpent (''drakon'') [[Python (mythology)|Python]]).<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.cs.uky.edu/~raphael/sol/sol-entries/pi/3137| title = Suda, pi,3137}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.cs.uky.edu/~raphael/sol/sol-entries/delta/210| title = Suda, delta,210}}</ref>

The sacred precinct occupies a delineated region on the south-western slope of [[Mount Parnassus]].

It is now an extensive archaeological site, and since 1938 a part of [[Mount Parnassus|Parnassos National Park]]. The precinct is recognized by [[UNESCO]] as a [[World Heritage Site]] in having had a great influence in the ancient world, as evidenced by the various monuments built there by most of the important ancient [[Polis|Greek city-states]], demonstrating their fundamental [[Hellenic civilisation|Hellenic]] unity.<ref name = "unesco">{{cite web |url = https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/393 |title = Archaeological Site of Delphi |website = World Heritage Convention |publisher = United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization |access-date = 23 October 2022}}</ref>

Adjacent to the sacred precinct is [[Delphi (modern town)|a small modern town of the same name]].

==Names==
'''Delphi''' shares the same root with the Greek word for womb, δελφύς ''delphys''.

'''Pytho''' (Πυθώ) is related to Pythia, the priestess serving as the oracle, and to [[Python (mythology)|Python]], a serpent or dragon who lived at the site.<ref name=IK>Konstaninou, Ioanna "Delphi: the Oracle and its Role in the Political and Social Life of the Ancient Greeks" (Hannibal Publishing House, Athens)</ref> "Python" is derived from the verb πύθω (''pythō''),<ref name=rot>[[LSJ]] s.v. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Dpu%2Fqw πύθω].</ref> "to [[Decomposition|rot]]".{{sfn|Miller|2004|p=95}}

==Delphi and the Delphic region==
<!--File:General map of ancient Delphi.jpg-->

Today Delphi is a municipality of Greece as well as a [[Delphi (modern town)|modern town]] adjacent to the ancient precinct. The modern town was created after removing buildings from the sacred precinct so that the latter could be excavated. The two Delphis, old and new, are located on [[Greek National Road 48]] between [[Amfissa]] in the west and [[Livadeia]], capital of [[Boeotia]], in the east. The road follows the northern slope of a pass between [[Mount Parnassus]] on the north and the mountains of the [[Desfina]] Peninsula on the south. The pass is of the river [[Pleistos]], running from east to west, forming a natural boundary across the north of the Desfina Peninsula, and providing an easy route across it.

On the west side the valley joins the north–south valley between [[Amfissa]] and [[Itea, Phocis|Itea]].

On the north side of the valley junction a spur of Parnassus looming over the valley made narrower by it is the site of ancient [[Crissa|Krisa]], which once was the ruling power of the entire valley system. Both Amphissa and Krissa are mentioned in the ''Iliad's'' [[Catalogue of Ships]].<ref>{{harvnb|Kase|1970|pp=1–2}}</ref> It was a [[Mycenaean Greece|Mycenaean]] stronghold. Archaeological dates of the valley go back to the [[Helladic chronology|Early Helladic]]. Krisa itself is Middle Helladic.<ref>{{harvnb|Kase|1970|pp=4–5}}</ref> These early dates are comparable to the earliest dates at Delphi, suggesting Delphi was appropriated and transformed by Phocians from ancient Krisa. It is believed that the ruins of [[Kirra, Phocis|Kirra]], now part of the port of [[Itea, Phocis|Itea]], were the port of [[Cirrha|Krisa]] of the same name.<ref>{{harvnb|Kase|1970|p=5}}</ref>

==Archaeology of the precinct==

{{main|Excavations at Delphi}}
[[File:Fouilles de Delphes (1902) (14792888433).jpg|thumb|The polygonal wall, 1902]]
The site was first briefly excavated in 1880 by [[Bernard Haussoullier]] (1852–1926) on behalf of the [[French School at Athens]], of which he was a sometime member. The site was then occupied by the village of [[Kastri, Phocis|Kastri]], about 100 houses, 200 people. Kastri ("fort") had been there since the destruction of the place by Theodosius I in 390. He probably left a fort to make sure it was not repopulated, however, the fort became the new village. They were mining the stone for re-use in their own buildings. British and French travelers visiting the site suspected it was ancient Delphi. Before a systematic excavation of the site could be undertaken, the village had to be relocated, but the residents resisted.

The opportunity to relocate the village occurred when it was substantially damaged by an earthquake, with villagers offered a completely new village in exchange for the old site.<!-- <← Told by state licenced guide during a tour--> In 1893, the [[French School at Athens|French Archaeological School]] removed vast quantities of soil from numerous landslides to reveal both the major buildings and structures of the sanctuary of Apollo and of the temple to Athena, the [[Temple of Athena Pronaia|Athena Pronoia]] along with thousands of objects, inscriptions, and sculptures.<ref name="ministry"/>

During the Great Excavation architectural members from a fifth-century Christian [[basilica]], were discovered that date to when Delphi was a bishopric. Other important Late Roman buildings are the Eastern Baths, the house with the peristyle, the [[Roman Agora (Delphi)|Roman Agora]], and the large cistern. At the outskirts of the city late Roman cemeteries were located.

To the southeast of the precinct of Apollo lay the so-called Southeastern Mansion, a building with a 65-meter-long façade, spread over four levels, with four triclinia and private baths. Large storage jars kept the provisions, whereas other pottery vessels and luxury items were discovered in the rooms. Among the finds stands out a tiny leopard made of mother of pearl, possibly of Sassanian origin, on display in the ground floor gallery of the [[Delphi Archaeological Museum]]. The mansion dates to the beginning of the fifth century and functioned as a private house until 580, later however it was transformed into a potter workshop.<ref>Petrides, P., 1997, «Delphes dans l’Antiquité tardive : première approche topographique et céramologique», BCH 121, 681–695</ref> It is only then, in the beginning of the sixth century, that the city seems to decline: its size is reduced and its trade contacts seem to be drastically diminished. Local pottery production is produced in large quantities:<ref>Petrides, P., 2003, «Αteliers de potiers protobyzantins à Delphes », in Χ. ΜΠΑΚΙΡΤΖΗΣ (ed.), 7ο Διεθνές Συνέδριο Μεσαιωνικής Κεραμικής της Μεσογείου, Θεσσαλονίκη 11–16 Οκτωβρίου 1999, Πρακτικά, Αθήνα, 443–446</ref> it is coarser and made of reddish clay, aiming at satisfying the needs of the inhabitants.

The Sacred Way remained the main street of the settlement, transformed, however, into a street with commercial and industrial use. Around the agora were built workshops as well as the only intra muros early Christian basilica. The domestic area spread mainly in the western part of the settlement. The houses were rather spacious and two large cisterns provided running water to them.<ref>Petrides, P., 2005, «Un exemple d’architecture civile en Grèce: les maisons protobyzantines de Delphes (IVe–VIIe s.)», Mélanges Jean-Pierre Sodini, Travaux et Mémoires 15, Paris, pp. 193–204</ref>
[[File:Museuarqueologicodelfos.jpg|thumb|Archaeological Museum of Delphi, designed by [[Alexandros Tombazis]]]]

===Delphi Archaeological Museum===
{{main|Delphi Archaeological Museum}}

The museum houses artifacts associated with ancient Delphi, including the earliest known [[Delphic Hymns|notation of a melody]], the [[Charioteer of Delphi]], [[Kleobis and Biton]], golden treasures discovered beneath the Sacred Way, the [[Sphinx of Naxos]], and fragments of reliefs from the [[Siphnian Treasury]]. Immediately adjacent to the exit is the inscription that mentions the Roman proconsul [[Lucius Iunius Gallio Annaeanus|Gallio]].

==Architecture of the precinct==

[[File:Plan_Delphi_Sanctuary_of_Apollo.svg|thumb|upright=2|Site plan of the upper Sacred Precinct, Delphi. The outer wall that surrounds it is {{convert|190|m|ft}} long by {{convert|135|m|ft}} wide and is pierced by nine gates.<ref>{{cite journal | first1=Lazzari | last1=Maurizio | first2=Lazzari | last2=Silvestro | title=Geological and Geomorphological Hazard in Historical and Archaeological Sites of the Mediterranean Area: Knowledge, Forecasting, and Mitigation | journal=Disaster Advances | volume=5 | number=3 | date=July 2012 | page=69}}</ref>]]
Most of the ruins that survive today date from the most intense period of activity at the site in the sixth century BC.<ref name="a">{{cite web | first=Thomas | last=Sakoulas | title=Delphi Archaeological Site | url=http://www.ancient-greece.org/archaeology/delphi-archaeology.html | website=Ancient-Greece.org | access-date=16 November 2020}}</ref>

===Temple of Apollo===
{{main|Temple of Apollo (Delphi)}}
Ancient tradition refers to a succession of mythical temples on the site: first one built of olive branches from [[Vale of Tempe|Tempe]], then one built of beeswax and wings by bees, and thirdly one built by [[Hephaestus]] and [[Athena]]. The first archaeologically attested structure was built in the seventh century BC and is attributed in legend to the architects [[Trophonius|Trophonios]] and [[Agamedes]].<ref>{{cite book | first=C.M. | last=Bowra | title=Pindar | publisher=Oxford University Press | year=2000 | pages=373–75}}</ref> It burnt down in 548/7&nbsp;BC and the [[Alcmaeonidae|Alcmaeonids]] built a new structure which itself burnt down in the fourth century BC.

The ruins of the Temple of Apollo that are visible today date from the fourth century&nbsp;BC, and are of a [[peripteral]] [[Doric order|Doric]] building. It was erected by [[Spintharus of Corinth|Spintharus]], Xenodoros, and Agathon.<ref name="Sakoulas">{{cite web|last1=Sakoulas|first1=Thomas|title=Temple of Apollo at Delphi|url=http://ancient-greece.org/architecture/delphi-temple-of-apollo.html|website=Ancient-Greece.org|access-date=28 November 2016}}</ref>
<gallery mode="packed">
File:Delphi - panoramio (3).jpg
File:Delphi BW 2017-10-08 11-40-49.jpg
File:15.Δελφοί GR-H07-0007.jpg
File:Delfoi8.jpg
</gallery>

===Treasuries===
[[File:Treasury house of Athens in Delphi (July 2018).jpg|thumb|The reconstructed Treasury of the Athenians, built to commemorate their victory at the [[Battle of Marathon]]]]
{{main|Athenian Treasury|Boeotian Treasury|Cnidian Treasury|Sicyonian Treasury|Siphnian Treasury|Theban Treasury (Delphi)|l6=Theban Treasury|Treasury of the Acanthians|Treasury of the Massaliots (Delphi)}}

From the entrance of the upper site, continuing up the slope on the Sacred Way almost to the Temple of Apollo, are a large number of [[votive deposit|votive]] statues, and numerous so-called treasuries. These were built by many of the Greek city-states to commemorate victories and to thank the oracle for her advice, which was thought to have contributed to those victories. These buildings held the offerings made to Apollo; these were frequently a "[[tithe]]" or tenth of the spoils of a battle. The most impressive is the now-restored [[Athenian Treasury]], built to commemorate their victory at the [[Battle of Marathon]] in 490&nbsp;BC.

The [[Siphnian Treasury]] was dedicated by the city of [[Siphnos]], whose citizens gave a tithe of the yield from their silver mines until the mines came to an abrupt end when the sea flooded the workings.

One of the largest of the treasuries was that of [[Argos, Peloponnese|Argos]]. Having built it in the late classical period, the Argives took great pride in establishing their place at Delphi amongst the other city-states. Completed in 380 BC, their treasury seems to draw inspiration mostly from the Temple of Hera located in the Argolis. However, recent analysis of the Archaic elements of the treasury suggest that its founding preceded this.

Other identifiable treasuries are those of the [[Sicyonian Treasury|Sicyonians]], the [[Boeotian Treasury|Boeotians]], [[Treasury of the Massaliots (Delphi)|Massaliots]], and the [[Theban Treasury (Delphi)|Thebans]].
<gallery mode="packed">
File:Treasury of the Boeotians.jpg|Boeotians
File:Treasury of Cnidus 1.jpg|Cnidians
File:The Treasury of the Sicyonians on the Sacred Way at the Sanctuary of Apollo (Delphi) on October 4, 2020.jpg|Sicyonians
File:Sideview of the Siphnian Treasury at the Sanctuary of Apollo (Delphi) on October 4, 2020.jpg|Siphnians
</gallery>

===Altar of the Chians===
{{main|Altar of the Chians}}
Located in front of the Temple of Apollo, the main altar of the sanctuary was paid for and built by the people of [[Chios]]. It is dated to the fifth century BC by the inscription on its [[cornice]]. Made entirely of black marble, except for the base and cornice, the altar would have made a striking impression. It was restored in 1920.<ref name="ministry">[http://www.culture.gr/2/21/211/21110a/e211ja01.html Delphi] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050401090258/http://www.culture.gr/2/21/211/21110a/e211ja01.html |date=1 April 2005 }}, Hellenic Ministry of Culture.</ref>

<gallery mode="packed">
File:Replica of Serpent Column in Delphi and Altar of Apollo, 20M8126.jpg
File:GRIEKENLAND 023 (17669660608).jpg
File:Inscription delphi apollo.JPG|Ancient Greek inscription at the altar, naming Chios, "ΧΙΟΙΣ"
</gallery>

===Stoa of the Athenians===
{{main|Stoa of the Athenians}}
[[File:Stoa of the Athenians at Delphi by Joy of Museums.jpg|thumb|View of the Athenian Treasury; the Stoa of the Athenians on the right]]
The [[stoa]], or open-sided, covered porch, is placed in an approximately east–west alignment along the base of the polygonal wall retaining the terrace on which the Temple of Apollo sits. There is no archaeological suggestion of a connection to the temple. The stoa opened to the Sacred Way. The nearby presence of the Treasury of the Athenians suggests that this quarter of Delphi was used for Athenian business or politics, as stoas are generally found in market-places.

Although the architecture at Delphi is generally Doric, a plain style, in keeping with the Phocian traditions that were Doric, the Athenians did not prefer the Doric. The stoa was built in their own preferred style, the [[Ionic order]], the capitals of the columns being a sure indicator. In the Ionic order they are floral and ornate, although not so much as the Corinthian, which is in deficit there. The remaining porch structure contains seven fluted columns, unusually carved from single pieces of stone (most columns were constructed from a series of discs joined). The inscription on the [[stylobate]] indicates that it was built by the Athenians after their naval victory over the Persians in 478&nbsp;BC, to house their war trophies. At that time the Athenians and the Spartans were on the same side.
<gallery mode="packed">
File:Delphi-2.jpg
File:Greece-0842 (2216558634).jpg
File:Delphi, Stoa der Athener 2015-09 (1).jpg
</gallery>


The [[Sibyl rock]] is a pulpit-like outcrop of rock between the Athenian Treasury and the [[Stoa of the Athenians]] upon the Sacred Way that leads up to the [[Temple of Apollo (Delphi)|temple of Apollo]] in the archaeological area of Delphi. The rock is claimed to be the location from which a prehistoric Sibyl pre-dating the Pythia of Apollo sat to deliver her prophecies. Other suggestions are that the Pythia might have stood there, or an acolyte whose function was to deliver the final prophecy. The rock seems ideal for public speaking.
<gallery mode="packed">
File:Sibyl stone in Delphi.jpg
File:The Rock of Sibyl at the Sanctuary of Apollo (Delphi) on October 4, 2020.jpg
File:Rock of Sibyl, Rock of Leto, Delphi, Dlfi403.jpg
</gallery>

===Theatre===
[[File:Delfoi temple skyline view.jpg|thumb|The theatre at Delphi (as viewed near the top seats)]]

The ancient [[theatre]] at Delphi was built farther up the hill from the Temple of Apollo giving spectators a view of the entire sanctuary and the valley below.<ref>{{cite book | last=Bommelaer | first=J.-F. | publisher=Laroche, D. | title=Guide de Delphes: Le site | location=Paris | year=1991 | pages=207–212}}</ref> It was originally built in the fourth&nbsp;century&nbsp;BC, but was remodeled on several occasions, particularly in 160/159 B.C. at the expenses of king Eumenes II of Pergamon and, in 67 A.D., on the occasion of emperor Nero's visit.<ref name="b">[http://www.ancient-greece.org/architecture/delphi-theater.html Delphi Theater] at Ancient-Greece.org.</ref>

The koilon (cavea) leans against the natural slope of the mountain whereas its eastern part overrides a little torrent that led the water of the fountain Cassotis right underneath the temple of Apollo. The [[Theatre of ancient Greece#Orchestra|orchestra]] was initially a full circle with a diameter measuring seven meters. The rectangular scene building ended up in two arched openings, of which the foundations are preserved today. Access to the theatre was possible through the parodoi, i.e. the side corridors. On the support walls of the parodoi are engraved large numbers of [[Manumission inscriptions at Delphi|manumission inscriptions]] recording fictitious sales of the slaves to the deity. The koilon was divided horizontally in two zones via a corridor called diazoma. The lower zone had 27 rows of seats and the upper one only eight. Six radially arranged stairs divided the lower part of the koilon in seven tiers. The theatre could accommodate approximately 4,500 spectators.<ref>Bommelaer, J.-F. «Das Theater», in Maas, M. (ed), Delphi. Orakel am Nabel der Welt, Karlsruhe 1996, pp. 95–105</ref>

On the occasion of [[Nero]]'s visit to Greece in 67 A.D. various alterations took place. The orchestra was paved and delimited by a parapet made of stone. The [[proscenium]] was replaced by a low pedestal, the [[pulpitum]]; its façade was decorated in relief with scenes from myths about Hercules. Further repairs and transformations took place in the second century A.D. Pausanias mentions that these were carried out under the auspices of [[Herodes Atticus|Herod Atticus]]. In antiquity, the theatre was used for the vocal and musical contests that formed part of the programme of the Pythian Games in the late Hellenistic and Roman period.<ref>Mulliez, D., "Οι πυθικοί αγώνες. Οι μαρτυρίες των επιγραφών", in Κολώνια, Ρ. (ed.), Αρχαία Θέατρα της Στερεάς Ελλάδας, Διάζωμα, Αθήνα 2013, 147–154</ref> The theatre was abandoned when the sanctuary declined in Late Antiquity. After its excavation and initial restoration it hosted theatrical performances during the Delphic Festivals organized by A. Sikelianos and his wife, Eva Palmer, in 1927 and in 1930. It has recently been restored again as the serious landslides posed a grave threat for its stability for decades.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.diazoma.gr/200-Stuff-06-Theatres/DataSheet_Delfon.pdf\format=PDF|title=ΑΡΧΑΙΟ ΘΕΑΤΡΟ ΔΕΛΦΩΝ : Παρελθόν – Παρόν – Μέλλον : ΧΟΡΗΓΙΚΟΣ ΦΑΚΕΛΟΣ|website=Diazoma.gr|access-date=5 March 2022}}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>Χλέπα, Ε.-Α., Παπαντωνόπουλος, Κ., «Τεκμηρίωση και αποκατάσταση του αρχαίου θεάτρου Δελφών», in Κολώνια, Ρ. (ed.), Αρχαία Θέατρα της Στερεάς Ελλάδας, Διάζωμα, Αθήνα 2013, 173–198</ref>

===Tholos===
[[File:Delphi tholos cazzul.JPG|thumb|upright|The [[Tholos (Ancient Rome)|Tholos]] at the base of [[Mount Parnassus]]: 3 of 20 [[Doric column]]s]]
[[File:Athina Pronaia Sanctuary at Delphi.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Athena Pronaia Sanctuary at Delphi]]

{{main|Tholos of Delphi}}

<!--The Rough Guide to Greece, Geoff Garvey, John Fisher, Penguin, 2008, Thessaly and central Greece - Part I, The Marmaria, "The Marble Quarry"-->
The [[Tholos (architecture)|tholos]] at the sanctuary of [[Athena]] [[Pronaea]] (Ἀθηνᾶ Προναία, "Athena of forethought") is a circular building that was constructed between 380 and 360&nbsp;BC. It consisted of 20 [[Doric order|Doric]] columns arranged with an exterior diameter of 14.76&nbsp;meters, with 10 [[Corinthian order|Corinthian]] columns in the interior.

The Tholos is located approximately a half a mile (800 m) from the main ruins at Delphi (at {{Coord|38.48016|N|22.50789|E|type:landmark_region:GR|format=dms}}). Three of the Doric columns have been restored, making it the most popular site at Delphi for tourists to take photographs.

The architect of the "vaulted temple at Delphi" is named by [[Vitruvius]], in ''[[De architectura]]'' Book VII, as Theodorus Phoceus (not [[Theodorus of Samos]], whom Vitruvius names separately).<ref>{{cite web |first1=Marcus |last1=Vitruvius Pollio |title= de Architectura, Book VII|url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/e/roman/texts/vitruvius/7*.html|publisher=University of Chicago |website=Bill Thayer's Web Site |access-date=14 June 2017}}</ref>

===Gymnasium===
{{main|Gymnasium at Delphi}}
[[File:The Ancient Gymnasium at Delphi.jpg|thumb|The ancient [[Gymnasium at Delphi]]]]
The [[Gymnasium (ancient Greece)|gymnasium]], which is half a mile away from the main sanctuary, was a series of buildings used by the youth of Delphi. The building consisted of two levels: a [[stoa]] on the upper level providing open space, and a [[palaestra]], pool, and baths on lower floor. These pools and baths were said to have magical powers, and imparted the ability to communicate directly to Apollo.<ref name="ministry"/>

===Stadium===
{{main|Stadium of Delphi}}
[[File:Αρχαίο στάδιο Δελφών2.jpg|thumb|The mountain-top stadium at Delphi]]
The [[stadium]] is located farther up the hill, beyond the ''via sacra'' and the theatre. It was built in the fifth century&nbsp;BC, but was altered in later centuries. The last major remodelling took place in the second century&nbsp;AD under the patronage of [[Herodes Atticus]] when the stone seating was built and an (arched) entrance created. It could seat 6500 spectators and the track was {{Convert|177|m|abbr=on}} long and {{Convert|25.5|m|abbr=on}} wide.<ref name="d">{{Cite web |title=Delphi Stadium |url=http://www.ancient-greece.org/architecture/delphi-stadium.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226050846/https://ancient-greece.org/architecture/delphi-stadium.html |archive-date=Feb 26, 2024 |website=Ancient-Greece.org}}</ref>

===Hippodrome===
It was at the Pythian Games that prominent political leaders, such as [[Cleisthenes of Sicyon|Cleisthenes]], tyrant of [[Sikyon]], and [[Hiero I of Syracuse|Hieron]], tyrant of [[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse]], competed with their chariots. The hippodrome where these events took place was referred to by [[Pindar]],<ref>Pindar: Pythian 3</ref> and this monument was sought by archaeologists for over two centuries.

Traces of it have recently been found at Gonia in the plain of [[Crissa|Krisa]] in the place where the original stadium had been sited.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/hippodrome-of-ancient-delphi-located.html#z06LKygAcwlc7Lmv.97|title=Hippodrome of ancient Delphi located|website=archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.co.uk|access-date=14 April 2018|archive-date=14 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180414233746/https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/hippodrome-of-ancient-delphi-located.html#z06LKygAcwlc7Lmv.97|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Polygonal wall===
[[File:Section of Polygonal Wall at Delphi.jpg|thumb|Section of polygonal wall at Delphi, behind a pillar from the Athenian Stoa]]
A retaining wall was built to support the terrace housing the construction of the second temple of Apollo in 548&nbsp;BC. Its name is taken from the [[polygon]]al masonry of which it is constructed. At a later date, from 200&nbsp;BC onwards, the stones were inscribed with the [[manumission]] (liberation) contracts of slaves who were consecrated to Apollo. Approximately a thousand manumissions are recorded on the wall.<ref>[http://www.coastal.edu/ashes2art/delphi2/sanctuary/manumission_wall.html Manumission Wall] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923205214/http://www.coastal.edu/ashes2art/delphi2/sanctuary/manumission_wall.html |date=2015-09-23 }} at ''Ashes2Art''; [http://www.attalus.org/docs/other/inscr_24.html Manumission of female slaves at Delphi] at ''attalus.org''.</ref>

===Castalian spring===
{{Main|Castalian Spring}}
{{See also|Castalia}}
The sacred spring of Delphi lies in the ravine of the Phaedriades. The preserved remains of two monumental fountains that received the water from the spring date to the [[Archaic period in Greece|Archaic]] period and the [[Ancient Rome|Roman]], with the latter cut into the rock.

===Roman Agora===

[[File:Roman agora (Delphi) 03.jpg|thumb]]
The first set of remains that the visitor sees upon entering the archaeological site of Delphi is the Roman Agora, which was just outside the ''peribolos'', or precinct walls, of the sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi. The Roman Agora was built between the sanctuary and the [[Castalian Spring]], approximately 500 meters away.<ref name="auto2">{{cite book |last1=Aimatidou-Argyriou |first1=Eleni |title=Delphi |date=2003 |publisher=Spyros Meletzis Archive |location=Athens |isbn=960-91259-4-8 |pages=52–53}}</ref> This large rectangular paved square used to be surrounded by [[Ionic order|Ionic]] porticos on its three sides.<ref name="auto1">{{cite book |last1=Petrakos |first1=Basil |title=Delphi |date=1977 |publisher=Clio Editions |location=Athens |page=15}}</ref> The square was built in the Roman period, but the remains visible at present along the north and northwestern sides date to the Late Antique period.

An open market was probably established, where the visitors would buy ex-votos, such as statuettes and small tripods, to leave as offerings to the gods. It also served as an assembly area for processions during sacred festivals.<ref name="auto1"/><ref name="auto2"/>

During the [[Roman Empire|empire]], statues of the emperor and other notable benefactors were erected here as evidenced by the remaining pedestals.<ref name="auto1"/><ref name="auto2"/> In late, Antiquity workshops of artisans were also created within the agora.

===Athletic statues===

[[Image:AurigaDelfi.jpg|thumb|upright|The ''Charioteer of Delphi'', 478 or 474 BC, Delphi Museum]]

Delphi is famous for its many preserved athletic statues. It is known that Olympia originally housed far more of these statues, but time brought ruin to many of them, leaving Delphi as the main site of athletic statues.{{sfn|Miller|2004|p=98}} [[Kleobis and Biton]], two brothers renowned for their strength, are modeled in two of the earliest known athletic statues at Delphi. The statues commemorate their feat of pulling their mother's cart several miles to the Sanctuary of [[Hera]] in the absence of oxen. The neighbors were most impressed and their mother asked Hera to grant them the greatest gift. When they entered Hera's temple, they fell into a slumber and never woke, dying at the height of their admiration, the perfect gift.{{sfn|Miller|2004|p=98}}

The [[Charioteer of Delphi]] is another ancient relic that has withstood the centuries. It is one of the best known statues from antiquity. The charioteer has lost many features, including his chariot and his left arm, but he stands as a tribute to athletic art of antiquity.{{sfn|Miller|2004|p=98}}

==Myths regarding the origin of the precinct==
[[File:CHURCH(1893) p073 DELPHI.jpg|thumb|300px|Vulva of the Earth, Ge or Gaia, with the two [[Phaedriades]] above resembling her breasts. In this drawing the village of Castro still occupies the site. The footprint of the modern road is in the foreground. The village was thus entirely on the upper site. Below the road is the Marmoria, or "marble quarry", where the villagers mined structural stone. The picture below shows the site after the removal of the village.]]

In the ''[[Iliad]]'', [[Achilles]] would not accept [[Agamemnon]]'s peace offering even if it included all the wealth in the "stone floor" of "rocky Pytho" (I 404). In the ''[[Odyssey]]'' (θ 79) Agamemnon crosses a "stone floor" to receive a prophecy from Apollo in Pytho, the first known of proto-history.<ref>{{harvnb|Lloyd-Jones|1976|p=60}}</ref> Hesiod also refers to Pytho "in the hollows of Parnassus" (Theogony 498). These references imply that the earliest date of the oracle's existence is the eighth century BC, the probable date of composition of the Homeric works.

The main myths of Delphi are given in three literary "loci".<ref>{{harvnb|Parke|1939|p=6}}</ref> H. W. Parke, the Delphi scholar, argued that the myths are self-contradictory,{{efn|1="All three versions, instead of being simple and traditional, are already selective and tendentious. They disagree with each other..."}} thereby aligning with the [[Plutarch]]ian epistemology that these myths are not to be taken as literal historical accounts but as symbolic narratives meant to explain oracular traditions." Parke asserts that there is no Apollo, no Zeus, no Hera, and certainly never was a great, serpent-like monster, and that the myths are pure Plutarchian figures of speech, meant to be [[Origin myth|aetiologies]] of some oracular tradition.

[[Homeric Hymns|Homeric Hymn 3]], "To Apollo", is the oldest of the three loci, dating to the seventh century BC (estimate).{{efn|1=The poem has two parts, "To Delian Apollo" and "To Pythian Apollo". The Pytho myth is only in the latter.}} Apollo travels about after his birth on [[Delos]] seeking a place for an oracle. He is advised by [[Telephus]] to choose [[Crissa]] "below the glade of [[Parnassus]]", which he does, and has a temple built, having killed the serpent that guards the spring. Subsequently, some Cretans from [[Knossos]] sail up on a mission to reconnoitre [[Pylos]]. Changing into a dolphin, Apollo casts himself on deck. The Cretans do not dare to remove him but sail on. Apollo guides the ship around Greece, ending back at Crisa, where the ship grounds. Apollo enters his shrine with the Cretans to be its priests, worshipping him as ''Delphineus'', "of the dolphin".

Zeus, a Classical deity, reportedly determined the site of Delphi when he sought to find the centre of his "Grandmother Earth" ([[Gaia]]). He sent two eagles flying from the eastern and western extremities, and the path of the eagles crossed over Delphi where the [[omphalos]], or navel of Gaia was found.<ref>Graves, Robert (1993), "The Greek Myths: Complete Edition" (Penguin, Harmondsworth)</ref><ref name="Harissis 2019">{{harvnb|Harissis|2019}}</ref>

According to [[Aeschylus]] in the prologue of the ''[[Oresteia#The Eumenides|Eumenides]]'', the oracle had origins in prehistoric times and the worship of [[Gaia]], a view echoed by H. W. Parke, who described the evolution of beliefs associated with the site. He established that the prehistoric foundation of the oracle is described by three early writers: the author of the ''Homeric Hymn to Apollo'', [[Aeschylus]] in the prologue to the ''Eumenides'', and [[Euripides]] in a chorus in the ''Iphigeneia in Tauris''. Parke goes on to say, "This version [Euripides] evidently reproduces in a sophisticated form the primitive tradition which Aeschylus for his own purposes had been at pains to contradict: the belief that Apollo came to Delphi as an invader and appropriated for himself a previously existing oracle of [[Gaia|Earth]]. The slaying of the serpent is the act of conquest which secures his possession; not as in the ''Homeric Hymn'', a merely secondary work of improvement on the site. Another difference is also noticeable. The ''Homeric Hymn'', as we saw, implied that the method of prophecy used there was similar to that of [[Dodona]]: both Aeschylus and Euripides, writing in the fifth century, attribute to primeval times the same methods as used at Delphi in their own day. So much is implied by their allusions to tripods and prophetic seats... [he continues on p.&nbsp;6] ...Another very archaic feature at Delphi also confirms the ancient associations of the place with the Earth goddess. This was the Omphalos, an egg-shaped stone which was situated in the innermost sanctuary of the temple in historic times. Classical legend asserted that it marked the 'navel' (Omphalos) or center of the Earth and explained that this spot was determined by [[Zeus]] who had released two eagles to fly from opposite sides of the earth and that they had met exactly over this place". On p.&nbsp;7 he writes further, "So Delphi was originally devoted to the worship of the Earth goddess whom the Greeks called Ge, or Gaia. [[Themis]], who is associated with her in tradition as her daughter and partner or successor, is really another manifestation of the same deity: an identity that Aeschylus recognized in another context. The worship of these two, as one or distinguished, was displaced by the introduction of Apollo. His origin has been the subject of much learned controversy: it is sufficient for our purpose to take him as the ''Homeric Hymn'' represents him – a northern intruder – and his arrival must have occurred in the dark interval between Mycenaean and Hellenic times. His conflict with Ge for the possession of the cult site was represented under the legend of his slaying the serpent.<ref>Herbert William Parke, ''The Delphic Oracle'', v. 1, p. 3.</ref>

One tale of the sanctuary's discovery states that a goatherd, who grazed his flocks on Parnassus, one day observed his goats playing with great agility upon nearing a chasm in the rock; the goatherd noticing this held his head over the chasm causing the fumes to go to his brain; throwing him into a strange trance.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/livesnecromance04godwgoog |title=Lives of the Necromancers |year=1876 |page=[https://archive.org/details/livesnecromance04godwgoog/page/n169 11] |author=William Godwin |publisher=London, F. J. Mason}}</ref>

The [[Homeric Hymns|Homeric Hymn to Delphic Apollo]] recalled that the ancient name of this site had been ''Krisa''.<ref>''Hymn to Pythian Apollo'', l. 254–74: [[Telphousa]] recommends to Apollo to build his oracle temple at the site of "Krisa below the glades of [[Mount Parnassus|Parnassus]]".</ref>

Others relate that the site was named '''Pytho''' (Πυθώ) and that Pythia, the priestess serving as the oracle, was chosen from their ranks by the priestesses who officiated at the temple. Apollo was said to have slain [[Python (mythology)|Python]], a ''drako'' (a male serpent or a dragon) who lived there and protected the [[Omphalos|navel]] of the [[Gaia (mythology)|Earth]].<ref name=IK/> "Python" (derived from the verb πύθω (''pythō''),<ref name=rot/> "to [[Decomposition|rot]]") is claimed by some to be the original name of the site in recognition of Python that Apollo defeated.{{sfn|Miller|2004|p=95}}

The name ''Delphi'' comes from the same root as δελφύς ''delphys'', "womb" and may indicate archaic veneration of [[Gaia]] at the site. Several other scholars discuss the likely prehistoric beliefs associated with the site.{{efn|Such was its prestige that most Hellenes after 500&nbsp;BCE placed its foundation in the earliest days of the world: before Apollo took possession, they said, Ge (Earth) (''Gaia'') and her daughter Themis had spoken oracles at Pytho. Such has been the strength of the tradition that many historians and others have accepted as historical fact the ancient statement that Ge and Themis spoke oracles before it became Apollo's establishment, yet nothing but the myth supports this statement. In the earliest account known of the Delphic oracle's beginnings, the story found in the Homeric Hymn to Apollo (281–374), there was no [[oracle]] before Apollo came and killed the great she-dragon, Pytho's only inhabitant. This was apparently the Delphic myth of the sixth century.<ref>Fontenrose, Joseph (1978). ''The Delphic Oracle: Its Responses and Operations, with a Catalogue of Responses'', pp. 3–4.</ref>}}{{efn|The earth is the abode of the dead, therefore the earth-deity has power over the ghostly world: the shapes of [[dream]]s, which often foreshadowed the future, were supposed to ascend from the world below, therefore the earth-deity might acquire an oracular function, especially through the process of incubation, in which the consultant slept in a holy shrine with his ear upon the ground. That such conceptions attached to Gaia is shown by the records of her cults at Delphi, Athens, and Aegae. A recently discovered inscription speaks of a temple of Ge at Delphi... As regards Gaia, we also can accept it. It is confirmed by certain features in the latter Delphic divination, and also by the story of the Python.<ref>Farnell, Lewis Richard, ''The Cults of the Greek States'', v. III, pp. 8–10, onwards.</ref>}}

Apollo is connected with the site by his [[epithet]] Δελφίνιος ''Delphinios'', "the Delphinian". The epithet is connected with [[dolphin]]s (Greek δελφίς,-ῖνος) in the [[Homeric hymns|Homeric ''Hymn to Apollo'']] (line 400), recounting the legend of how Apollo first came to Delphi in the shape of a dolphin, carrying [[Crete|Cretan]] priests on his back. The [[Homer]]ic name of the oracle is ''Pytho'' (Πυθώ).<ref>[[Odyssey]], VIII, 80</ref> Another legend held that Apollo walked to Delphi from the north and stopped at [[Vale of Tempe|Tempe]], a city in [[Thessaly]], to pick laurel (also known as [[Bay laurel|bay tree]]) which he considered to be a sacred plant. In commemoration of this legend, the winners at the Pythian Games received a wreath of laurel picked in the temple.

==Oracle of Delphi==
===The prophetic process===
{{main|Pythia|Delphic Sibyl}}
[[File:Delphi-01.jpg|thumb|Coin ([[Obol (coin)|obol]]) struck at Delphi, 480&nbsp;BC, obverse: Short [[Sacrificial tripod|tripod]], reverse: Pellet within circle ([[omphalos]] or [[Patera|phiale]])]]

Perhaps Delphi is best known for its oracle, the [[Pythia]], or [[sibyl]], the priestess prophesying from the tripod in the sunken adyton of the Temple of [[Apollo]]. The Pythia was known as a spokesperson for Apollo. She was a woman of blameless life chosen from the peasants of the area. Alone in an enclosed inner sanctum (Ancient Greek ''adyton'' – "do not enter") she sat on a tripod seat over an opening in the earth (the "chasm"). According to legend, when Apollo slew Python its body fell into this fissure and fumes arose from its decomposing body. Intoxicated by the vapors, the sibyl would fall into a trance, allowing Apollo to possess her spirit. In this state she prophesied. The oracle could not be consulted during the winter months, for this was traditionally the time when Apollo would live among the [[Hyperboreans]]. [[Dionysus]] would inhabit the temple during his absence.<ref>See e.g. {{harvnb|Fearn|2007|p=182}}</ref> Of note, release of fumes is limited in colder weather.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}

The time to consult Pythia for an oracle during the year was determined from astronomical and geological grounds related to the constellations of Lyra and Cygnus.<ref name="Liritzis_Castro">{{cite journal |last1=Liritzis |first1=I. |last2=Castro |first2=B. |title=Delphi and Cosmovision: Apollo's absence at the land of the hyperboreans and the time for consulting the oracle |journal=Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage |year=2013 |volume=16 |issue=2 |page=184 |doi=10.3724/SP.J.1440-2807.2013.02.04 |bibcode=2013JAHH...16..184L|s2cid=220659867 }}</ref> Similar practice was followed in other Apollo oracles too.<ref name="Oracular_Func">{{cite journal |last1=Castro |first1=Belen |last2=Liritzis |first2=Ioannis |last3=Nyquist |first3=Anne |title=Oracular Functioning And Architecture of Five Ancient Apollo Temples Through Archaeoastronomy: Novel Approach And Interpretation |journal=Interpretation Nexus Network Journal, Architecture & Mathematics |year=2015 |volume=18 |issue=2 |page=373 |doi=10.1007/s00004-015-0276-2|doi-access=free }}</ref>

Hydrocarbon vapors emitted from the chasm. While in a trance the Pythia "raved" – probably a form of ecstatic speech – and her ravings were "translated" by the priests of the temple into elegant hexameters. It has been speculated that the ancient writers, including [[Plutarch]] who had worked as a priest at Delphi, were correct in attributing the oracular effects to the sweet-smelling ''[[pneuma]]'' (Ancient Greek for breath, wind, or vapor) escaping from the chasm in the rock. That exhalation could have been high in the known anaesthetic and sweet-smelling [[ethylene]] or other hydrocarbons such as [[ethane]] known to produce violent trances. Although, given the limestone geology, this theory remains debatable, the authors put up a detailed answer to their critics.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pedley |first1=John |title=Sanctuaries and the Sacred in the Ancient Greek World |date=2005 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=151}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Spiller |first1=Henry A. |last2=Hale |first2=John R. |last3=de Boer |first3=Jelle Z. |title=The Delphic Oracle: A Multidisciplinary Defense of the Gaseous Vent Theory |journal=Clinical Toxicology |year=2002 |volume=40 |issue=2 |pages=189–196 |pmid=12126193 |url=https://farrington1600.wikispaces.com/file/view/DelphicOracle.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161128135436/https://farrington1600.wikispaces.com/file/view/DelphicOracle.pdf |archive-date=2016-11-28 |url-status=live |ref=The Gaseous Vent Theory |doi=10.1081/clt-120004410|s2cid=38994427 }}</ref><ref name="Roach">{{cite magazine |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/08/0814_delphioracle.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010924070805/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/08/0814_delphioracle.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 24, 2001 |title=Delphic Oracle's Lips May Have Been Loosened by Gas Vapors |date=2001-08-14 |df=dmy-all |magazine=National Geographic |author=John Roach |access-date=March 8, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Spiller |first1=Henry |last2=de Boer |first2=Jella |last3=Hale |first3=John R. |last4=Chanton |first4=Jeffery |title=Gaseous emissions at the site of the Delphic Oracle: Assessing the ancient evidence |journal=Clinical Toxicology |year=2008 |volume=46 |issue=5 |pages=487–488 |doi=10.1080/15563650701477803 |pmid=18568810 |s2cid=12441885 |ref=Gaseous emissions}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Piccardi |first1=Luigi |title=Active faulting at Delphi, Greece: Seismotectonic remarks and a hypothesis for the geologic environment of a myth |journal=Geology |date=2000 |volume=28 |issue=7 |pages=651–654|doi=10.1130/0091-7613(2000)28<651:AFADGS>2.0.CO;2 |bibcode=2000Geo....28..651P }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Piccardi |first1=Luigi |last2=Monti |first2=Cassandra |last3=Vaselli |first3=Orlando |last4=Tassi |first4=Franco |last5=Gaki-Papanastassiou |first5=Kalliopi |last6=Papanastassiou |first6=Dimitris |date=January 2008 |title=Scent of a myth: tectonics, geochemistry and geomythology at Delphi (Greece) |url=http://jgs.lyellcollection.org/lookup/doi/10.1144/0016-76492007-055 |journal=Journal of the Geological Society |language=en |volume=165 |issue=1 |pages=5–18 |doi=10.1144/0016-76492007-055|bibcode=2008JGSoc.165....5P |s2cid=131225069 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>{{unbalanced inline|reason=explains gas theory in wikivoice but not criticisms|date=June 2025}}

Ancient sources describe the priestess using "[[Laurus nobilis|laurel]]" to inspire her prophecies. Several alternative plant candidates have been suggested including [[Cannabis]], [[Hyoscyamus]], [[Rhododendron]], and [[Oleander]]. Harissis claims that a review of contemporary toxicological literature indicates that [[oleander]] causes symptoms similar to those shown by the Pythia, and his study of ancient texts shows that oleander was often included under the term "laurel". The Pythia may have chewed oleander leaves and inhaled their smoke prior to her oracular pronouncements and sometimes dying from the toxicity. The toxic substances of oleander resulted in symptoms similar to those of epilepsy, the "sacred disease", which may have been seen as the possession of the Pythia by the spirit of Apollo.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Harissis |first1=Haralampos V. |title=A Bittersweet Story: The True Nature of the Laurel of the Oracle of Delphi |journal=Perspect. Biol. Med. |year=2014 |volume=57 |issue=3 |pages=351–360 |doi=10.1353/pbm.2014.0032 |pmid=25959349 |s2cid=9297573 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/276147773 |access-date=27 November 2016 |ref=Harissis}}</ref>

[[File:'Delphic Sibyl Sistine Chapel ceiling' by Michelangelo JBU37.jpg|thumb|upright|Fresco of Delphic sibyl painted by Michaelangelo at the Sistine Chapel]]

===Influence, devastations and a temporary revival===
The Delphic oracle exerted considerable influence throughout the Greek world, and she was frequently consulted before major undertakings including wars and the founding of [[Greek colonies|colonies]].{{efn|Because the founding of the city was for the Greeks, as it had been for earlier cultures, primarily a religious act, Delphi naturally assumed charge of the new foundations; and especially in the early period of colonization, the Pythian Apollo gave specific advice that dispatched new colonies in every direction, under the aegis of Apollo. Few cities would undertake such an expedition without consulting the oracle. Thus at a moment when the growth of population might have led to congestion within the city, to random emigration, or to conflicts for arable land in the more densely populated regions, Delphi, willy-nilly, faced the problem and conducted a program of organized dispersal.<ref>[[Lewis Mumford]], ''[[The City in History]]''. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1961; p. 140.</ref>}} She also was respected by the Greek-influenced countries around the periphery of the Greek world, such as [[Lydia]], [[Caria]], and even [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]].

The oracle was also known to the early Romans. Rome's seventh and last [[King of Rome|king]], [[Lucius Tarquinius Superbus]], after witnessing a snake near his palace, sent a delegation including two of his sons to consult the oracle.<ref>Livy, [[Ab urbe condita (book)|Ab urbe condita]], 1.56</ref>

In 278 BC, a Thracian (Celtic) tribe raided Delphi, burned the temple, plundered the sanctuary and stole the "unquenchable fire" from the altar. During the raid, part of the temple roof collapsed.<ref name=Lampsas>Lampsas Giannis (1984) ''Dictionary of the Ancient World (Lexiko tou Archaiou Kosmou)'', Vol. I, Athens, Domi Publications, pp. 761–762</ref> The same year, the temple was severely damaged by an earthquake, thus it fell into decay and the surrounding area became impoverished. The sparse local population led to difficulties in filling the posts required. The oracle's credibility waned due to doubtful predictions.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wood |first= Michael |title=The road to Delphi : the life and afterlife of oracles|date=2003|publisher=Farrar, Straus, and Giroux|isbn=0-374-52610-9|edition=1st|location=New York|oclc=52090516}}</ref>

The oracle flourished again in the second century AD, during the rule of emperor [[Hadrian]], who is believed to have visited the oracle twice and offered complete autonomy to the city.<ref name=Lampsas/> By the 4th century, Delphi had acquired the status of a [[city]].<ref name="ODB">{{cite encyclopedia |title=Delphi |last=Gregory |first=Timothy E. |page=602 |editor-first=Alexander |editor-last=Kazhdan |editor-link=Alexander Kazhdan |encyclopedia=[[Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium]] |location=London; New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1991 |isbn=978-0-19-504652-6}}</ref>

[[Constantine the Great]] looted several monuments in Eastern Mediterranean, including Delphi, to decorate his new capital, [[Constantinople]]. One of those famous items was the bronze column of Plataea (The Serpent Column; Ancient Greek: Τρικάρηνος Ὄφις, Three-headed Serpent; Turkish: Yılanlı Sütun, Serpentine Column) from the sanctuary (dated 479 BC), relocated there from Delphi in AD 324, which can still be seen today standing destroyed at a square of Istanbul (where once upon a time was the Hippodrome of Constantinople, built by Constantine; Ottoman Turkish: Atmeydanı "Horse Square") <ref>{{Cite book|last=Scott |first= Michael |title=Delphi: A History of the Center of the Ancient World| location=Princeton; Oxford |publisher=Princeton University Press |date=2014 |isbn=978-0-691-15081-9 |edition=1st |pages=240–241}}</ref> with part of one of its heads kept in the [[Istanbul Archaeology Museums]] (İstanbul Arkeoloji Müzeleri).

Despite the rise of Christianity across the Roman Empire, the oracle remained a religious center throughout the fourth century, and the Pythian Games continued to be held at least until 424 AD;<ref name="ODB"/> however, the decline continued. The attempt of Emperor [[Julian (emperor)|Julian]] to revive polytheism did not survive his reign.<ref name=Lampsas/> Excavations have revealed a large three-[[aisle]]d basilica in the city, as well as traces of a church building in the sanctuary's gymnasium.<ref name="ODB"/> The site was abandoned in the sixth or seventh centuries, although a single bishop of Delphi is attested in an episcopal list of the late eighth and early ninth centuries.<ref name="ODB"/>

In modern times, the structured method of communication and forecasting known as the [[Delphi technique]] takes its name from the oracle of Delphi,<ref>Sheridan, T., "Computers/Future of Delphi: Technology for Group Dialogue" in Linstone, H. A. and Turoff, M. (2002), [https://web.archive.org/web/20080920145326/http://is.njit.edu/pubs/delphibook/delphibook.pdf The Delphi Method: Techniques and Applications], p. 529, archived on 20 September 2008, accessed on 13 July 2024</ref> although some founders and early developers of the technique considered that the adoption of the name "Delphi" was unfortunate and undesirable.<ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Ziglio E | chapter = The Delphi Method and its Contribution to Decision Making | veditors = Adler M, Ziglio E | date =1996 | title = Gazing Into the Oracle: The Delphi Method and Its Application to Social Policy and Public Health | publisher = Jessica Kingsley Publishers | chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=jo1Z1JZIrKIC&pg=PA5 | page= 5 | isbn = 978-1-85302-104-6 }}</ref>

===Religious significance of the oracle===
[[File:Delphi Temple of Apollo.jpg|thumb|Ruins of the ancient temple of Apollo at Delphi, overlooking the valley of Phocis]]
Delphi became the site of a major temple to [[Apollo|Phoebus Apollo]], as well as the Pythian Games and the prehistoric oracle. Even in Roman times, hundreds of votive statues remained, described by [[Pliny the Younger]] and seen by [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]]. Carved into the temple were three phrases: {{lang|grc|γνῶθι σεαυτόν}} (''gnōthi seautón'' = "[[know thyself]]"),  {{lang|grc|μηδὲν ἄγαν}} (''mēdén ágan'' = "nothing in excess"), and {{lang|grc|Ἑγγύα πάρα δ'ἄτη}} (''engýa pára d'atē'' = "make a pledge and [[Atë|mischief]] is nigh").<ref>Plato, ''[[Charmides (dialogue)|Charmides]]'' 164d–165a.</ref> In antiquity, the origin of these phrases was attributed to one or more of the [[Seven Sages of Greece]] by authors such as [[Plato]]<ref>[[Plato]], ''[[Protagoras (dialogue)|Protagoras]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Plat.%20Prot.%20343a&lang=original 343a–b] at the [[Perseus Project]].</ref> and Pausanias.<ref>Pausanias, Description of Greece, Phocis and Ozolian Locri, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160%3Abook%3D10%3Achapter%3D24%3Asection%3D1 10.24.1] at the Perseus Project.</ref> Additionally, according to [[Plutarch]]'s essay on the meaning of the ''"E at Delphi"''—the only literary source for the inscription—there was also inscribed at the temple a large letter [[Epsilon|E]].<ref>Hodge, A. Trevor. "The Mystery of Apollo's E at Delphi", ''American Journal of Archaeology'', Vol. 85, No. 1. (Jan., 1981), pp. 83–84.</ref> Among other things epsilon signifies the number [[5 (number)|5]]. However, ancient as well as modern scholars have doubted the legitimacy of such inscriptions.<ref>H. Parke and D. Wormell, ''The Delphic Oracle'', (Basil Blackwell, 1956), vol. 1, pp. 387–389.</ref> According to one pair of scholars, "The actual authorship of the three maxims set up on the Delphian temple may be left uncertain. Most likely they were popular proverbs, which tended later to be attributed to particular sages."<ref>Parke & Wormell, p. 389.</ref>

According to the Homeric hymn to the Pythian Apollo, Apollo shot his first arrow as an infant that effectively slew the serpent Pytho, the son of Gaia, who guarded the spot. To atone the murder of Gaia's son, Apollo was forced to fly and spend eight years in menial service before he could return forgiven. A festival, the Septeria, was held every year, at which the whole story was represented: the slaying of the serpent, and the flight, atonement, and return of the god.<ref name="article on Delphic Oracle">Cf. Seyffert, ''Dictionary of Classic Antiquities'', {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20070202074730/http://www.ancientlibrary.com/seyffert/0178.html article on "Delphic Oracle"]}}</ref>

The Pythian Games took place every four years to commemorate Apollo's victory.<ref name="article on Delphic Oracle"/> Another regular Delphi festival was the "[[Theophany|Theophania]]" (Θεοφάνεια), an annual festival in spring celebrating the return of Apollo from his winter quarters in [[Hyperborea]]. The culmination of the festival was a display of an image of the deities, usually hidden in the [[sanctuary]], to worshippers.<ref>James Hall, ''A History of Ideas and Images in Italian Art'', pp 70–71, 1983, John Murray, London, {{ISBN|0719539714}}</ref>

The ''[[Theoxenia (festival)|theoxenia]]'' was held each summer, centred on a feast for "gods and ambassadors from other states". Myths indicate that Apollo killed the chthonic [[serpent (symbolism)|serpent]] [[Python (mythology)|Python]] guarding the [[Castalian Spring]] and named his priestess [[Pythia]] after her. Python, who had been sent by [[Hera]], had attempted to prevent [[Leto]], while she was pregnant with Apollo and [[Artemis]], from giving birth.<ref name="GrantHazel2004">{{cite book |author1=Michael Grant |author2=John Hazel |title=Who's Who in Classical Mythology |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EC-DAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA61 |date=2 August 2004 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-50943-0 |page=61}}</ref>

The spring at the site flowed toward the temple but disappeared beneath, creating a cleft which emitted chemical vapors that purportedly caused the oracle at Delphi to reveal her prophecies. Apollo killed Python, but had to be punished for it, since he was a child of Gaia. The shrine dedicated to Apollo was originally dedicated to Gaia and shared with [[Poseidon]].<ref name="article on Delphic Oracle"/> The name Pythia remained as the title of the Delphic [[oracle]].

[[Erwin Rohde]] wrote that the Python was an earth spirit, who was conquered by Apollo, and buried under the [[omphalos]], and that it is a case of one deity setting up a temple on the grave of another.<ref>Rodhe, E (1925), ''Psyche: The Cult of Souls and the Belief in Immortality among the Greeks'', trans. from the 8th edn. by W. B. Hillis (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1925; reprinted by Routledge, 2000). p. 97</ref> Another view holds that Apollo was a fairly recent addition to the Greek [[Pantheon (gods)|pantheon]] coming originally from [[Lydia]].{{citation needed|date=February 2013}}

==History==
Occupation of the site at Delphi can be traced back to the [[Neolithic]] period with extensive occupation and use beginning in the Mycenaean period (1600–1100 BC). In Mycenaean times [[Crissa|Krissa]] was a major Greek land and sea power, perhaps one of the first in Greece, if the Early Helladic date of Kirra is to be believed.<ref>{{harvnb|Kase|1970|pp=16–17}}</ref> The ancient sources indicate that the previous name of the Gulf of Corinth was the "Krisaean Gulf".<ref>{{harvnb|Kase|1970|pp=28–29}}</ref> Like Krisa, Corinth was a Dorian state, and Gulf of Corinth was a Dorian lake, so to speak, especially since the migration of Dorians into the Peloponnesus starting about 1000 BC. Krisa's power was broken finally by the recovered Aeolic and Attic-Ionic speaking states of southern Greece over the issue of access to Delphi. Control of it was assumed by the [[Amphictyonic League]], an organization of states with an interest in Delphi, in the early Classical period. Krisa was destroyed for its arrogance. The gulf was given Corinth's name. Corinth by then was similar to the Ionic states: ornate and innovative, not resembling the spartan style of the Doric.

===Ancient Delphi===
Earlier myths<ref>Pausanias 10.12.1</ref><ref name="Harissis 2019"/> include traditions that [[Pythia]], or the Delphic oracle, already was the site of an important oracle in the pre-classical Greek world (as early as 1400&nbsp;BC) and, rededicated from about 800&nbsp;BC, when it served as the major site during classical times for the worship of the god [[Apollo]].

[[File:Delphi by Albert Tournaire.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Speculative illustration of ancient Delphi by French architect Albert Tournaire]]
Delphi was since ancient times a place of worship for [[Gaia (mythology)|Gaia]], the [[mother goddess]] connected with fertility. The town started to gain pan-Hellenic relevance as both a shrine and an oracle in the seventh century BC. Initially under the control of [[Phocis (ancient region)|Phocian]] settlers based in nearby [[Kirra, Phocis|Kirra]] (currently [[Itea, Phocis|Itea]]), Delphi was reclaimed by the [[Athens|Athenians]] during the [[First Sacred War]] (597–585 BC). The conflict resulted in the consolidation of the [[Amphictyonic League#The Delphic Amphictyony|Amphictyonic League]], which had both a military and a religious function revolving around the protection of the [[#Temple of Apollo|Temple of Apollo]]. This shrine was destroyed by fire in 548 BC and then fell under the control of the [[Alcmaeonidae|Alcmaeonids]] who were banned from Athens. In 449–448 BC, the [[Second Sacred War]] (fought in the wider context of the [[First Peloponnesian War]] between the [[Peloponnesian League]] led by [[Sparta]] and the [[Delian League|Delian-Attic League]] led by Athens) resulted in the [[Phocis (ancient region)|Phocians]] gaining control of Delphi and the management of the [[Pythian Games]].

In 356 BC, the Phocians under Philomelos captured and sacked Delphi, leading to the [[Third Sacred War]] (356–346 BC), which ended with the defeat of the former and the [[rise of Macedon]] under the reign of [[Philip II of Macedon|Philip II]]. This led to the [[Rise of Macedon#Fourth Sacred War|Fourth Sacred War]] (339 BC), which culminated in the [[Battle of Chaeronea (338 BC)|Battle of Chaeronea]] (338 BC) and the establishment of Macedonian rule over Greece.

In Delphi, Macedonian rule was superseded by the [[Aetolians]] in 279 BC, when a [[Gallic invasion of the Balkans|Gallic invasion]] was repelled, and by the [[Roman Republic|Romans]] in 191 BC. The site was sacked by [[Sulla|Lucius Cornelius Sulla]] in 86 BC, during the [[Mithridatic Wars]], and by [[Nero]] in 66 AD. Although subsequent Roman emperors of the [[Flavian dynasty]] contributed toward to the restoration of the site, it gradually lost importance.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Scott |first1=M |title=Identity at Delphi: Boiotia in the Fourth Century bc |date=2016 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |location=Philadelphia |pages=100–115}}</ref>{{citation needed|date=May 2023}}

The anti-pagan legislation of the late Roman Imperial era deprived ancient sanctuaries of their assets.{{Citation needed|date=August 2019}} The emperor [[Julian (emperor)|Julian]] attempted to reverse this religious climate, yet his "pagan revival" was particularly short-lived. When the doctor [[Oreibasius]] visited the oracle of Delphi, in order to question the fate of paganism, he received a pessimistic answer:{{citation needed|date=May 2023}}

<blockquote>Tell the king that the flute has fallen to the ground. Phoebus does not have a home any more, neither an oracular laurel, nor a speaking fountain, because the talking water has dried out</blockquote>

It was shut down during the [[persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire]] by [[Theodosius I]] in 381 AD.<ref>{{cite book|title=Grecia. Guida d'Europa|date=1977|publisher=Touring Club Italiano|location=Milano|page=126|language=it}}</ref>

===Amphictyonic Council===
The [[Amphictyonic League|Amphictyonic Council]] was a council of representatives from six Greek tribes who controlled Delphi and also the quadrennial Pythian Games. They met biannually and came from Thessaly and central Greece. Over time, the town of Delphi gained more control of itself and the council lost much of its influence.

===The sacred precinct in the Iron Age===
[[File:07Delphi Fries01 (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|Section of the frieze from the [[Treasury of the Siphnians]], now in the museum]]
Excavation at Delphi, which was a post-Mycenaean settlement of the late ninth&nbsp;century BC, has uncovered artifacts increasing steadily in volume beginning with the last quarter of the eighth century&nbsp;BC. Pottery and bronze as well as tripod dedications continue in a steady stream, in contrast to [[Olympia, Greece|Olympia]]. Neither the range of objects nor the presence of prestigious dedications proves that Delphi was a focus of attention for a wide range of worshippers, but the large quantity of valuable goods, found in no other mainland sanctuary, encourages that view.

[[Apollo]]'s sacred precinct in Delphi was a [[Panhellenic Sanctuary]], where every four years, starting in 586&nbsp;BC{{sfn|Miller|2004|p=96}} athletes from all over the Greek world competed in the [[Pythian Games]], one of the four [[Panhellenic Games]], precursors of the [[Modern Olympics]]. The victors at Delphi were presented with a laurel crown (''stephanos'') that was ceremonially cut from a tree by a boy who re-enacted the slaying of the Python.{{sfn|Miller|2004|p=96}} (These competitions are also called stephantic games, after the crown.) Delphi was set apart from the other games sites because it hosted the mousikos agon, musical competitions.{{sfn|Miller|2004|p=95}}

These Pythian Games rank second among the four stephantic games chronologically and in importance.{{sfn|Miller|2004|p=96}} These games, however, were different from the games at Olympia in that they were not of such vast importance to the city of Delphi as the games at Olympia were to the area surrounding Olympia. Delphi would have been a renowned city regardless of whether it hosted these games; it had other attractions that led to it being labeled the "omphalos" (navel) of the earth, in other words, the centre of the world.{{sfn|Miller|2004|p=96}}{{sfn|Miller|2004|p=97}}
[[File:Ciriaco d'Ancona di Benozzo Gozzoli.jpg|thumb|right|[[Cyriacus of Ancona]], first [[Western Europe|Westerner]] to describe the remains in Delphi in 1436]]
[[File:Porträt der Society of Dilettanti.jpg|right|thumb|The [[Society of Dilettanti]] organized a study expedition to Delphi in 1766]]

In the inner ''hestia'' ([[hearth]]) of the Temple of Apollo, an [[eternal flame]] burned. After the [[battle of Plataea]], the Greek cities extinguished their fires and brought new fire from the hearth of Greece, at Delphi; in the [[foundation story|foundation stories]] of several Greek colonies, the founding colonists were first dedicated at Delphi.{{sfn|Burkert|1985|pp=61, 84}}

===Abandonment and rediscovery===
The [[Ottoman Turks|Ottomans]] finalized their domination over [[Phocis (ancient region)|Phocis]] and Delphi in about 1410 AD. Delphi itself remained almost uninhabited for centuries. It seems that one of the first buildings of the early modern era was the monastery of the [[Dormition of Mary]] or of [[Panagia]] (the Mother of God) built above the ancient [[gymnasium at Delphi]]. It must have been toward the end of the fifteenth or in the sixteenth century that a settlement started forming there, which eventually ended up forming the village of [[Kastri, Phocis|Kastri]].

[[Ottoman Delphi]] gradually began to be investigated. The first Westerner to describe the remains in Delphi was [[Cyriacus of Ancona]], a fifteenth-century merchant turned diplomat and antiquarian, considered the founding father of modern classical archeology.<ref>Edward W. Bodnar, ''Later travels'', with Clive Foss</ref> He visited Delphi in March 1436 and remained there for six days. He recorded all the visible archaeological remains based on [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] for identification. He described the stadium and the theatre at that date as well as some freestanding pieces of sculpture. He also recorded several inscriptions, most of which are now lost. His identifications, however, were not always correct: for example he described a round building he saw as the [[temple of Apollo (Delphi)|temple of Apollo]] while this was simply the base of the Argives' ex-voto. A severe earthquake in 1500 caused much damage.

In 1766, an English expedition funded by the [[Society of Dilettanti]] included the Oxford epigraphist [[Richard Chandler (antiquary)|Richard Chandler]], the architect [[Nicholas Revett]], and the painter [[William Pars]]. Their studies were published in 1769 under the title ''Ionian Antiquities'',<ref>Chandler, R, Revett, N., Pars, W., Ionian Antiquities, London 1769</ref> followed by a collection of inscriptions,<ref>Chandler, R, Revett, N., Pars, W., Inscriptiones antiquae, pleraeque nondum editae, in Asia Minore et Graecia, praesertim Athensis, collectae, Oxford, 1774</ref> and two travel books, one about Asia Minor (1775),<ref>Chandler, R, Revett, N., Pars, W., Travels in Asia Minor, Oxford, 1775.</ref> and one about Greece (1776).<ref>Chandler, R, Revett, N., Pars, W., Travels in Greece, Oxford, 1776.</ref> 

In 1805 [[Edward Dodwell]] visited Delphi, accompanied by the painter Simone Pomardi.<ref>''A classical and topographical tour through Greece'', London 1819</ref> [[Lord Byron]] visited in 1809, accompanied by his friend [[John Cam Hobhouse]]:

<blockquote>Yet there I've wandered by the vaulted rill
Yes! Sighed o'er Delphi's long deserted shrine,
where, save that feeble fountain, all is still.</blockquote>

He carved his name on the same column in the gymnasium as [[George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen|Lord Aberdeen]], later Prime Minister, who had visited a few years before. Proper excavation did not start until the late nineteenth century (see "Excavations" section) after the village had moved.

==Delphi in later art==
[[File:Delphi - Gerbelius Nicolas - 1545.jpg|thumb|250px|Nocolas' Gerbel' fanciful Delphic castle]]
[[File:Claude Lorrain 027.jpg|thumb|''View of Delphi with Sacrificial Procession'' by [[Claude Lorrain]]]]
[[File:'Delphi' by Edward Lear, watercolor, 12 by 19 cm..jpg|thumb|''Delphi'' by [[Edward Lear]] features the [[Phaedriades]]]]
[[File:Itea from Delphi - Willoughby Vera - 1925.jpg|thumb|''Itea from Delphi'' (1925) by [[Vera Willoughby]] – Itea is a town located in Greece]]

From the sixteenth century onward, woodcuts of Delphi began to appear in printed maps and books. The earliest depictions of Delphi were totally imaginary; for example, those created by [[Nikolaus Gerbel]], who published in 1545 a text based on the map of Greece by N. Sofianos. The ancient sanctuary was depicted as a fortified city.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Tolias | first=George | title=Nikolaos Sophianos's Totius Graeciae Descriptio: The Resources, Diffusion and Function of a Sixteenth-Century Antiquarian Map of Greece | journal=Imago Mundi | volume=58 | year=2006 | issue=2 | pages=150–182 | doi=10.1080/03085690600687214 | hdl=10442/13763 | s2cid=54885024 | quote=The views are imaginary, and some are reproductions or variants of older woodcuts of German towns here used for Greek towns. | url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03085690600687214| hdl-access=free }}</ref>

The first travelers with archaeological interests, apart from the precursor Cyriacus of Ancona, were the British [[George Wheler (clergyman and scholar)|George Wheler]] and the French [[Jacob Spon]], who visited Greece in a joint expedition in 1675–1676. They published their impressions separately. In Wheler's "Journey into Greece", published in 1682, a sketch of the region of Delphi appeared, where the settlement of Kastri and some ruins were depicted. The illustrations in Spon's publication "Voyage d'Italie, de Dalmatie, de Grèce et du Levant, 1678" are considered original and groundbreaking.

Travelers continued to visit Delphi throughout the nineteenth century and published their books which contained diaries, sketches, and views of the site, as well as pictures of coins. The illustrations often reflected the spirit of romanticism, as evident by the works of Otto Magnus von Stackelberg, where, apart from the landscapes (''La Grèce. Vues pittoresques et topographiques'', Paris 1834) are depicted also human types (''Costumes et usages des peuples de la Grèce moderne dessinés sur les lieux'', Paris 1828). The philhellene painter W. Williams has comprised the landscape of Delphi in his themes (1829). Influential personalities such as F.Ch.-H.-L. Pouqueville, W.M. Leake, Chr. Wordsworth and Lord Byron are amongst the most important visitors of Delphi.

After the foundation of the modern Greek state, the press became also interested in these travelers. Thus "Ephemeris" writes (17 March 1889):
In the ''Revues des Deux Mondes'' [[Paul Lefaivre]] published his memoirs from an excursion to Delphi. The French author relates in a charming style his adventures on the road, praising particularly the ability of an old woman to put back in place the dislocated arm of one of his foreign traveling companions, who had fallen off the horse. "In [[Arachova]] the Greek type is preserved intact. The men are rather athletes than farmers, built for running and wrestling, particularly elegant and slender under their mountain gear." Only briefly does he refer to the antiquities of Delphi, but he refers to a pelasgian wall 80&nbsp;meters long, "on which innumerable inscriptions are carved, decrees, conventions, manumissions".{{citation needed|date=December 2019}}

Gradually the first travelling guides appeared. The revolutionary "pocket" books invented by [[Karl Baedeker]], accompanied by maps useful for visiting archaeological sites such as Delphi (1894) and the informed plans, the guides became practical and popular. The photographic lens revolutionized the way of depicting the landscape and the antiquities, particularly from 1893 onward, when the systematic excavations of the French Archaeological School started. However, artists such as Vera Willoughby, continued to be inspired by the landscape.{{citation needed|date=December 2019}}

Delphic themes inspired several graphic artists. Besides the landscape, [[Pythia]] and Sibylla become illustration subjects even on Tarot cards.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/tarot-of-delphi/ |title=Tarot of Delphi |website=Aeclectic.net |access-date=14 April 2018}}</ref> A famous example constitutes Michelangelo's Delphic Sibyl (1509),<ref>{{cite AV media |url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Michelangelo_-_Delphic_Sibyl.jpg |title=Delphic Sibyl |author=Michelangelo |year=1509 |medium=painting |website=Wikimedia Commons}}</ref><ref>{{cite AV media |title=The Priestess of Delphi |author=John Collier |year=1891 |medium=painting}}</ref><ref>{{cite AV media |title=Consulting the Oracle |author=John William Waterhouse |year=1882 |medium=painting |url=http://www.jwwaterhouse.com/view.cfm?recordid=75 |website=JWWaterhouse.com}}</ref> the nineteenth-century German engraving, Oracle of Apollo at Delphi, as well as the recent ink on paper drawing, "The Oracle of Delphi" (2013) by M. Lind.<ref>{{cite AV media |title=The Oracle of Delphi |author=Malin Lind |date=January 22, 2013 |df=dmy-all |medium=ink on paper |url=https://theshapeshifter.wordpress.com/tag/delphi/ |series=Delphi – Art, creation of life |website=theshapeshifter.wordpress.com |access-date=14 April 2018}}</ref>
Modern artists are inspired also by the Delphic Maxims. Examples of such works are displayed in the "Sculpture park of the European Cultural Center of Delphi" and in exhibitions taking place at the Archaeological Museum of Delphi.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-11-13 |title=Delphic Spirit by Aristides Patsoglou - theDelphiGuide.com |url=https://thedelphiguide.com/delphic-spirit-by-aristides-patsoglou/ |access-date=2024-08-16 |website=thedelphiguide.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Delphi in later literature==
{{unreferenced section|date=December 2019}}
Delphi inspired literature as well. In 1814 W. Haygarth, friend of Lord Byron, refers to Delphi in his work "Greece, a Poem". In 1888 [[Charles Marie René Leconte de Lisle]] published his lyric drama L’Apollonide, accompanied by music by [[Franz Servais]]. More recent French authors used Delphi as a source of inspiration such as [[Yves Bonnefoy]] (Delphes du second jour) or Jean Sullivan (nickname of [[Joseph Lemarchand]]) in L'Obsession de Delphes (1967), but also [[Rob MacGregor]]'s [[Indiana Jones and the Peril at Delphi]] (1991).

The presence of Delphi in [[Greek literature]] is very intense. Poets such as [[Kostis Palamas]] (The Delphic Hymn, 1894), [[Kostas Karyotakis]] (Delphic festival, 1927), [[Nikephoros Vrettakos]] (return from Delphi, 1957), [[Yannis Ritsos]] (Delphi, 1961–62) and [[Kiki Dimoula]] (Gas omphalos and Appropriate terrain 1988), to mention only the most renowned ones. [[Angelos Sikelianos]] wrote The Dedication (of the Delphic speech) (1927), the Delphic Hymn (1927) and the tragedy Sibylla (1940), whereas in the context of the Delphic idea and the Delphic festivals he published an essay entitled "The Delphic union" (1930). The nobelist [[George Seferis]] wrote an essay under the title "Delphi", in the book "Dokimes".<ref>{{Cite web|last=Yiannias|first=Vicky|date=October 6, 2003|title=Lecture on Seferis at the Hellenic Culture Foundation|url=https://www.greeknewsonline.com/lecture-on-seferis-at-the-hellenic-culture-foundation/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-04-18|website=Greek News|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418032903/https://www.greeknewsonline.com/lecture-on-seferis-at-the-hellenic-culture-foundation/ |archive-date=2021-04-18 }}</ref>

== Gallery ==
<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
File:Archaeological Site of Delphi-111178.jpg|The theatre at Delphi
File:Archaeological Site of Delphi-111180.jpg|Ruins of the theatre at Delphi
File:Archaeological Site of Delphi-111182.jpg|Stacked stones
File:Phaedriades, Delphi, 060032.jpg|The [[Phaedriades]]
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Aristoclea]], Delphic priestess of the 6th century BC, said to have been tutor to [[Pythagoras]]
* [[Ex voto of the Attalids (Delphi)]]
* [[Franz Weber (activist)]] – made an honorary citizen of Delphi in 1997
* [[Greek art]]
* [[List of traditional Greek place names]]
* [[Portico of the Aetolians]]

==Footnotes==
{{notelist}}

==Citations==
{{reflist}}

==Citation references==
{{div col}}
*Aimatidou-Argyriou, E. ''Delphi,'' Athens 2003
*Bommelaer, J.-F., Laroche, D., ''Guide de Delphes. Le site,'' Paris 1991
*[[William Broad|Broad, William J.]] [https://archive.org/details/oracle00will ''The Oracle: Ancient Delphi and the Science Behind its Lost Secrets''], New York : Penguin, 2006. {{ISBN|1-59-420081-5}}.
*{{cite book |author-link=Walter Burkert|last=Burkert |first= Walter |title=Greek Religion |year= 1985}}
* Connelly, Joan Breton, [https://archive.org/details/portraitofpriest00conn ''Portrait of a Priestess: Women and Ritual in Ancient Greece''], Princeton University Press, 2007. {{ISBN|0691127468}}
*Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 (2018) "Ancient Evil"
* Dempsey, T., Reverend, [https://books.google.com/books?id=4Cj0ueSqyVQC ''The Delphic oracle, its early history, influence and fall''], Oxford: B.H. Blackwell, 1918.
*Castro Belen, Liritzis Ioannis and Nyquist Anne (2015) Oracular Functioning And Architecture of Five Ancient Apollo Temples Through Archaeastronomy: Novel Approach And Interpretation Nexus Network Journal, Architecture & Mathematics, 18(2), 373–395 (DOI:10.1007/s00004-015-0276-2)
*Farnell, Lewis Richard, ''The Cults of the Greek States'', in five volumes, Clarendon Press, 1896–1909. (Cf. especially, [https://books.google.com/books?id=9J0wnXWZmL8C volume III] and [https://books.google.com/books?id=ewIIU_JNarIC volume IV] on the Pythoness and Delphi).
* {{cite book |last=Fearn |first=David |title=Bacchylides: Politics, Performance, Poetic Tradition |publisher= Oxford University Press |year= 2007 |isbn=9780199215508}}
* [[Joseph Fontenrose|Fontenrose, Joseph Eddy]], ''The Delphic oracle, its responses and operations, with a catalogue of responses'', Berkeley: University of California Press, 1978. {{ISBN|0520033604}}
* Fontenrose, Joseph Eddy, ''Python; a study of Delphic myth and its origins'', New York, Biblio & Tannen, 1974. {{ISBN|081960285X}}
*Goodrich, Norma Lorre, ''Priestesses'', New York: F. Watts, 1989. {{ISBN|0531151131}}
*Guthrie, William Keith Chambers, ''The Greeks and their Gods'', 1955.
*[[Manly Palmer Hall|Hall, Manly Palmer]], ''The Secret Teachings of All Ages'', 1928. [http://www.sacred-texts.com/eso/sta/sta14.htm Ch. 14 cf. Greek Oracles], [http://www.sacred-texts.com/eso/sta/index.htm www], [https://web.archive.org/web/20100524070656/http://prs.org/secret.htm PRS]
*[http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/perspectives_in_biology_and_medicine/v057/57.3.harissis.html Harissis H. 2015. "A Bittersweet Story: The True Nature of the Laurel of the Oracle of Delphi" Perspectives in Biology and Medicine. Volume 57, Number 3, Summer 2014, pp. 295–298.]
* {{cite journal | last=Harissis | first=H. | year=2019 | title=Pindar's Paean 8 and the birth of the myth of the first temples of Delphi | journal=Acta Classica: Proceedings of the Classical Association of South Africa | volume=62 | number=1 | pages=78–123}}
*[[Herodotus]], ''The Histories''
*[http://mcllibrary.org/Hesiod/hymns.html Homeric Hymn to Pythian Apollo] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081025121210/http://mcllibrary.org/Hesiod/hymns.html |date=25 October 2008 }}
*{{cite thesis | last=Kase | first=Edward W. | title=A Study of the Role of Krisa in the Mycenaean Era | type=Master's Thesis | date=1970 | publisher=Loyola University | docket=2467 | url=https://ecommons.luc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3466&context=luc_theses}}
*Kolonia, R., ''The Archaeological Museum of Delphi,'' Athens 2006
*{{cite journal | last1 = Liritzis | first1 = I | last2 = Castro | first2 = Β | year = 2013 | title = Delphi and Cosmovision: Apollo's absence at the land of the hyperboreans and the time for consulting the oracle | journal = Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage | volume = 16 | issue = 2| pages = 184–206 | doi = 10.3724/SP.J.1440-2807.2013.02.04 | bibcode = 2013JAHH...16..184L | s2cid = 220659867 }}
* {{cite journal | first=Hugh | last=Lloyd-Jones | title=The Delphic Oracle | journal=Greece & Rome | volume=23 | number=1 | year=1976 | pages=60–73| doi=10.1017/S0017383500018283 | s2cid=162187662 }}
* Manas, John Helen, [https://books.google.com/books?id=W9300nUf4uMC ''Divination, ancient and modern''], New York, Pythagorean Society, 1947.
* {{cite book|first=Stephen G. |last=Miller |title=Ancient Greek Athletics|author-link=Stephen G. Miller |url=https://archive.org/details/ancientgreekathl00mill |url-access=registration |location=New Haven and London |publisher=[[Yale University Press]] |year=2004|isbn=9780300100839 }}
* {{cite book | title=A history of the Delphic oracle | first=Herbert William | last=Parke | location=Oxford | publisher=Basil Blackwell | year=1939}}
*Petrakos, B. ''Delph,'' Athens 1977
*[[Plutarch]] "Lives"
*[[Erwin Rohde|Rohde, Erwin]], ''Psyche'', 1925.
* [[Oskar Seyffert (classical scholar)|Seyffert, Oskar]], {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20090225171700/http://www.ancientlibrary.com/seyffert/index.html "Dictionary of Classical Antiquities"]}}, London: W. Glaisher, 1895.
*Spiller, Henry A., John R. Hale, and Jelle Z. de Boer. "The Delphic Oracle: A Multidisciplinary Defense of the Gaseous Vent Theory." ''Clinical Toxicology'' 40.2 (2000) 189–196.
*[[Martin Litchfield West|West, Martin Litchfield]], ''The Orphic Poems'', 1983. {{ISBN|0-19-814854-2}}.
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==Further reading==
{{div col}}
* {{cite journal | last1 = Adornato | first1 = G | year = 2008 | title = Delphic Enigmas? The Γέλας ἀνάσσων, Polyzalos, and the Charioteer Statue | journal = American Journal of Archaeology | volume = 112 | issue = 1| pages = 29–55 | doi = 10.3764/aja.112.1.29 | s2cid = 157508659 }}
* Davies, J. K. (1998). Finance, Administrations, and Realpolitik: The Case of Fourth-Century Delphi. In M''odus Operandi: Essays in Honour of Geoffrey Rickman.'' Edited by M. Austin, J. Harries, and C. Smith, 1–14. London: Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies, Suppl. 71.
* Davies, John. (2007). "The Origins of the Festivals, especially Delphi and the Pythia." In ''Pindar’s Poetry, Patrons, and Festivals: From Archaic Greece to the Roman Empire.'' Edited by Simon Hornblower and Catherine Morgan, 47–69. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.
*{{cite book |last1=Giangiulio |first1=Maurizio|editor1-last=Foxhall |editor1-first=Lin |editor2-last=Gehrke |editor2-first=Hans-Joachim |editor3-last=Luraghi |editor3-first=Nino|title=Intentional History : Spinning Time in Ancient Greece. |date=2015 |publisher=Franz Steiner Verlag |location=Stuttgart |isbn=978-3-515-11288-8 |pages=121–136  |chapter=Collective Identities, imagined past, and Delphi}}
* Kindt, Julia. (2016). ''Revisiting Delphi: Religion and Storytelling in Ancient Greece. Cambridge Classical Studies.'' Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press.
* {{cite journal | last1 = Maurizio | first1 = Lisa | year = 1997 | title = Delphic Oracles as Oral Performances: Authenticity and Historical Evidence | journal = Classical Antiquity | volume = 16 | issue = 2| pages = 308–334 | doi = 10.2307/25011067 | jstor = 25011067 }}
* {{cite journal | last1 = McInerney | first1 = Jeremy | year = 2011 | title = Delphi and Phokis: A Network Theory Approach | journal = Pallas | volume = 87 | issue = 87 | pages = 95–106 | doi = 10.4000/pallas.1948 | doi-access = free }}
* {{cite journal | last1 = McInerney | first1 = Jeremy | year = 1997 | title = Parnassus, Delphi, and the Thyiades | journal = Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies | volume = 38 | issue = 3| pages = 263–284 }}
* Morgan, Catherine. (1990). ''Athletes and Oracles. The Transformation of Olympia and Delphi in the Eighth Century BC.'' Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press.
* Partida, Elena C. (2002). ''The Treasuries at Delphi: An Architectural Study.'' Jonsered, Denmark: Paul Åströms.
* Scott, Michael, ''Delphi: A History of the Center of the Ancient World'' (Princeton, NJ: [[Princeton University Press]], 2014). {{ISBN|978-0-691-15081-9}}
* Scott, Michael. (2010). ''Delphi and Olympia: The Spatial Politics of Panhellenism in the Archaic and Classical Periods.'' Cambridge and New York: Cambridge Univ. Press.
* [[Robert K. G. Temple|Temple, Robert K.G.]], [http://www.robert-temple.com/papers/Fables_Delphi.pdf "Fables, Riddles, and Mysteries of Delphi"], ''Proceedings of 4th Philosophical Meeting on Contemporary Problems'', No 4, 1999 (Athens, Greece) In Greek and English.
* Weir, Robert G. (2004). ''Roman Delphi and its Pythian games. BAR Series 1306''. Oxford: Hadrian.

===5th-century evidence===
*Petrides, P., 2010, ''La céramique protobyzantine de Delphes. Une production et son contexte'', École française d’Athènes, Fouilles de Delphes V, Monuments figurés 4, Paris – Athènes.
*Petrides, P., Déroche, V., Badie, A., 2014,''Delphes de l’Antiquité tardive. Secteur au Sud-est du Péribole, École française d’Athènes,'' Fouilles de Delphes II, Topographie et Architecture 15, Paris-Athènes.
*Petrides, P., 1997, «Delphes dans l’Antiquité tardive : première approche topographique et céramologique», BCH 121, pp.&nbsp;681–695.
*Petrides, P., 2003, «Αteliers de potiers protobyzantins à Delphes », in Χ. ΜΠΑΚΙΡΤΖΗΣ (ed.), 7ο Διεθνές Συνέδριο Μεσαιωνικής Κεραμικής της Μεσογείου, Θεσσαλονίκη 11–16 Οκτωβρίου 1999, Πρακτικά, Αθήνα, pp.&nbsp;443–446.
*Petrides, P., 2005, «Un exemple d’architecture civile en Grèce : les maisons protobyzantines de Delphes (IVe–VIIe s.)», Mélanges Jean-Pierre Sodini, Travaux et Mémoires 15, Paris, pp.&nbsp;193–204.
*Petrides, P., Demou, J., 2010, « La redécouverte de Delphes protobyzantine », Pallas 87, pp.&nbsp;267–281.
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==External links==
{{wikivoyage|Delphi}}
{{commons category|Ancient Delphi}}
{{wikisource|1=1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Delphi|2=Britannica 1911, Delphi}}
* {{cite web | author=E. Partida | title=Delphi Archaeological Museum | website=Odysseus | publisher=Ministry of Culture and Sports, Hellenic Republic | year=2012 | url=http://odysseus.culture.gr/h/1/eh151.jsp?obj_id=3404}}
* {{library resources about | label=Delphi | onlinebooks=yes}}
* [https://www.virtualdelphi.com VirtualDelphi] will help you picture the monuments of Delphi by reconstructing their sight and placing them in their historical time frame.

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