Many know the basics of Delphi: Dedicated to Apollo, it was an oracle, a place people went to ask the gods a question about what they should do and listen to the answer given. There were many such sites in ancient Greece, but this was the center of the world, so determined by Zeus and the most important such site.

Like all serious religious phenomena, however, it turns out to be rather difficult to figure out what "really" happened. Did the priestesses who gave the oracles do so by means of trance-inducing vapors issuing from rocks, by means of hallucinogenic drugs or not at all? Did the male priests change priestess' ramblings to serve their own agenda or did they merely order the ambiguous divine words and help seekers to understand? Was it all just politics and intentional conning of the gullible? I've heard all of these theories and more. Recently, it's been shown that intoxicating fumes do come from fissures in the rocks under the temple of Apollo.

In the end, your view of religion and the possibility of 'the beyond' will control your view of Delphi: if you do not believe in religion, you'll work until you have a mundane explanation for the oracle; if you do believe in religion, you'll tend to accept any explanation, however inconsistent. Both approaches, however, shortchange the need to find an explanation that fits both the complexity of human motivation and the complexity of the universe.

Returning to earth, however, does not end the mysteries. Delphi was undoubtedly collaborationist during the Persian wars, continuously telling Athens and other cities to give up, yet, once victory was obtained, the cities freely gave Delphi the first-fruits of their spoils of war. The shrine accepted bribes on more than one occasion to deliver oracles in one desired direction or another, but at the same time, it was revered and consulted by Greeks of every station in life including kings and other leaders. And of course, the oracles themselves were famously elliptical, capable of many interpretations as well.

The setting of Delphi is beautiful. Nested against the southern slopes of Mt. Parnassos, it is a fit setting for religious mysteries and the rugged climb into the hills suitable preparation for posing a question to the gods.

Journey to the oracle

Enter the sacred way

The site

The Treasury of Athens

The Treasury of the Siphnians

The Temple of Apollo

History

The Oracle

The Stadium and the Pythian Games

Gallery

Practicalities

The modern town of Delphi

Galaxidi and Arahova

Links