Between 391 and 392 Emperor Theodosius I
banned pagan practices and closed Greek tem-
ples, including those at Delphi. With its reli-
gious function stripped away, the site fell into
decay. A small settlement took root at the site
and grew into the village of Kastri.
Visitors were very rare in the centuries that
followed. In 1436 an Italian merchant, Cyri-
acus of Ancona, made the arduous journey to
Delphi, with his notes revealing what was left
of the stadium and the theater, a round build-
ing he mistook for the Temple of Apollo, with
some of its statues still standing. Greece be-
came a part of the Ottoman Empire in 1453,
which postponed Cyriacus’s idea to “restore
antiquity, or redeem it from extinction.” The
former center of the world would remain in
obscurity for roughly 400 years.Buried Treasures
It waited, in fact, until Greece became indepen-
dent from the Ottomans in 1832. Greece felt a
new need to encourage an appreciation of its
glorious past and protection of its rich culture.
It enacted laws against the sale of antiquities,
created the Greek Archaeological Society, andaccumulation of monuments and sculptures
at Delphi. Each piece serves as a visual guide to
the power shifts in the region. Athenians, Spar-
tans, Macedonians, and Romans all poured their
wealth into making the “center of the world”
reflect their glory. Delphi also hosted athletic,
poetry, and music competitions. It was the
venue for the Pythian Games, held every four
years, second only to the ones held in Olympia.
Despite its status as a sacred site, Delphi was
an attractive target for pillaging. An attack by
the Persians came in
480 B.C.,and one
by the Gauls fol-
lowedin279B.C.
Rome took over
Delphi in 191B.C.,
but allowed the
religious rituals
and athletic com-
petitions to continue.
Things changed when
Christianity became
the official religion
of the Roman Em-
pire inA.D. 380.BEAUX-ARTS DE PARIS/RMN-GRAND PALAISBEAUX-ARTS DETHE SPHINX OF NAXOS DATES TO THE MID-SIXTH CENTURY B.C. DELPHI ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM, GREECEHEARING THE
VOICE OF GOD
ANCIENT SOURCES differ on the exact workings of the
oracle, but it seems consultants would only be able to
pose their inquiries to the Pythia, the priestess, on
the seventh day of each month, since that was be-
lieved to be Apollo’s birthday, with the window
even further narrowed to exclude the three winter
months, when Apollo was believed to be away.
After cleansing herself and burning an homage to
the god, she would go to the inner sanctum of the
temple, the adytum. The Pythia would sit on her
tripod, and Apollo would speak through her. Even
though this vase (right) depicts the consultant
present, it seems that only a priest was there to
interpret the utterings from her ecstasy. This didn’t
make the answers much clearer: They were at best
ambiguous, if not totally cryptic.AKG/ALBUMTHE PYTHIA SITS ON HER TRIPOD WHILE HOLDING A LAUREL LEAF,
WITH THE CONSULTANT WAITING FOR THE GOD’S VERDICT. BPK/SCALA, FLORENCE