Sunday, March 29 - Daytrip to Delphi

Delphi is ground-zero for Greek mythology located about a three-hour drive northwest of Athens. I picked Sunday to go in hopes that the legendary traffic mess might be minimized, which was partially the case. However, the universal problem of road construction manifested itself here as well, becoming a bit more of a nuisance on the return trip to Athens; but, after a robust lunch, that merely provided more opportunities to catnap. The street signs are kind of interesting (if "busy") in that they give the destinations in Greek in yellow and in English using white letters.

Delphi is located high in the mountains near Mt. Parnassos, Greece's highest point. Unless I heard him incorrectly, the guide said that ninety-percent of the country is mountainous and that the more than 3000 islands are all mountain tops.

There were several colorful instances of mountains which had provided materials for building through the centuries alongside the National Highway going from Athens in the general direction of Delphi.

According to myths, Zeus released two eagles in different directions from the universe, the point where their paths crossed was deemed to be the center of the world: Delphi. Reconstructed remnants of the original marker of this juncture from about 400 BC are in the museum and a duplicate marks its original spot adjacent to the Temple of Apollo.

museum piece

hardly a museum piece

The Oracle of Delphi would supposedly fortell the future, but he/she/it always gave rather evasive and unspecific answers to questions (sounds as if it was the beginning of school administrator training sessions). But, since the Oracle had set up shop here, this naturally became a pilgrimage destination. Various cities and states from around the world played it safe just in case this might be the real thing and brought huge treasuries to offer to the Oracle in hopes of favorable treatment (it might not be too late, Bernie Madoff). Partially reconstructed is the temple built there by the city of Athens; any decorative elements of the temples/treasuries have been relocated inside the museum.

the Athenian Treasury

Examples of pieces from the Treasuries now in the Delphi Museum.

A temple was built to honor Apollo who had assumed responsibility for the Oracle. Only a few columns remain, principally due to the numerous earthquakes and rockslides in this region over the centuries.

Paradoxically, the 4th century BC theatre at Delphi is among the best preserved outdoor amphitheatres in all of Greece. It could seat 5000 people and is used several times a year for public concerts and events.

Our knowledgeable guide kept us on time and generally on task and we left Delphi about 2:30, stopped for an ok pre-arranged lunch at a nearby restaurant, briefly paused for "last-chance" shopping at a souvenir store, and then headed back to Athens down the same winding roads through the mountains.

It was 7:30 by the time we arrived back in the central section of Athens and the driver could only get within four blocks of my hotel because of the narrow street. I grabbed a Greek salad and a small bottle of what turned out to be TERRIBLE uzo and ate in my room. Later I went back to Constitution Square and tried calling home with mixed results.