Delphi: Theatre and Stadium

Finally, Delphi was not only a religious, but also a cultural centre! Read and marvel!

The theatre of Delphi was home to the first Pythic Games which consisted in singing along to a kithara. They were held every eight, later every four years. Think of it as an ancient Panhellenic Song Contest!

The theatre is quite large (though not like the one in Epidauros) and overlooks the whole sanctuary, as you can see here. It has great acoustics, with the shape reflecting the sound well. The mountains in the distance complete the nice view.

The long stadium hosted the sports contests that were later added to the Pythic Games (second only to the Olympic and Nemean Games): Gymnastics and racing. Horse-racing and chariot races were held in the plain of Krissa nearby. The games ended at the end of the 4th century AD.

The graphic reconstruction of the Holy Street with all the shrines and temples (look at the largest one in colour!) and the theatre gives a good impression of how the whole thing should have looked like.

Thanks for reading from our group! We were over 20, so the whole trip was lots of fun... we exchanged many stories, discussed philosophical topics and played Dungeons and Dragons in the bus. Awesome!

Photo gallery