Delphi ( or ; , ) is a town in

Phocis Phocis (; ; ) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Central Greece. It stretches from the western mountainsides of Parnassus on the east to the mountain range of Vardousia on the west, upon the Gu ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, situated immediately west of the archaeological site of the same name. It was created as a home for the population of Kastri, which was relocated to allow for the excavation of the site of ancient Delphi. The importance of the twin locations grew to the point where Delphi has also been made the name of the modern-day municipality, which includes the communities of the

Pleistos The Pleistos (, , ) is a river in central Greece. It drains the Pleistos valley, named after it, a relatively recent rift valley north of the Gulf of Corinth, and parallel to it. They have the same geologic causes. Being situated in karst topograp ...

valley system as far south as the

Gulf of Corinth The Gulf of Corinth or the Corinthian Gulf (, ) is a deep inlet of the Ionian Sea, separating the Peloponnese from western mainland Greece. It is bounded in the east by the Isthmus of Corinth which includes the shipping-designed Corinth Canal and ...

. The name Delphi came from the

Oracle of Delphi An oracle is a person or thing considered to provide insight, wise counsel or prophecy, prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by Deity, deities. If done through occultic means, it is a form of divina ...

, which was anciently accepted as a purveyor of truth revealed by the god

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

Town

The twin sites are on

Greek National Road 48 National Road 48 (, abbreviated as EO48) is a single carriageway road in central Greece. It connects the Greek National Road 5 at Antirrio with the town Livadeia, passing through Naupactus and Delphi. The section between Antirrio and Itea is ...

linking

Amfissa Amphissa ( ) is a town in Phocis, Greece, part of the municipality of Delphi, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 315.174 km2. It lies on the northern edge of the olive forest of the Crissaean plai ...

with

Livadeia Livadeia ( ''Livadiá'', ; or , ''Lebadia'') is a town in central Greece. It is the capital of the Boeotia Regional units of Greece, regional district. Livadeia lies north-west of Athens, west of Chalkida, south-east of Lamia (city), Lamia, ...

. The town contains extensive facilities supporting the tourist trade at the ancient site. Like the ancient Sacred Precinct, the town preserves a vertical dimension by terracing the streets and buildings. The streets are narrow, and often one-way. The

E4 European long distance path The E4 European long distance path or E4 path is one of the European long-distance paths. Starting at Tarifa Andalusia, located at the southernmost end of the Iberian Peninsula, across the Strait of Gibraltar facing Morocco, it continues through ...

passes through the east end of the town. In addition to the archaeological interest, Delphi attracts tourists visiting the

Parnassus Mount Parnassus (; , ''Parnassós'') is a mountain range of central Greece that is, and historically has been, especially valuable to the Greek nation and the earlier Greek city-states for many reasons. In peace, it offers scenic views of the c ...

Ski Center and the popular coastal towns of the region.

History

Occupation of the site at Delphi can be traced back to the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

period with extensive occupation and use beginning in the Mycenaean period (1600–1100 BC).

Ancient Delphi

Earlier myths include traditions that

Pythia Pythia (; ) was the title of the high priestess of the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo at Delphi. She specifically served as its oracle and was known as the Oracle of Delphi. Her title was also historically glossed in English as th ...

, or the Delphic oracle, already was the site of an important oracle in the pre-classical Greek world (as early as 1400 BC) and, rededicated from about 800 BC, when it served as the major site during classical times for the worship of the god

Delphi was since ancient times a place of worship for

Gaia In Greek mythology, Gaia (; , a poetic form of ('), meaning 'land' or 'earth'),, , . also spelled Gaea (), is the personification of Earth. Gaia is the ancestral mother—sometimes parthenogenic—of all life. She is the mother of Uranus (S ...

, the

mother goddess A mother goddess is a major goddess characterized as a mother or progenitor, either as an embodiment of motherhood and fertility or fulfilling the cosmological role of a creator- and/or destroyer-figure, typically associated the Earth, sky, ...

connected with fertility. The town started to gain pan-Hellenic relevance as both a shrine and an oracle in the 7th century BC. Initially under the control of

Phocaean Phocaea or Phokaia (Ancient Greek: Φώκαια, ''Phókaia''; modern-day Foça in Turkey) was an ancient Ionian Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia. Greek colonists from Phocaea founded the colony of Massalia (modern-day Marseille, in F ...

settlers based in nearby Kirra (currently Itea), Delphi was reclaimed by the

Athenians Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

during the

First Sacred War The First Sacred War, or Cirraean War, was fought between the Amphictyonic League of Delphi and the city of Kirrha. At the beginning of the 6th century BC the Pylaeo-Delphic Amphictyony, controlled by the Thessalians, attempted to take hold of t ...

(597–585 BC). The conflict resulted in the consolidation of the Amphictyonic League, which had both a military and a religious function revolving around the protection of the

Temple of Apollo Temple of Apollo may refer to: * Cyprus *Temple of Apollo Hylates, Limassol Czech Republic *Temple of Apollo, Lednice–Valtice Cultural Landscape, South Moravian Region Greece *Temple of Apollo, Corinth *Temple of Apollo (Delphi) *Temple of A ...

. This shrine was destroyed by fire in 548 BC and then fell under the control of the

Alcmaeonids The Alcmaeonidae (; , ; Attic: , ) or Alcmaeonids () were a wealthy and powerful noble family of ancient Athens, a branch of the Neleides who claimed descent from the mythological Alcmaeon, the great-grandson of Nestor. In the 7th to late 5th ...

banned from Athens. In 449–448 BC, the

Second Sacred War The Second Sacred War was the Spartan defeat of the Phocis (ancient region), Phocians at Delphi and the restoration of Delphian self-government. Background In 458 or 457BC, the Phocians captured three towns in the Spartan metropolis of Doris ...

(fought in the wider context of the

First Peloponnesian War The First Peloponnesian War (460–445 BC) was fought between Sparta as the leaders of the Peloponnesian League and Sparta's other allies, most notably Thebes, and the Delian League led by Athens with support from Argos. This war consisted o ...

between the

Peloponnesian League The Peloponnesian League () was an alliance of ancient Greek city-states, dominated by Sparta and centred on the Peloponnese, which lasted from c. 550 to 366 BC. It is known mainly for being one of the two rivals in the Peloponnesian War (431–4 ...

led by

Sparta Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...

and the Delian-Attic League led by Athens) resulted in the Phocians gaining control of Delphi and the management of the

Pythian Games The Pythian Games () were one of the four Panhellenic Games of Ancient Greece. Founded circa the 6th century BCE, the festival was held in honor of the god Apollo and took place at his sanctuary in Delphi to commemorate the mytho-historic slayin ...

. In 356 BC the Phocians under Philomelos captured and sacked Delphi, leading to the

Third Sacred War The Third Sacred War ( 356– 346 BC) was fought between the forces of the Delphic Amphictyonic League, principally represented by Thebes, and latterly by Philip II of Macedon, and the Phocians. The war was caused by a large fine imposed in 35 ...

(356–346 BC), which ended with the defeat of the former and the

rise of Macedon Under the reign of Philip II (359–336 BC), the ancient kingdom of Macedonia, initially at the periphery of classical Greek affairs, came to dominate Ancient Greece in the span of just 25 years, largely thanks to the character and policies o ...

under the reign of Philip II. This led to the

Fourth Sacred War Under the reign of Philip II (359–336 BC), the ancient kingdom of Macedonia, initially at the periphery of classical Greek affairs, came to dominate Ancient Greece in the span of just 25 years, largely thanks to the character and policies of ...

(339 BC), which culminated in the 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 was repelled, and by the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

in 191 BC. The site was sacked by

Lucius Cornelius Sulla Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (, ; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman people, Roman general and statesman of the late Roman Republic. A great commander and ruthless politician, Sulla used violence to advance his career and his co ...

in 86 BC, during the

Mithridatic Wars The Mithridatic Wars were three conflicts fought by the Roman Republic against the Kingdom of Pontus and its allies between 88 and 63 BC. They are named after Mithridates VI, the King of Pontus during the course of the wars, who initiated the ho ...

, and by

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68) was a Roman emperor and the final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 until his ...

in 66 AD. Although subsequent Roman emperors of the

Flavian dynasty The Flavian dynasty, lasting from 69 to 96 CE, was the second dynastic line of emperors to rule the Roman Empire following the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Julio-Claudians, encompassing the reigns of Vespasian and his two sons, Titus and Domitian. Th ...

contributed towards to the restoration of the site, it gradually lost importance. In the course of the 3rd century

mystery cults Mystery religions, mystery cults, sacred mysteries or simply mysteries (), were religious schools of the Greco-Roman world for which participation was reserved to initiates ''(mystai)''. The main characteristic of these religious schools was th ...

became more popular than the traditional

Greek pantheon Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories concern the ancie ...

. Christianity, which started as yet one more mystery cult, soon gained ground, and this eventually resulted in the

persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire Persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire began during the reign of Constantine the Great (306–337) in the military colony of Aelia Capitolina (Jerusalem), when he destroyed a pagan temple for the purpose of constructing a Christian church ...

. The anti-pagan legislation of the Flavian dynasty deprived ancient sanctuaries of their assets. The emperor Julian attempted to reverse this religious climate, yet his "pagan revival" was particularly short-lived. When the doctor

Oreibasius Oribasius or Oreibasius (; c. 320 – 403) was a Greek medical writer and the personal physician of the Roman emperor Julian. He studied at Alexandria under physician Zeno of Cyprus before joining Julian's retinue. He was involved in Julian' ...

visited the oracle of Delphi, in order to question the fate of paganism, he received a pessimistic answer: ell 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. It was shut down during the

Theodosius I Theodosius I ( ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also known as Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. He won two civil wars and was instrumental in establishing the Nicene Creed as the orthodox doctrine for Nicene C ...

in 381 AD.

Amphictyonic Council

The Amphictyonic Council was a council of representatives from six Greek tribes that 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

Excavation at Delphi, which was a post-Mycenaean settlement of the late 9th century, has uncovered artifacts increasing steadily in volume beginning with the last quarter of the 8th century BC. Pottery and bronze as well as tripod dedications continue in a steady stream, in contrast to 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.

's sacred precinct in Delphi was a Panhellenic Sanctuary, where every four years, starting in 586 BC athletes from all over the Greek world competed in the

, one of the four

Panhellenic Games Panhellenic Games is the collective term for four separate religious festivals held in ancient Greece that became especially well known for the athletic competitions they included. The four festivals were: the Ancient Olympic Games, Olympic Games, ...

, precursors of the

Modern Olympics The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competiti ...

. The victors at Delphi were presented with a laurel crown (''stephanos'') which was ceremonially cut from a tree by a boy who re-enacted the slaying of the Python. (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. These Pythian Games rank second among the four stephantic games chronologically and in importance. These games, though, 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. In the inner ''hestia'' (

hearth A hearth () is the place in a home where a fire is or was traditionally kept for home heating and for cooking, usually constituted by a horizontal hearthstone and often enclosed to varying degrees by any combination of reredos (a low, partial ...

) of the Temple of Apollo, an

eternal flame An eternal flame is a flame, lamp or torch that burns for an indefinite time. Most eternal flames are ignited and tended intentionally, but some are natural phenomena caused by natural gas leaks, peat fires and coal seam fires, all of which ca ...

burned. After the

battle of Plataea The Battle of Plataea was the final land battle during the second Persian invasion of Greece. It took place in 479BC near the city of Plataea in Boeotia, and was fought between an alliance of the Polis, Greek city-states (including Sparta, Cla ...

, the Greek cities extinguished their fires and brought new fire from the hearth of Greece, at Delphi; in the foundation stories of several Greek colonies, the founding colonists were first dedicated at Delphi.

Abandonment and rediscovery

The

Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...

finalized their domination over

and Delphi in about 1410 CE. 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 The Dormition of the Mother of God is a Great Feast of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches (except the East Syriac churches). It celebrates the "falling asleep" (death) of Mary the ''Theotokos'' ("Mother of ...

or of

Panagia Panagia (, fem. of , + , the ''All-Holy'', or the ''Most Holy''; pronounced ) (also transliterated Panaghia or Panayia), in Medieval and Modern Greek, is one of the titles of Mary, Mother of God, used especially in Orthodox Christianity and E ...

(the Mother of God) built above the ancient gymnasium at Delphi. It must have been towards the end of the 15th or in the 16th century that a settlement started forming there, which eventually ended up forming the village of Kastri.

Ottoman period and Middle Ages

Ottoman Delphi gradually began to be investigated. The first Westerner to describe the remains in Delphi was

Ciriaco de' Pizzicolli Ciriaco is a male given name in Italian language, Italian () and Spanish language, Spanish (). In Portuguese, it's spelled Ciríaco (). It derives from the Greeks, Greek given name Κυριακός (also Κυριάκος) which means ''of the Lord ...

(Cyriacus of Ancona), a 15th-century merchant turned diplomat and antiquarian. He visited Delphi in March 1436 and remained there for six days. He recorded all the visible archaeological remains based on 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 Temple of Apollo may refer to: * Cyprus *Temple of Apollo Hylates, Limassol Czech Republic *Temple of Apollo, Lednice–Valtice Cultural Landscape, South Moravian Region Greece *Temple of Apollo, Corinth *Temple of Apollo (Delphi) *Temple of A ...

while this was simply the base of the Argives' ex-voto. A severe earthquake in 1500 caused much damage. In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

a town called Kastri was rebuilt on the archaeological site. The residents had used the marble columns and structures as support beams and roofs for their improvised houses, a usual way of rebuilding towns that were partially or totally destroyed, especially after the earthquake in 1580, which demolished several towns in

Modern period

In 1893 archaeologists from the

École française d'Athènes The French School at Athens (, EfA; ''Gallikí Scholí Athinón'') is one of the seventeen foreign archaeological institutes operating in Athens, Greece. History Founded in 1846, the EfA is the oldest foreign institute in Athens. Its early f ...

finally located the actual site(se
link
of ancient Delphi and the village was moved to a new location, west of the site of the temples. Delphi is home to the

European Cultural Centre of Delphi The European Cultural Centre of Delphi (ECCD) was founded in 1977 upon the inspiration and initiative of Konstantinos Karamanlis with the view of setting up a European and intellectual centre in Delphi. The first thoughts and discussions start ...

, which is hosting the Delphi Economic Forum, an annual international conference about finance, politics and science, with notable speakers such as world leaders.

Municipality

The municipality Delphi was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 8 former municipalities, that became municipal units: *

*Delphi *

Desfina Desfina () is a town and a former municipality in the southern part of Phocis, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Delphi, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 148.992 km ...

Galaxidi Galaxidi or Galaxeidi (), is a town and a former municipality in the southern part of Phocis, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Delphi, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of ...

Gravia Gravia () is a village and a former municipality in the northeastern part of Phocis, Greece. Since the Kallikratis plan, 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Delphi, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has ...

* Itea *

Kallieis Kallieis (, full form Δήμος Καλλιέων) is a former municipality in the northern part of Phocis, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Delphi, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit h ...

Parnassos Mount Parnassus (; , ''Parnassós'') is a mountain range of central Greece that is, and historically has been, especially valuable to the Greek nation and the earlier Greek city-states for many reasons. In peace, it offers scenic views of the c ...

The municipality has an area of 1121.671 km², the municipal unit 73.126 km². The administrative seat of the municipality is in the largest town, Amfissa. The total population of the municipality is 32,263. The town Delphi has a population of 2,373 people while the population of the municipal unit of Delphi, including Chrisso (ancient Krissa), is 3,511.

Gallery

File:SikelianosHouseDelphi.jpg, House of

Angelos Sikelianos Angelos Sikelianos ( ; 28 March 1884 – 19 June 1951) was a Greek lyric poet and playwright. His themes include Greek history, religious symbolism as well as universal harmony in poems such as ''The Moonstruck'', ''Prologue to Life'', ''Mother o ...

File:Delphi naos.jpg, Saint Nicolas church File:GR 08-04-23 Delphi Rathaus.jpg, Town hall File:Delphi Greece (34).jpg, Building and view into valley File:Delphi Greece (40).jpg, Valley and road sign File:Delphi Greece (39).jpg, Entrance flags File:Delphi Greece (37).jpg, Fence and valley File:Olive trees and water aqueduct in Delphi valley..jpg, Olive trees and water aqueduct in Delphi valley

References

Works cited

* * *

External links

Homepage of the modern municipality

European Cultural Centre of Delphi

An online guide of Delphi

An information hub and virtual tour of Delphi
{{Authority control Populated places in Phocis Municipalities of Central Greece Phocis Holy cities