Delphi
Publié le 22/02/2012
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Greek The most venerated shrine in
ancient Greece and probably the oldest. It lies on the
remote slopes of Mount Parnassus, high above the
Gulf of Corinth, which separates mainland Greece
from the Peloponnesus. The oldest objects found at
Delphi date from 1600 b.c., but archaeologists believe
this cleft in the hills was sacred long before that time.
The ruins of the temple of Apollo, the presiding
god, still stand on the hills. Nearby is the stadium
where the Pythian Games were held in honor of the
ancient Python whom Apollo vanquished.
The Origins of Delphi According to one myth,
Zeus set two eagles free, one from each end of the
Earth. Where they met, he established Delphi as the
center of the world. A stone (Omphalos in Greek)
marked the place from which the Oracle—a wise
being, capable of speaking words of the gods and
foretelling the future—would speak.
Long before that, the site of the shrine was sacred
to Gaia. At that time, Delphi was called Pytho. A
female serpent-dragon, Python, guarded the shrine.
The young god Apollo slew Python and commanded
her spirit to be his oracle at Delphi.
Delphi was in fact Apollo's chosen land. Having
killed the serpent Python, he built an altar in the
sacred grove. According to one legend, Apollo was
looking for priests to minister to his shrine when he
saw a ship manned by Cretans, an ancient race (see
Crete). Apollo turned himself into a dolphin and sped
after the ship. He captured the ship and persuaded
the sailors to guard his temple, which they then called
Delphi in honor of the dolphin (Greek delphin).
The decline of Delphi and its oracle is paralleled
by the decline of Greece and of the justice and moral
excellence represented by Apollo. Some efforts were
made to restore Delphi's influence but finally, in a.d.
385, the Emperor Theodosius, a Christian, closed the
site in the name of Christianity.