Devoir de Philosophie

Delphi - Mythology.

Publié le 26/01/2014

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Delphi - Mythology. 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 42 Da phnis 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.

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