Delphi

If I were going to build a temple for my god I would definitely build it at Delphi. About 190 km away from Piraeus, it is the most picturesque place with the best views and an incredibly peaceful presence. An ancient spiritual site built into the side of Mount Parnassus is where the ancient Greeks had their most famous oracle- The Oracle of Delphi.

On the way to Delphi I passed by the city of Thebes. (Margaret- think Hercules.) Thebes gets all its recognition from the ancient mythology that takes place in its walls. The stories of Oedipus revolve around the city of Thebes where he answers the riddle of the sphinx and thus frees the Thebans from the terrible monster. He then becomes king and eventually fulfills the prophecy told by the oracle at Delphi that he would murder his dad and marry his mother. It is an awfully tragic story and does not have a happy ending (he goes into exile) but is what gives Thebes its recognition.

Once I got to the Oracle at Delphi I was amazed by the beauty of the natural topography. It is literally built into the side of Mount Parnassus. The legend goes that Zeus threw a rock and it landed at Delphi which meant that that was the perfect spot to build a temple. Another legend says that Apollo, who originally came in the shape of a dolphin, carried the Cretan priests all the way to Delphi on his back and instructed them to make a temple. Regardless of which legend is more accurate, a temple for Apollo was constructed at Delphi and people from all over came to make sacrifices and ask advice from the Oracle. Often times the priestess at the Oracle were young women (symbolic because Apollo is the caretaker of youth) known as Pythia. She would sit on a tripod and relay the people’s questions to Apollo who would then, in turn, relay the answers back through Pythia to the awaiting worshiper. This all changed when one of the young priestesses ran away with a one of the priests and then, old women became the acting oracles, but dressed up as youthful girls to keep the symbolism alive.

Along with the temple, the ancient people of Delphi had constructed a theater. Originally built in the 4^th century B.C. it can seat about 5,000 people. The theater is still in use currently, although there is talk of shutting it down for two reasons. 1. The rocks, over the years, have become very slippery and women in high heels have been known to fall and hurt themselves in the slippery rocks. 2. The cleaners of the theater get about 24 kg of gum every year from people sticking their gum under the seats and it is very hard to remove.

Overall, there is not much left from the ancient oracle site because when the Christian regime took over Greece the emperor ordered the site to be destroyed. It was pretty cool to look at the ancient ruins still there and compare them to pictures depicting the glories of the past.

After wandering around the ancient site of Delphi, I headed to the museum of Delphi. This is where all of the remains that were removed during the excavation are held. It was pretty cool to see the statues, pottery, gold head dresses, and jewelry that were all dedicated to Apollo in the glory of the temple. Then it was onto lunch time (which was really good because it was already 2 o’clock pm.)

Lunch was held at a traditional Greek restaurant. There were 6 courses, so get ready to be really hungry after reading this. J

Dish 1: Spanikopita. I should classify, really good spanikopita. Not like the icky stuff you buy frozen in the grocery store and throw into the oven. The really good homemade stuff that the Greeks make and taste super yummy.

Dish 2: cheese ball- fried. It sounds pretty gross, but it was a combo of cheese and spinach deep fat friend into a ball. It is all with tizikie sauce (super super yummy!!)

Dish 3: Mozzarella cheese stick- like the deep fat fried ones with deliciously fresh mozzarella cheese in the inside.

Dish 4: Salad- of course it was a Greek salad. This means tomatoes, green peppers, olives, olive oil dressing, and a big hunk of feta cheese on the top.

Dish 5: Spaghetti- with some really good homemade tomato sauce

Dish 6: Baklava- enough said.

It was delicious.

Then it was onto the last stop of the day- an ancient Orthodox monastery (11^th century.) Since I wasn’t told I would be going one I wasn’t dressed appropriately (I had shorts on that did not cover my knees) and so I had to borrow a skirt from the monastery. It basically was a gross olive green bag, but a small price to pay to be able to see the incredible mosaics that were in this monastery. There was so much gold that the entire monastery seemed to be alit with a glow from the walls. It was absolutely gorgeous.

After that, I headed home and then went out to skype with the family (so much fun!! Thanks mom, dad, and Kevin!!) Then it was to bed and tomorrow I think I will go back to Athens for a bit.