Delphi
Center of the Universe
October 13
After lunch in Kalambaka under the monasteries of Meteora, I jumped in the car and headed south to Delphi. Once considered 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.
Between Meteora and Lamía, there are several mountain ranges to cross. Between these ranges are flat, fertile plains, where I saw cotton and other staples growing.
The Thessaly plain in Central Greece is a patchwork of farms and fields.
Cotton growing on the Thessaly plain.
After Lamía, I headed south along a winding, mountain road toward the Corinthian Gulf and Delphi. The scenery along this road was wonderful and there was very little traffic.
Mountains along the E65 highway in Gravia.
Just a few miles from Delphi is Amfissa, a town known for its green olives that come from the trees that surround the town. The small town here is called Eleonas.
The town of Eleonas is nestled on a hillside overlooking a sea of olive trees.
As I approached Delphi, the mountain road opened into a wide delta region on the Gulf of Corinth. The entire plain was packed with olive trees. These are connected to the town of Amfissa, which is famous for its green olives.
Here's a shot of my rental car, an Opel Corsa, on the road outside Delphi.
Below Delphi is a valley filled with olive trees. The sea of green meets the blue Gulf of Corinth, separating Central 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 luscious and light.
Satisfied by a wonderful meal, I walked around town for a bit taking a few snapshots.
The main church in Delphi just after sunset.
Behind the main church in Delphi. The last glimmer of daylight is on the horizon.
Sunset in the town of Delphi.
In Delphi, the main streets are decorated with these light fixtures.
This is the view from my hotel window., looking down one of the main street.
October 14
Ancient Delphi
Ancient Delphi presents an entirely different experience than the modern town. After checking out of my hotel this morning, I grabbed a fresh-squeezed orange juice and walked about a kilometer to the ancient city.
Ancient masonry exposed at the bottom of the Delphi site.
I wanted to get there early to beat the mobs that arrive by tour bus. 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, whose song was reminiscent of the 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.
The stadium at Delphi is one of the best-preserved ancient stadiums in the world. It was originally built in the 5th century BC, but remodeled in the 2nd century AD. Its stone stands could seat 6,500 people.
The entrance to the stadium was decorated with arches, under which the athletes and judges would enter to cheers from the crowd. The stone sill marked the starting line, where the athletes could plant their feet.
Opposite the stadium's starting line is its horseshoe-shaped end. The stone-carved seats were added in the 2nd century AD and replaced seats made of wood.
On my way down, I toured the 5,000-seat theater. The small theater was in good shape, and had an amazing view into the valley.
The theater at Delphi was built in the 4th century BC and later restored by the Romans around 160 BC.
The 5,000-seat theater and the Temple of Apollo and the surrounding mountains.
Below the theater is the most important monument of ancient Greece: 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.
Restored columns from the Temple of Apollo at Delphi.
The Temple of Apollo dates back to the 7th century BC, but several incarnations were destroyed by fire or earthquakes. The current temple dates from the 4th century BC.
Foundation walls and the Temple of Apollo columns.
Flowers growing beside the ancient monuments at Delphi.
The polygonal wall was built in the 6th century BC. On portions of the wall are more than 800 inscriptions of the names of slaves who were emancipated after their work on the temple was complete.
Plenty of cats are on hand to greet visitors to the monuments at Delphi.
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, dragging apathetic children by the ancient ruins. 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.
The Gymnasium
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. Damn!
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? Will a more demonstrative prayer session be more effective than quietly communicating in your head? Christians, you’ve gained a foothold in this world, you can stop with the downtrodden act.
Finally, the Atlanta hairdresser cult people left and I was able to explore the site on my own.
The round tholos at the Sanctuary of Athena was a domed structure which was built in 380 BC.
Three restored columns of the domed tholos at the Sanctuary of Athena.
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.
This large pool was used by the athletes in the gymnasium, built in the 4th century BC.
An old tree at the ancient gymnasium. It looks like an olive tree to me, but I'm not sure.
Two tracks in the ancient gymnasium at Delphi. On the left was a covered track, called the xystos, and beside it an outdoor track. Both are 178 meters long.
The Museum
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 and the charioteer.
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.
The prized possession of the archeological museum in Delphi: The Charioteer. The bronze statue was dedicated to Apollo by the tyrant of Gela (a Greek city in Sicily) after his victory in the Pythian Games here in 478 BC.
This is how Delphi looked at its peak. The largest building, the Temple of Apollo, is in the center, and the theater is above it. Below are the various city-state treasuries—where a tithe was offered to the Delphi oracle.
Lunch, in modern Delphi
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 lightly coated in 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.
I walked around this quaint town, taking a few photos before getting in the car to drive to Nafplio, the Venetian, seaside city on the Peloponnesus.
An alley in modern Delphi, lined with stores and restaurants.
One of the main streets in Delphi.
The modern town of Delphi, center frame, is perched above the Gulf of Corinth.