Delphi: Introduction

Delphi - a famous place. It even has a programming language named after it (we learned to use it in school). After a short trip by bus, we arrived in the small village nearby, made our way past overpriced souvenir shops (40€ for a SD card for a camera!) and came to the sanctuary. It has been a UNESCO world heritage site since 1987, and here you will see why!

It's famous for the oracle which we will see later ... this is the tholos, a round pre-temple so to say, dedicated to Athena Pronaia. With big things, it's good to start small, right? Well, I remember having some philosophical discussions with my tutor along the way.

The whole area is pretty huge ... it had to be, since it had to have space for various temples, the oracle and the omphalos (navel of the world). More later!

The red walls are younger than classical times. It's evident from the way the stones are worked and put together with mortar in a diagonal way. The young tree before gives the photo a nice contrast between bright red and light green.

These columns were part of a stoa to which there are some small chambers adjacent. The exact purpose is not clear, it could be a ritual building and include resting rooms or be a marketplace (less likely). There must have been a roof, but since the site was destroyed and rebuilt several times and decayed afterwards, it's not hard to imagine what happened.

Hang on for the next part which is going to be even more interesting!

Photo gallery