the Oracle of Delphi

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Temple of Apollo at Delphi

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The Treasury of Athens, built to commemorate their victory at the Battle of Marathon

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Treasuries

From the entrance of the site, continuing up the slope almost to the temple itself, are a large number of votive statues, and numerous treasuries. These were built by the various states — those overseas as well as those on the mainland — to commemorate victories and to thank the oracle for her advice, which was so important to those victories. The most impressive is the now-restored Athenian Treasury, built to commemorate the Athenians' victory at the Battle of Marathon. The Athenians had previously been given the advice by the oracle to put their faith in their "wooden walls" — taking this advice to mean their navy, they won a famous battle at Salamis. Another impressive treasury that exists on the site was dedicated by the city of Siphnos, whose citizens had amassed great wealth from their silver and gold mines and so they dedicated the Siphnian Treasury.

As a result of these treasuries, through the protection of the Amphictyonic League, Delphi came to function as the de-facto Central Bank of Ancient Greece. It was the abuse of these treauries by Philip of Macedon and the later sacking of the Treasuries, first by the Celts, and later by Sulla, the Roman Dictator, that led to the eclipse of Greek civilisation and the eventual growth of Rome.

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The stadium at Delphi

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Altar of the Chians

Located in front of the Temple of Apollo, the main altar of the sanctuary was paid for and built by the people of Chios. It is dated to the 5th century BC by the inscription on its cornice. Made entirely of black marble, except for the base and cornice, the altar would have made a striking impression. It was restored in 1920.[10]


Stoa of the Athenians

The stoa leads off north-east from the main sanctuary. It was built in the Ionic order and consists of seven fluted columns, unusually carved from single pieces of stone (most columns were constructed from a series of discs joined together). The inscription on the stylobate indicates that it was built by the Athenians after their naval victory over the Persians in 478 BCE, to house their war trophies.[10]


Polygonal wall

The retaining wall was built to support the terrace housing the construction of the second temple of Apollo in 548BCE. Its name is take from the polygonal masonry of which it is constructed.[10]


Gymnasium

The gymnasium was a series of buildings used by the youth of Delphi. The building consisted of two levels: a stoa on the upper level providing open space, and a palaestra, pool and baths on lower floor.


Castalian spring

The sacred spring of Delphi lies in the ravine of the Phaedriades. The preserved remains of two monumental fountains that received the water from the spring date to the Archaic period and the Roman, with the later cut into the rock.


Stadium

The stadium is located further up the hill, beyond the via sacra and the amphitheatre. It was originally built in the 5th century BC but was altered in later centuries. The last major remodelling took place in the 2nd century AD under the patronage of Herodus Atticus when the stone seating was built and arched entrance entrance. It could seat 6500 spectators and the track was 177 metres long and 25.5 metres wide. [11]

Theatre

The ancient amphitheatre at Delphi was built further up the hill from the Temple of Apollo giving spectators a view of the entire sanctuary and the valley below. It was originally built in the 4th century BC but was remodelled on several occasions since. Its 35 rows can seat 5,000 spectators. [9]

Tholos

The Tholos at the sanctuary of Athena Pronaia is a circular building that was constructed between 380 and 360 B.C. It consisted of 20 Doric columns arranged with an exterior diameter of 14.76 meters, with 10 Corinthian columns in the interior.

The Tholos is located approximately a half-mile (800 m) from the main ruins at Delphi. Three of the Doric columns have been restored, making it the most popular site at Delphi for tourists to take photographs.

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The amphitheatre at Delphi

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Excavations

The site had been occupied by the village of Kastri since medieval times and this had to be relocated before a systematic excavation of the site could be undertaken. In 1893 the French Archaeological School removed vast quantities of soil from numerous landslides to reveal both the major buildings and structures of the sanctuary of Apollo and of Athena Proaea along with thousands of objects, inscriptions and sculptures.[10]

Four areas of the site have been reconstructed to greater of lesser extents. The Treasury of the Athenians was fully reconstructed from its original materials by the original French excavation team. The Altar of the Chians was reconstructed in 1959 by the Greek Archaeological Services. The Tholos and Temple of Apollo have been subject to limited reconstructions.[10]


Modern Delphi

In medieval times, parts of Boeotia and Phocis were settled by Arvanites. When they arrived in Greece, having been invited by the Frankish rulers of the area, they built a village directly on the vacated site of Delphi using the marble columns and structures as support beams and roofs for their improvised houses. In 1893 archaeologists from the École française d'Athènes finally located the actual site [12] of ancient Delphi. The Arvanite village of Kastri was moved from the site of the temples to a new location.

The modern Delphi (or Delfi or Delfoi) is situated west of the archaeological site. It is passed by a major highway linking Amfissa along with Itea and Arachova. The two main streets are each one-way and narrow. Delphi also has a school, a lyceum, and a square (plateia). The communities include Chrysso, which in ancient times was Crissa. Population 3,511 (2001).