Trip 3 Day 1 (October 24): Delphi

After a drive of about 3 hours, we stopped to see the place where Oedipus killed his father. There's a plaque which marks the spot. Yes, Oedipus is mythical and yes this is really the spot.

At Delphi, we got off the bus at the Castalian spring, whose waters are supposed to inspire. The Pythia was said to drink from the spring before giving her prophecies.

Next we started up the Sacred Way, so named by scholars so that they could refer to the zig-zag road which goes through the sanctuary of Apollo up to the temple.

We saw a Christian basilica that had once been Roman shops,

some of the stone remains of monuments where dedications would have been,

and remains of some of the treasuries of other city-states.

David started his report on the Siphnian Treasury (he waited until we were in the museum later in front of the sculpture from the building to talk about that part).

Next Andrew gave his report on the Athenian Treasury. This treasury has been reconstructed using original blocks, blocks from the temple of Apollo, and newly fashioned blocks for the building.

The original sculpture from the metopes, like the sculpture from the Siphnian Treasury, are in the museum but the reconstructors put up these copies so viewers can get a feel for what the building would have looked like.

As we made way up the hill toward the temple of Apollo, we saw a portion of a column with 44 flutes (most have only 20 or 24). Originally the colossal statue of the Naxian Sphinx had sat atop this column which would've been about 10 meters high. 

We broke for lunch at about this time so Allie and I took the opportunity to look around and take some pictures. Here's the temple of Apollo,

the temple from above,

the theater,

the Athenian treasury from above,

and an inscription on the Athenian treasury with a drawing of a man on it.

After lunch, we reconvened at the Delphi museum. David finished his report on the Siphnian treasury by telling  us about the sculpture from the frieze and pediments of the building. The north frieze featured a gigantomachy scene (battle between the gods and giants),

and the east frieze depicted on the right side a fight over a fallen warrior,

and on the left a council of the gods,

and the east pediment had Apollo and Herakles fighting for a tripod.

Max then gave his report on the Naxian Sphinx, a bit of whose column we'd seen earlier in the day. Pictures don't do her justice. She's so impressive. 

I took another picture with some tourists in it just to give a sense of her size.

From one breath-takingly awesome sculpture, we moved to the next room to talk about another. Willa gave her report on Cleobis and Biton, a pair of statues depicting the famous brothers who hauled their mother in an ox-cart all the way to the festival of Hera so she could get there on time. Upon arrival, she asked the goddess to give them the best possible gift and so when they went to sleep that night, they never woke up, the best gift for good men being death.

Herodotus relates this story for us and these may be the very statues he saw! I can't tell you how excited I was to see them, too.

The museum closed before the site, so we went back outside to explore some more. Andrew and I found a drain that apparently led out from the temple floor.

We went higher up the hill,

all the way up to the stadium,

By then the site was closing so we went to check in to the hotel. I then went for a run with a few people from the hotel past the site a little ways and back. It was really beautiful and it felt great to run after not having done so in a long time.