Delphi

The ruins of ancient Delphi are located 9.5 kilometers from the coast of the Gulf of Corinth ( Itea town) on the southwestern slope of Mount Parnassus at an altitude of 700 meters above sea level. The modern small city of Delphi is located nearby, west of the ruins. The Delphi community is part of the peripheral unit of Phocis . The community includes the seaside small town of Galaxidion .

The Greek word Δελφοί goes back to the Indo-European root δελφύς - "uterus", "womb", "womb". From here come the words αδελφός - “brother” or letters. “Uterine”, and the dolphin - “newborn baby”, “uterine” (possibly due to the outward resemblance to the baby or because the dolphin's cry is similar to that of a baby). The reason for this name is apparently due to the fact that, according to the ancient Greeks, not far from the temple of Apollo was the Navel of the Earth .

Zeus sent two eagles from the ends of the world, and they met on the Pythian rock ^[3] (either there swans met, or crows ^[4] ). This meeting indicated that there was the Navel of the Earth , which was guarded by two Gorgons ^[5] .

Once the share of Delph belonged to Gaia , she gave it to Themis ^[6] , and she gave it to Apollo ^[7] . According to the Tresen story, Delphi previously belonged to Poseidon , and Calavria to Apollo. Later they switched places ^[8] . South of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi was the Gaia Temple ^[9] . The Apollo statue in Delphi in the form of a column is mentioned by Eumelus ^[10] .

The city was also the prophet of Dionysus (?) ^[11] . According to Orphics, there is the coffin of the elder Dionysus , it lies under a tripod or in Omfal ^[12] (see Zagrei ).

According to Euripides , Delphi tried to plunder the warriors of Cadmus ^[13] .

According to mythical tradition, the following temples of Apollo existed ^[14] :

1. The temple of laurel, of trees in Tempi.
2. Of beeswax and wings (built by Pteras). According to another legend, from a fern. Carried to the edge of Hyperboreans ^[15] .
3. From copper work of Hephaestus (or Hephaestus and Athens ^[16] ).
4. Stone work by Trophonius and Agamed . Burned out in 548/7 g BC. e. According to archaeological data, built in the second half of the 7th century BC. e. ^[17]
5. Built by amphyctions, builder Spinfar. Destroyed by an earthquake in about 373 BC. e. and then rebuilt ^[18] . Its ruins are still preserved.

On the third temple there were six golden birds (at Pindar the "enchantress"), which fascinated visitors, and they were dying. Zeus struck the temple with perun, killing birds and hiding the temple from human eyes, while Athena endowed the birds with a prophetic gift ^[19] . These birds are identified with sirens ^[20] .

According to Pausanias , a stone was shown in Delphi, which Kron allegedly swallowed instead of Zeus ^{[21] [22]} .

According to archaeological data, the object of worship in Delphi beginning from about 1600 BC. e. was a female deity associated with the cult of Mother Earth. Around 1100, the settlement fell into decay ^[23] . According to archaeological data, between 1000 and 735 years. there is an evolution of the Delphic tripods - they adapt as a seat ^[24] .

Delphi participated in the First Holy War (596-586 BC) against the neighboring city of Chris , as a result of which Chris was destroyed. Known tyrant Chris - Davlius. In the future, other Holy Wars are known. After the last, the Fourth (339–338 BC), Philip II of Macedon is recognized as the protector of Delphi.

In the VII - VI century BC. e. Delphi began to play the role of a pan-Greek sanctuary. The Delphic oracle possessed high authority in the Greek world, making decisions in the political and religious spheres. In Delphi also kept a sacred stone - omphalus . In addition, from the beginning of the VI century BC. e. at Delphi, the Pythian Games began to be held every four years, expressing a sense of belonging to one nation. During their holding, a sacred truce was established. Numerous gifts flocked to the city, which were under the protection of the Delphic Amphythion . Delphi appeared in the minds of the Greeks as the spiritual capital of the Hellenic world , as the “common hearth” of Hellas ( dr. Greek κοινὴ ἑστία ), which allowed the Delphic priests to enjoy not only religious, but also political influence over the centuries. Due to this status, Delphi has become a center of credit operations.

The procedure for contacting the oracle and the form of its answers are not sufficiently clarified. In the name of God, the answers were given by the priestess of Apollo Pythia . Ancient authors depict Pythia sitting on a tripod over a cleft and intoxicated by pairs rising from there. Modern research has not yet given a clear answer about the nature of this phenomenon. Answers were given in a prosaic or poetic form, allowing for various interpretations. The Delphic Park – Warmell catalog of responses includes 615 divinations ^{[25] [26]} . The words ti-ri-po (tripod, tripod) and ti-ri-po-di-ko (Tripodisk diminutive of tripods) are already mentioned in Mycenaean texts ^[27] .

The influence of Delphi began to weaken already from the end of the 5th century BC. e. but Delphi remained one of the largest pan-Greek sanctuaries. In 290 BC e. power over the Delphi passed to the Aetolian Union . In 279 BC e. the Gauls moved to Greece , Greeks at the Thermopylae Pass, and plundered the sanctuary at Delphi ^[28] .

Then power over the Delphi was established by Rome. In the 80s of the 1st century BC. e. the city was plundered by Thracian tribes. At the end of the 1st century AD e. the temple in Delphi was restored. The last known references to the oracle date back to the 3rd century A.D. e. . It was finally banned in 394 by Emperor Theodosius I.

The “Pythian Games” (or “Pythia”) were, after the Olympic Games, the second most important Hellenic games of antiquity. Initially, the Games were held every eight years, and starting from 586 BC. e. in honor of Apollo the Pythian began to take place every four years.

Initially, the games consisted of only one type of competition - singing to the accompaniment of kifara . Other art and athletic competitions were added later, such as chariot races and horse riding. Musical competitions were held at the Delphi Theater, and athletic competitions at the Delph Stadium. Chariot races took place on the plain of the neighboring town of Chris .

The holding of the Pythian Games was forbidden at about the same time that the holding of the Olympic Games ended (c. 394 A.D.).

• Delphic oracle

• Kulishova O. V. Delphic oracle in the system of ancient interstate relations. - SPb. , 2001.
• Forrest , W.J. Delphi, 750-500 BC e. // Cambridge History of the Ancient World . - T. III, part 3: The expansion of the Greek world. - M. , 2007 .-- S. 262-281. - ISBN 978-5-86218-467-9
• Maria Mavromataki. Greece Between Legend And History. - Athens: Haitalis, 2002 .-- 287 p. - ISBN 9789608284012 .

• Exposition of the Delphic Archaeological Museum
• About the Delphic Sanctuary
• Stonehenge, Delphi and a special form of burial
• Delphi - In the "Reconstruction" of "New Herodotus."
• Akimova L. I, Kifishin A.G. Apollo and sirens (on the ritual specifics of Delphi)
• The “E” of Delphi - Delphic Commandments .