News from the ancient world
Apollo's oracle on a ledge of Mount Parnassus, high above a valley of olive trees
Delphi was the sanctuary of Apollo and the seat of the most famous oracle in the Greek world. It lies on the southern slopes of Mount Parnassus, high above the valley of the Pleistos. Here a priestess, the Pythia, spoke Apollo's answers to questions from cities, rulers and ordinary people. The Greeks believed it was the centre of the world, marked by a stone called the omphalos, or navel.
Cities consulted the oracle before founding colonies or going to war. They thanked the god with treasuries and statues, which crowded the path to the temple. Every four years the Pythian Games brought athletes and musicians to the sanctuary. The ruins climb the hillside in terraces, from the Sacred Way past the temple to the theatre and stadium. Delphi has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987.
The paved Sacred Way zigzags uphill past the bases of statues and treasuries that Greek cities dedicated to Apollo. The offerings are gone, but many bases still carry their inscriptions. Low on the path are the foundations of the Siphnian Treasury, whose carved frieze from about 525 BC is now in the museum.
Tip The old paving is polished smooth and slippery, so take the climb slowly.
This small Doric building in marble is the only treasury rebuilt in full, put back together by French archaeologists in the early 20th century. The ancient writer Pausanias says Athens paid for it from the spoils of Marathon in 490 BC. Some scholars date it earlier. Look closely at the walls: they are covered in inscribed decrees, and hymns to Apollo with musical notation were carved here.
The wall holding up the temple terrace is built of many-sided blocks fitted together without mortar. Its face carries hundreds of inscriptions, most of them records of slaves being freed. In front stands the Stoa of the Athenians, whose inscribed step says it held arms and ship ornaments taken from enemies.
The foundations and a few re-erected Doric columns belong to the 4th-century BC temple built after the earthquake of 373 BC. The Pythia gave her answers in an inner room called the adyton. Many visitors walk past the great altar in front of the temple: the island of Chios gave it, and it was partly rebuilt in the 20th century.
Tip The temple is fenced off. The best view of it is from the theatre above.
The theatre was built in the 4th century BC and rebuilt several times, notably under the Romans. It seated about 5,000 people, and it held the musical contests of the Pythian Games. From the top rows the whole sanctuary and the Pleistos valley lie below you.
Tip Climb to the path above the top row for the classic view over the temple to the valley.
The stadium is the highest point of the sanctuary, with a track about 178 m long. Its stone seats were added in the 2nd century AD, paid for by the Athenian benefactor Herodes Atticus. At each end lie the stone starting lines, with grooves where runners set their toes.
Tip This is the steepest stretch and has little shade. Go early, and carry water.
Delphi Archaeological Museum, Delphi. The star is the bronze Charioteer of Delphi, part of a group dedicated around 470 BC. Also look for the Naxian Sphinx, the twin statues known as Kleobis and Biton, the Siphnian Treasury frieze and the omphalos stone.
Facts checked against standard references. Opening times and tickets change: check them locally before you go.
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