Greece: Delphi, Center of the Universe
13-14 October
After lunch in Kalambaka near the monasteries of Meteora, I jumped in the car and headed south to Delphi. Once considered to be the center of the world, Delphi is the most important ancient site in Greece and the Delphic oracle was the most influential in Classical Greece.
I returned to Lamia, then headed south along a winding, mountain road toward the Corinthian Gulf and Delphi. The scenery along the road was wonderful and there was very little traffic.
Mountains along the road to Delphi.
I passed this hillside town near Amfissa, just a few minutes away from Delphi. Below the town is a huge valley filled with olive trees. I was torn. Part of me wanted to go explore this town. Park the car and walk around. But, I also wanted to get out of the car, check into the hotel, and see what the town of Delphi has to offer.
Here’s a shot of my car, the Opel Corsa, on my way to Delphi.
Below Delphi is a valley filled with olive trees. The sea of green trees meets the blue Gulf of Corinth, separating northern Greece from the Peloponnesus.
I settled into my small room overlooking Delphi’s main street, then explored the town. I watched the sunset from a cliff overlooking the valley, after which I grabbed dinner at the Lonely-Planet-recommended Taverna Vakhos. It was by far the best food I’ve eaten in Greece thus far. I ate a seasonal salad along with a whole snapper with fresh, in-season vegetables, rice, and some wine.
For the first time, I actually ordered dessert. A tour of the offerings from my waiter revealed four choices: chocolate cake, tiramisu, walnut cake, and something that was untranslatable. The chocolate cake and tiramisu seemed boring, while the walnut cake and the other dessert were Greek specialties. I chose the untranslatable cake. As I was eating it, the waiter asked me if I knew how to describe this in English, and I did not. It is called Ekmek Kataifi (Εκμέκ Καταϊφι), and it is a layered sweet with kataifi pastry under egg custard and vanilla cream icing. It was tasty and light.
Satisfied by a wonderful meal, I walked around town for a bit taking a few snapshots.
The main church in the modern town of Delphi.
This is the view from my balcony in Delphi. The modern town of Delphi is a quaint mountain town that resembles a small, alpine village.
A road in modern Delphi.
Delphi, center frame, clings to the mountainside high above the Gulf of Corinth.
Ancient Delphi presents an entirely different experience high up in these mountains. After checking out of my hotel this morning, I grabbed a fresh-squeezed orange juice and walked about a kilometer to the ancient city.
I wanted to get there early to beat the mobs of people from tour buses. I arrived at 8:30 (they open at 7:30), and rushed to the monument saving the museum for later. I walked into the site and headed up to the top where the theater and the stadium are located.
I was the only one here. It was just me and the birds, which reminded me of the western canyon wren.
I made it up to the stadium and I still did not see a soul. I was blown away by the stadium. How many people must have sat and watched sporting events and concerts held here? I did a rough estimate, counting the number of seats in one row, the number of rows in one section, and the number of sections in the stadium. Turns out, the stadium sat about 6,500. Its stone seating extends the 177-meter length of the stadium and ends in a horseshoe curve in the back. The seating on the opposite side has largely been destroyed.
This is the entrance to the stadium at Delphi. First built in the 5th century BC and later remodeled in the 2nd century AD, the stadium held 6,500 spectators and is 177 meters long.
On my way down, I toured the 5,000-seat theater.
The theater at Delphi was built in the 4th century BC and its 35 rows sat about 5,000 people.
View of the theater at Delphi from its stage.
Below the theater is the most important monument of the ancient city: the Temple of Apollo. Inside the temple, the Delphic oracle, Pythia, would breathe fumes that emanated from cracks in the Earth, then fall into a trance and begin speaking in tongues and riddles. No major decision among the Greek city-states was made without consulting the oracle at Delphi.
The remains of the Temple of Apollo, where the Delphic oracle advised Greek rulers from the 8th century BC to 393 AD, when the Romans ordered all pagan temples closed.
Flowers bloom near the Temple of Apollo at Delphi.
The wall supporting the Temple of Apollo. This is a pre-Roman construction, signified by the irregularity of the stones. The architect carved the names of the slaves who built the temple on these stones. Later, the Romans took over and carved regular, rectangular stone walls and sewers, which remain today.
I spent about two and a half hours on the site and by now the buses had arrived. And, along with the buses come the tour guides, taking uninterested kids through the site. At the bottom of the site, I sat for a minute to book my hotel for tonight in Nafplio. I opened my guide book, chose a hotel, and called them on my cell phone. Within a few minutes, about seven cats were surrounding me.
Cats swarmed as I sat down to book a hotel for tonight.
After the main site, I walked another half-mile down the road to the ancient gymnasium and the Sanctuary of Athena. To my delight, there were very few people here. I walked to the Tholos at the Sanctuary of Athena Pronaia only to discover there were five people on the opposite side of the temple.
We began to talk and I recognized one man’s voice as belonging to a group of annoying Americans in the restaurant last night. They were from Atlanta and, based on my eavesdropping over dinner last night, they were hairdressers. They asked me if they were in my way, and I responded politely that they were fine. A minute later they were standing beside the round sanctuary, holding hands in a circle and chanting. Between these people and the group prayer I witnessed at the Acropolis, I was left wondering why Americans are so damn freakish. Why do they feel they need to foist their religious displays upon others?
Tholos at the Sanctuary of Athena, a round temple down the hill from the main ruins at Delphi.
The cult people left and I was able to explore the site on my own. It was beginning to rain a little and I didn’t have my jacket, so I rushed over to the gymnasium. Guess who I ran into there?
They were sitting inside the round bath, once fed by a spring and used by athletes. I was waiting for them to be kicked out by the guard, but he didn’t notice for about 15 minutes. The fact that these people knew better only increased my animosity toward them.
The gymnasium at Delphi. In the foreground is the track, below which is the round bath under an old olive tree (center frame).
I hiked back up to the road and headed to the museum, where many of the artifacts from the site are displayed. The most striking figure to me was the melancholy Roman:
The melancholy Roman in the museum at Delphi. No one knows who this is, but it is believed to be the Roman general and consul Titus Quinctius Flamininus, who proclaimed the autonomy of the Greek states at Corinth in 197 BC.
Having lucked out with the rain, I headed back to town on this gray day to grab lunch. The food was so good last night that I decided to return to the Taverna Vakhos. I had a fresh beet salad, which consisted of three huge slices of the most flavorful beets I’ve ever had in a little olive oil, along with a lamb stew. Today, I tried the walnut cake, the other Greek speciality on the dessert menu. He put “the sweet” on the house.
After lunch, I got in the car and began my trip to Nafplio, the Venetian, seaside city on the Peloponnesus.
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