17 July 2025
“Know thyself.” – Inscribed at the Temple of Apollo.
Today we go to Delphi!
I met Silvia at 7 am, and we got ourselves a
baguette and coffee from a nearby patisserie, and ate it just outside our
hotel. Then we walked to the conference venue where the bus was picking us up.
Kiyasha was there too, and I made the introductions. This would be a typical
girls trip – how fun!
In ancient times, Delphi was believed to be the
navel of the world – the omphalos, the very centre of the earth.
According to myth, Zeus released two eagles from opposite ends of the world,
and they met here, on the rocky heights of Phocis. It was here that Apollo, god
of light, music, and prophecy, slew the great python and claimed the site for
his oracle.
For over a thousand years, rulers, generals, and
ordinary people made pilgrimages to consult the Oracle of Apollo, whose voice
was channelled through a woman known as the Pythia.
Set against the cliffs of Mount Parnassus, the
ruins of Apollo’s temple still command reverence. Six weathered Doric columns
rise from a platform like the ribs of a sleeping god.
Inside, once, the Pythia sat on a tripod over a
cleft in the earth, inhaling sweet, noxious vapours from the depths. In trance,
she uttered riddling prophecies that priests interpreted for pilgrims. The
guidance she gave – ambiguous, poetic, sometimes maddening – shaped wars,
dynasties, and destinies.
The winding path that leads to the temple is called
the Sacred Way, and as you walk it, you pass the remains of treasuries, votive
statues, and inscribed stones left by grateful cities. Most famous among them
is the Athenian Treasury, a jewel-box of Parian marble built to thank Apollo
after the Battle of Marathon.
The path is steep, but the views and atmosphere are
otherworldly. It is a pilgrimage in stone, winding through centuries.
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