rocks from the mountain, destroying the vil-
lage and killing 30 people.
Following the disaster, a commission set
about searching for a new site to replace the
thousand village plots and to negotiate with
the residents. Seeing that the funds available
were no match for the stubbornness of the vil-
lagers, the Greek Archaeological Society ceded
the land to the French so that they could carry
out a small excavation in 1880.
Bertrand Haussoullier, director of the French
excavations in Delphi at this time, concentrated
on the immediate area between the sectors ex-
cavated earlier. Haussoullier was convinced
that he was looking at the temple terrace, but
he was confused by the walls in front of him.
The excavations revealed that it was the espla-
nade next to the terrace, where commemorative
monuments had been erected by the different
city-states and regional powers throughout the
sanctuary’s history. The walls belonged to one
of these monuments, the Stoa of the Athenians,
built in the early fifth century B.C. to house tro-
phies won in naval battles. Alongside appeared
the collapsed column of the Sphinx, an offering
from the island of Naxos.encouraged archaeological endeavors
from interested European countries.
The excavation of Delphi would
prove a gargantuan task. The homes
in Kastri would need to be forc-
ibly purchased, the residents
compensated, and then re-
located. Greece could not
afford such a major expen-
diture, so it had to rely on
foreign capital. In 1840 and
again in 1860 archaeologists
conducted preliminary stud-
ies in open areas of ground.
They unearthed part of the
temple substructure and a sec-
tion of its supporting wall, covered
with inscriptions.
Despite the Greek Archaeolog-
ical Society’s efforts to convince
the inhabitants of Kastri to move,
the homeowners soon figured out
that their lands were valuable and
demanded more money. Circum-
stances changed when a powerful
earthquake brought down large
BITON.KOUROS FROM THE SIXTH CENTURY B.C., ARCHAIC PERIOD. DELPHI ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM
DEA/SCALA, FLORENCEASKING
THE ORACLE
All that remains
of the Temple of
Apollo, situated on
the third terrace,
are six broken Doric
columns. Here
the Pythia would
deliver prophecies
to those who came
to consult the god.
JOHANNA HUBER/FOTOTECA 9X12