Delphi

Zeus determined it to be the center of the world. He let two eagles fly from each side of the earth, they soared through the skies westward and eastward and their paths crossed in Delphi. From this point, Zeus threw a stone from the sky to see where it will fall. The stone fell at Delphi, which since then was considered to be the “omphalos”, meaning the navel of the world. Originally, the site belonged to Mother Earth and was guarded by her child Python, the serpent. Apollo is said to have slain Python and founded his own oracle there. He was portrayed as protector of the laws and morals and by extension he maintained cosmic harmony. Consequently, Apollo became man’s guide in personal and political life by means of the oracle. His will was dictated through the priestess Pythia. She sat over a chasm inhaling vapors emitted from the earth and intoxicated by the natural gasses, Apollo possessed her spirit. Her visions were cryptic and ambiguous, but ordinary people, statesman and leaders of all types would still line up for her divine advice on behalf of Apollo.

The earliest finds in the area of Delphi date to the 4th millenium B.C and they come from a cave on MT. Parnassus, where the first rituals took place. Remains of a Mycenaean settlement and a cemetery were discovered within the sanctuary but all traces are very fragmentary until the 8th b.C, when the cult of Apollo was established. The first stone temples of Apollo and Athina, who was also venerated and had her own sanctuary, were built towards the end of the 7th B.C, while other gods were also associated with the sanctuary.

The site became the center of the Amphictyonic League by the 6th B.C, an association of 12 tribes of Thessaly and south-central Greece, with religious and political significance. The League organized the Pythian Games, the second most important games in Greece after the Olympics, held every four years.

The prestige of the oracle was at its peak between the 6th and the 4th centuries B.C. It was consulted on both private matters and affairs of state.The priests became powerful, able to bend both military and political powers. But over the centuries, the sanctuary suffered multiple catastrophes and changes of authority.

In 480 B.C the Persians attacked Delphi and in 279B.C it was again attacked by the Gauls. It was during the 3rd century B.C that the site became under the control of the Aetolians and held it for roughly 100 years until the Romans drove the Aetolians out in 191 B.C. Delphi remained important to some Roman emperors, such as Hadrian, while others plundered it. The decree by Theodosius in 398 A.D to close all pagan sanctuaries led to Delphi’s gradual decline. Christianity deprived Apollo from its shelter and Pyhtia was silenced.