The last day of our Greece vacation we wanted to get out of Athens so we took a bus ride to the mountain town of Delphi--the ancient home of the Oracle of Delphi and considered to be the center of the Earth.
Delphi was a big deal to the ancient Greeks. According to Greek mythology, Zeus wanted to discover the exact center of the world. So he released two eagles from opposite ends of the earth, and the birds met in Delphi. Zeus marked the spot with a big egg-shaped stone called the omphalos (or navel).
But Delphi was most famous for the Oracle of Delphi. The oracle was Apollo's mouthpiece that would give divine answers to any question. A number of famous people in history and mythology (such as Socrates and Oedipus) joined hundreds of others in a pilgrimage to Delphi to receive such guidance. Apparently, the priestess would sit within Apollo's temple in a drug-induced trance, you would ask her your question, she would mumble something unintelligible, and the nearby priests would translate the sounds into an answer to your question.
Lest you think this was a sure-fire way to solid answers, the Oracle's guidance was not usually crystal clear. One famous example was when King Croesus of Lydia asked the Oracle whether he should attack the Persians. The Oracle replied that if he did attack, a great empire would fall. This emboldened the poor guy so he attacked the Persians, but the Persians soundly defeated his army and proceeded to crush his empire..... So the Oracle was right again.
Modern Delphi is a quiet little town built on the side of the mountains. Because we were visiting in the off season, the majority of the town was closed up. The most movement we saw while we were there were small herds of goats grazing on the mountain side, bells jangling loudly as they walked. The beautiful scenery and ruins provided a welcome change of pace to the bustle of Athens and the perfect end to a great vacation.
1 comment:
Totally awesome pictures! Love, Mom
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