Delphi

S/V Goldcrest
David & Lindsay Inwood
Mon 14 Mar 2011 12:00

We visited one of ancient Greece’s great sites today – Delphi, famous for its oracle.  We had quite a time reaching it as it involved 2 buses from our base here in Galaxidi and then a frustrating half hour walk in the wrong direction before we eventually arrived.  David was convinced he knew where to go as he thought he had spotted the ruins on Google Earth, a lesson in not always relying on that technique for direction finding!  It was all worth it though and we first went to the museum and admired the treasures from the site.  Probably the star attraction was the wonderful life size bronze statue of a charioteer.  It seems amazing that so much life and _expression_ can be shaped out of metal.  David also loved the sturdy pair in the photo and we were enchanted by a pottery dish with a delicate painting of Apollo.  The site itself has a quite magnificent setting and was not so busy with tourist groups this early in the year that the atmosphere was spoiled.  Four wars were fought over possession of this most important of places and people consulted the oracle here in the Temple of Apollo for about a thousand years.

 

The Temple of Apollo at the centre of the ancients world

 

Looking down over the theatre

 

The stadium

 

Two 6th century (BC) statues looking rather Egyptian we thought

 

A charioteer, one of the few bronze statues remaining (many were melted down for re-use by later generations)