Tel. 22650 82312
Site Open:
Open: Apr- Oct 8am- 7:30pm daily
Nov- Mar 8:30am- 3pm
Museum:
Apr- Oct 7:30am- 6:45pm
Nov- Mar 8:30- 3pm
Delphi Archaeological Site is an ancient Greek archaeological site situated on Mount Parnassus overlooking the valley of Phocis below. Greek believed this was the location of a navel of the World. Ancient myths told a story of god Apollo who killed giant dragon Python that was known as a protector of this important site. Victorious Apollo became the new master of these lands. Pagan Greeks believed their god gave special powers to an Delphic oracle who could prophesize the future. It is hard to overestimate the importance of the predictions that once were made here. No new colony was found around a Mediterranean, no important political move was carried out without first consulting with the oracle. The belief in special powers of its place and pagan priests spread beyond the Greek World.
History
Prehistory - Mycenaean period
According to tradition, in the area of Delphi there was a
sanctuary dedicated to the female deity of Gaia and its guardian was
the terrible dragon Python. According to local legends, Apollo
became the lord of the sanctuary when he killed Python. The god,
then transformed into a dolphin, transported the Minoans to the
area, who founded his sanctuary. This myth of the reign of Apollo
survived in festive representations on local festivals, such as
Septoria, Delfinia, Thargilia, Theophania, and Pythia.
The
oldest finds in the area of Delphi have been found in the Korykeio
Cave and date to the Neolithic era (4000 BC) From 4,000 BC. until
the Mycenaean years (1550 BC) there are no findings, which indicates
that the area probably remained uninhabited during this period. At
the beginning of the Mycenaean period, Achaeans from Thessaly
settled in the area of Delphi and founded an organized city.
Remains of a Mycenaean settlement and a cemetery have been found
from this city. It is believed that it corresponds to the city
mentioned in the list of the Iliad News, with the name Pythos.
Pythos was one of the nine Phocian cities that participated in the
Trojan War, alongside the rest of the Achaeans.
At the end of
the Mycenaean period the city was abandoned, as were many other
Mycenaean centers of mainland Greece. For the next four centuries no
significant installations were observed in the area. The findings
from the area remained minimal and very fragmentary until the 8th
century BC, when the cult of Apollo finally prevailed and the
development of the sanctuary and the oracle began. Towards the end
of the 7th century BC. The first stone temples were built, one
dedicated to Apollo and the other to Athena, who was officially
worshiped under the name "Pronea" or "Providence" and had its own
mosque. According to ancient testimonies and archeological findings,
Artemis, Poseidon, Dionysus, Hermes, Zeus Polyeus, Hygeia and
Eilithia were also worshiped in Delphi.
Historical years
From the 8th century, when the cult of Apollo prevailed, the
sanctuary of Delphi acquired a particularly important role in the
ancient Greek world, while its influence gradually spread to a large
part of the wider area of the eastern Mediterranean. A significant
number of shrines found in Delphi, even come from areas of Syria and
Armenia, which testifies to the extent of the sanctuary's influence.
Due to the great prestige of the oracle, the Greek cities resorted
to it to help make important decisions. Typical is the case of
colonization, where the metropolises resorted to the oracle to
consult it, to choose a suitable place for the establishment of a
colony. The sanctuary of Delphi gradually became the center of the
most important Amphitryon of the ancient Greek world. This
Amphitryon, which became known as the Delphic Amphitryon, was a
federal union of twelve tribes with a mainly religious character.
The tribes of central Greece participated in it and the Thessalians
held a leading position among them. Initially it was centered in
Anthili of Malida, but from the middle of the 7th century it made
Delphi its center.
At the beginning of the 6th BC. century
Delphi Amphitryon waged war with the neighboring city of Delphi,
Krissa. This war was called the First Holy War and ended with the
destruction of Krissa. As a result of the war, Delphi increased its
pan-Hellenic religious and political influence and grew in size,
acquiring lands that until then belonged to Krissa. At the same
time, after the end of the war, Pythia was organized for the first
time, the second most important pan-Hellenic games after the
Olympics. In the first Pythians organized in 586 BC. were given as
prizes to the winners of the games, cash gifts from the spoils of
Krissa. From the following races, the laurel wreath was established
as an honorary prize of the winners.
During the Persian Wars
the oracle of Delphi issued several ominous oracles for the Greek
cities, a fact which was attributed by later historians to a
pro-Persian attitude that it maintained. Herodotus reports that
Delphi was attacked by the Persians. Specifically, he mentions that
after Xerxes passed Thermopylae and was heading towards Fokida, I
sent a military corps to Delphi to extract treasures. When the
Persians approached Delphi, two peaks from Parnassos were cut off
and fell on them, while at the same time they were pursued by two
local heroes, the Guardian and the Autonomous.
Delphi remained an independent city until 448 BC.
when the Athenians helped Phocis to include the sanctuary in their
federation. Then the Spartans reacted, resulting in the outbreak of
the Second Holy War. The Spartans initially restored the city to its
previous state but with a new intervention of the Athenians the city
was returned to the Phocians. The Phocians maintained control of the
oracle until 421 BC. This year the city of Delphi became independent
again as a result of the Nicaean peace. In 356 BC. The Phocians
occupied Delphi, when the amphitheater congress, which was then
controlled by Thebes, imposed a heavy fine on them. This event led
to the outbreak of the third holy war. During this war all the
treasures of Delphi were looted to finance the Phocaean army. The
Phocians were finally defeated ten years later with the intervention
of Philip and Delphi returned to the control of the Delphic
amphitheater which was now controlled by the Macedonians. A fourth
holy war broke out in 339 BC. in which the Lokroi of Amfissa got
involved and eventually led to the intervention of Philip in
southern Greece.
During the 3rd c. e.g. Delphi came under the
control of the new force that emerged in southern Greece, the
Aetolian Confederation. The Aetolians occupied the sanctuary in 290
BC. A few years later, in 279 BC, the city of Delphi was in danger
of being invaded by the Galatians in Greece. The Aetolians
successfully faced this raid and protected the sanctuary. The city
continued to thrive and enrich in gifts and tributes throughout this
century. Most of the tributes of this period come from the cities of
the Aetolian Confederation.
In 190 BC. the Romans removed
from the Aetolians the dominion in the oracle of Delphi. A few years
later, in 168 BC. Delphi came under Roman rule. During the
Mithridatic Wars Delphi was plundered by the Roman general Sulla in
86 BC, who demanded and succeeded in granting him the precious metal
votive offerings of the temple. In 83 BC, the Maidans, a Thracian
tribe, raided Delphi, set fire to the temple, looted the sanctuary
and stole the "lime fire" from the altar. During this raid, part of
the roof of the sanctuary collapsed.
During the first
Christian years the Oracle of Delphi had already declined. The focus
of the few visitors was not so much the religious faith and the need
for worship, as to admire the rich and imposing artistic
architectures of the area. A relative flourishing of the oracle was
observed again during the reign of Emperor Hadrian, who seems to
have visited the oracle twice. The period of decline, however,
continues in the years of Constantine the Great, and Constantine II.