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Archaeological Site of Delphi

May 12, 2009 - By 
Attribution:

pjink11

Delphi
Greece
Key Dates

The earliest finds in the area of Delphi date to the Neolithic period (4000 BC). Traces of occupation are rare and fragmentary until the eighth century BC. The first temples were built in the late seventh century BC, and in the sixth and fourth centuries BC the Delphic oracle was at its peak.
In the third century BC, the sanctuary was conquered by the Aetolians, and then in turn by the Romans in 191 BC. In the Byzantine age, the Slavs destroyed the precinct in 394 BC. By the seventh century AD, a new village, Kastri, had grown over the ruins of the ancient sanctuary.
Archaeological research at the site began in the 1860s. After 1891, the “Great Excavation” began. It continues to this day to reveal and restore many of Delphi’s spectacular features.

Key People

For the Greeks, Delphi and its oracle to Olympian deity Apollo was the very centre of their world. In Roman times, the sanctuary was favoured by some emperors and plundered by others, including Sulla in 86 BC. The Byzantine emperor Theodosius finally abolished the oracle.
The first excavations of the site were undertaken by German archaeologists. The “Great Excavation” was spearheaded by the French School at Athens under charter from the Greek government.

The Pan-Hellenic sanctuary of Delphi lay at the foot of Mount Parnassus, within the angle formed by the twin rocks of the Phaedriades. It was the most famous oracle in ancient Greece; a site of spiritual guidance and unity, the “navel of the world” where, according to mythology, the two eagles sent out by Zeus from the ends of the universe met. Every four years athletes from all over the Greek world competed at Delphi in the Pythian Games, a precursor to the modern Olympic Games.
“The Great Excavation” at the modern day archaeological site has uncovered important remains, including some three thousand inscriptions revealing fascinating insights into public life in ancient Greece. Spectacular remains can be viewed of various buildings dating from the site’s most intense period of activity in the sixth century BC. These include the base of the Temple of Apollo, the façade of the Treasury of Athens (built to commemorate victory at Marathon), a mountain top stadium and an open air theatre. The Delphi Museum, at the foot of the mountain, displays many of the findings made at the site.

Related Structures

The Temple of Apollo
Treasury of Athens
Mountain top stadium
Alter of the Chians
Stoa of the Athenians
The Tholos
Polygonal wall
Amphitheatre

Admission Fee
Admission Fee

Full: €6, Reduced: €3