Just a moment ago on the big mountain, very close to the ancient gods of the Greeks. And suddenly, just behind the mountain range of Parnassus and the Arachova Nature Park, road number 48 catapults you a few thousand years back in history.
The oracle of Delphi is only a few meters from the street and is one of the famous places in the world to this day. At first you can only see a few stones between olive trees, a ticket house and a few stairs. Behind it, however, it is the place to which the ancient Greeks made a pilgrimage, if they want to hear something about the future.
After our hike through the Enipeas Gorge (read here) and the climbing of the giants of the Olympus, now follow me on the rest of the path. Let's ask the The Oracle of Delphi something about the future.
You climb the stairs, the sun is burning and other visitors are hardly there. It must be completely different a few thousand years ago. At that time, people believed in god and they believed too that the gods have a personal interests for all the human beings. And another for helping them to find out what is right to do next.
The doorway to the gods
In this place, about ten kilometers from the sea, they knowed a kind of doorway to the god Apollo, and his priests known a certain way of asking their boss questions. What is certain is that they had have a knack for providing answers that everyone thought they could rely on. The Spartans, in particular, always came when the most important ones came up. And even today there should be people who believe that traces of divine wisdom can be found here among the old stones.
They cannot be seen in Ευρωπαϊκό Πολιτιστικό Κέντρο Δελφών, as the oracle is called today. Where the priestess Phytia was, who rules the temple of Apollo as the only woman with the right to get in, are only bushes, grasses and trees proliferate. Nothing to see about the fabulous crevice from which gases emerged who makes the priestess capable enough that no one challenged their wisdom, survived only a circle of rock.
Visitors climbing uphill, from a magnificent ruin to the next. Here the vague prophecies of Phytia were published who plunged into misery whole kingdoms. And today the most important sanctuary of ancient Greece is one of Greece's great tourist assets.
The two eagles of Zeus
But this is quite a desolate area. Rocks and grass, blue skies and crumbling stones all the way to the back, where the remains of another racetrack are stewing in the sun. Here the old greeks celebrated parties, here tourists are puffing uphill today. It is impressive how many thousands of years all these buildings have survived - since Zeus sent two eagles, which circled the world in the opposite direction, until they led here.
Many of the temples from the old days are still quite well preserved today. The Delphi Oracle is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. From the top of the mountain you have a great view of the area, which consists of a lot of undeveloped land. Man in charge of the treasure houses on the Holy Street belonged to city-states of Greece one day, today the Athenian ones are best preserved.
The Temple of Apollo is located near the hillside Theater of Apollo. Even higher up is the ancient stadium, where the Delphi Games are always four years apart. Among the other highlights of the excavation site are the Castalian spring, the grammar school, the sanctuary of Athena and Tholos. Archaeologists have dug here for decades and they found traces older and older cults. For example the depiction of a naked seer who, with her legs apart on a tripod. It is led to be the earth goddess Gaia, which leads scientists believe.
A cold breath arises
Let's go on. The way up leads through dark eucalyptus forests and silver olive groves. In a rocky canyon halfway up the mountain there is a deep opening in the earth, of which the Roman historian Justin already stated that the echo here is beautiful and loud. With the urge "a cold breath arises, forcing the soul of the seers and you to give God-enthusiastic answers to those who ask." But never trust a prophet!
Every answer needs a victim an devery answer kills himself. Because the gods speak languages in riddles, the most of the best advice are worthless: The super-rich Lydian king Croesus, the Jeff Bezos of his time, for example, asked whether he go to war against the Persians and Pythia foretold that with it he would destroy a great empire. Croesus was very pleased with the information, went to war and ruined his own empire.
Today the visit is much cheaper: For 12 euros there is no longer any information about your personal future. But not a wrong one.
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