Delphi

The oracle of Delhpi is built on a beautiful spot against the slopes of the mountain Parnassos with amazing views on the bay of Corinth. It ends in a valley full of cypress and olive trees and would even go without the ruins as a special place.

First I come across the museum, behind it are the first ruins on my left hand with the important temple of Apollo. I walk down the stone steps to this sanctuary which is now a UNESCO World Heritage site to see it from closer. This is the sanctuary of Apollo which was already an important spiritual place no later than 1500 BC. 

The official entrance is where the Agora or the market square was located. Here you can by means of the so-called go up the holy road up the stairs towards the temple of Apollo, the most important building on this complex. On both sides are several monuments donated by people from both the island of Corfu, Athens and Argos. You can also see the foundations of a building where the board once sat. In the sacred temple of Apollo, an eternal flame would have burned and a golden image of God would have been erected.

Here somewhere the origin of the gas was situated, that would be inhaled, and would serve as an oracle, but it has never been found. Strange as I walk around here - there is almost no one on the site, probably because of the time of day when it is really hot - thousands of people must have walked around here. After a visit to this oracle, their lives were no longer the same. I wonder what’s going to happen with me. 

 The history of the oracle: 

The Oracle of Delphi was a very important one, dedicated to the god Apollo. Every year thousands of people, often pilgrims, set out on their way to Delphi to consult the oracle and to ask the gods good advice when making important and difficult decisions. As a god of Light, Apollo was supposed to penetrate everywhere and see what escapes people's eyes.

The temple housed a special priestess named Pythia, who acted as a "serving-door" to these counsels. Once in trance, the Pythia began to emit incoherent sounds, which no one understood, but which was believed to be the message of the gods. Some of the priests who always listened to nearby gave "a translation of what the message of the god was called." This message was cryptically described, and it required a lot of effort to actually distill a practical advice on it, both politically and religiously. the answers were often open to multiple interpretations. 

Above the temple lies the beautifully situated 4th century theater which would be completely renovated by the Romans. I continue walking up a path on the hill that leads me to the stadium, which seems to be the best preserved of all of Greece. You can still see the stones where the athletes started their race. But also the view from the ruins of the sanctuaries and the valley behind it is breathtaking. I walk back through the ruins where I have just been and walk through the road to the slightly more southerly situated sanctuary of Athena.

On the way from the sanctuary Apollo to Athena I see the source of Castalian where the pilgrims washed themselves before they visited the temples. This is a lot smaller but actually a lot nicer to see. There was a building here with a dome that was held up by some 20 Roman pillars built on different heights. There are 3 replica’s replaced so that you get an image.

Nobody knows why this sanctuary stood here and what it served for. Before I walk back I sit on a big stone and read the article about the oracle of Delphi. There seem to have been several scientific attempts to explain the way in which the Pythia came to her inspiration. In 2001, the presence of ethylene, a gas, as possible hallucinogen was discovered in the local geological condition around the temple together with sources in the vicinity.

The inhalation of ethylene in a closed space, in which the Pythia was separated from the oracle by a screen or a curtain from the oracle, could have exposed it to sufficiently high concentrations of this narcotic gas to absorb a mildly euphoric or trance-like state in it wake up. This would explain the phenomenon scientifically, although it might be far too easy and this place really has spiritual powers. In any case, I decide to walk back to my hostel in Delphi city.