Delphi (Part 1)

There was little wind so we motored the 4nm to Itéa. The marina is another of those essentially unfinished ones we have seen too frequently in Greece perhaps, it is rumoured, because the loans taken out to build the marinas only need to be repaid once they are completed and taking custom. There was plenty of space for us on the inside of the south breakwater where we joined 3 other visiting yachts.

There is little to say about Itéa itself. It is an unremarkable town with sufficient shops for provisions, but no large supermarket, and a useful ‘bus station’ (small room on the main road outside which the buses stop). As well as providing a hub for buses to Delphi and beyond and down to Patra, the bus station/bus service seems to double as a parcel delivery service. Other than a church and the ubiquitous tavernas, there was little to see in Itéa.

Our reason for stopping at Itéa was so that we could visit Delphi. We had originally planned to take the 1030 bus but, having read in the guidebook of the crowds that visit the site, we thought better of it and took the 0715 instead. The bus took us through an enormous expanse of olive grove (probably the one a leaflet described as Greece’s largest olive grove with approximately 1,500,000 trees) and then started the climb up the mountain. The mountain road is very narrow and winding with vertical drop-offs and hairpin bends. We went through the small village of Krissos and marvelled at the amazing views down to Itéa and across the Gulf of Corinth. It would have been worth the €1.90pp each way for the bus ride alone even had we not wanted to visit Delphi.

Inevitably, not being sure where to get off the bus and not wanting to overshoot the ancient city, we got off the bus too early in modern Delphi and so had to walk through the town and out the other side. The new town is another unremarkable place with lots of hotels which apparently service the ski-ing trade in the winter and, indeed, Nicky said that it reminded her a bit of an Alpine ski resort. We found the ‘bus station’ at the other end of the town but here it doubled as a profitable looking café.

The museum is just to the east of the modern town and beyond that is the main archaeological site. We arrived at about 0815 so the site was very empty (too early for coach parties) and it was also nice and cool as the sun was still quite low in the sky. The setting is fantastic with high mountain crags surrounding the site of the ancient city to the west, north and east and an amazing vista to the south into the valley below (containing yet more of Greece’s largest olive grove) and across to more stunning mountains. It’s very easy to see why the ancients thought that this was the centre of the world.

According to mythology, Zeus released 2 golden eagles in different directions. At the point at which the 2 birds met (ie the centre of the known world) Zeus threw down a conical stone which landed in Delphi; the sacred omphalos of Delphi.  But Delphi was also significant in the ancient world because of its oracle. Apparently strange vapours exuded from a rock fissure enabled the oracle to see the future and it was widely regarded as the most truthful in the known world at the time. ‘For over a millennium, therefore, a steady stream of pilgrims arrived at Delphi to seek divine direction in matters of war, worship, love and business. Sacrifices and offerings were made and the questions would be answered by the Pythian priestess who would chant her answers from a tripod over the oracular chasm. An attendant priest would then interpret her utterings.’[From The Rough Guide to Greece]

Temples and treasuries were built and ornately decorated memorials raised to commemorate military triumphs. There was also a large theatre and a stadium in which the Pythian Games were held.

The museum we visited later on had a great model to help you imagine what Delphi looked like in ancient times

We had a fabulous hour or so wandering through the ancient remains, marvelling at the size of what was left of some of the temples, treasuries and votives, drinking in the view from the theatre and the splendour of the stadium. It is an amazing site and whilst much of it is fully ruined and many of the treasures have been plundered, it is still quite possible to imagine the city in its heyday.

I took lots of photographs and will come back and add in some more to this blog entry at a later date so that it is a better record of what we saw. However, for the time being here are a few of the photographs to try to show the archaeological site.

Athenian Treasury

Apollo's Temple