Greek Mythology and Rites Research Papers (original) (raw)

Delphi formerly also called Pytho , is the ancient sanctuary that grew rich as the seat of Pythia, the oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient classical world. The ancient Greeks considered the centre of... more

It occupies a site on the south-western slope of Mount Parnassus, overlooking the coastal plain to the south and the valley of Phocis.

Delphi is located in upper central Greece, on multiple plateaux along the slope of Mount Parnassus, and includes the Sanctuary of Apollo (the god of light, knowledge and harmony), the site of the ancient Oracle. This semicircular spur is known as Phaedriades, and overlooks the Pleistos Valley.

In myths dating to the classical period of Ancient Greece (510–323 BC), Zeus determined the site of Delphi when he sought to find the centre of his "Grandmother Earth" (Gaia). He sent two eagles flying from the eastern and western extremities, and the path of the eagles crossed over Delphi where the omphalos, or navel of Gaia was found.

Earlier myths include traditions that Pythia, or the Delphic oracle, already was the site of an important oracle in the pre-classical Greek world (as early as 1400 BC) and, rededicated from about 800 BC, when it served as the major site during classical times for the worship of the god Apollo.
Apollo was said to have slain Python, a "drako" a serpent or a dragon who lived there and protected the navel of the Earth.
"Python" is claimed by some to be the original name of the site in recognition of Python which Apollo defeated.
The Homeric Hymn to Delphic Apollo recalled that the ancient name of this site had been Krisa. Others relate that it was named Pytho and that Pythia, the priestess serving as the oracle, was chosen from their ranks by a group of priestesses who officiated at the temple.

Excavation at Delphi, which was a post-Mycenaean settlement of the late 9th century, has uncovered artifacts increasing steadily in volume beginning with the last quarter of the 8th century BC. Pottery and bronze as well as tripod dedications continue in a steady stream, in contrast to Olympia. Neither the range of objects nor the presence of prestigious dedications proves that Delphi was a focus of attention for a wide range of worshippers, but the large quantity of valuable goods, found in no other mainland sanctuary, encourages that view.

Apollo's sacred precinct in Delphi was a Panhellenic Sanctuary, where every four years, starting in 586 BC athletes from all over the Greek world competed in the Pythian Games, one of the four Panhellenic Games, precursors of the Modern Olympics. The victors at Delphi were presented with a laurel crown (stephanos) which was ceremonially cut from a tree by a boy who re-enacted the slaying of the Python.
(These competitions are also called stephantic games, after the crown.) Delphi was set apart from the other games sites because it hosted the mousikos agon, musical competitions.

These Pythian Games rank second among the four stephanitic games chronologically and in importance.
These games, though, were different from the games at Olympia in that they were not of such vast importance to the city of Delphi as the games at Olympia were to the area surrounding Olympia. Delphi would have been a renowned city regardless of whether it hosted these games; it had other attractions that led to it being labeled the "omphalos" (navel) of the earth, in other words, the centre of the world.

In the inner hestia (hearth) of the Temple of Apollo, an eternal flame burned. After the battle of Plataea, the Greek cities extinguished their fires and brought new fire from the hearth of Greece, at Delphi; in the foundation stories of several Greek colonies, the founding colonists were first dedicated at Delphi.

The findings of several researchers in the late 1990s and early 2000s appeared to corroborate Classical Greek accounts of divinatory ceremonies at Delphi. The Greek author Plutarch, in the first century C.E., wrote about the Oracle (also known as the Pythia), a succession of priestesses of Apollo who figured prominently in Greek culture for over a thousand years.
Plutarch described how a woman would enter a small chamber ("adyton") in the temple of Apollo and inhale sweet-smelling vapors ("pneuma") from a fissure in the mountain before entering a trance. From this state, she would provide responses to seekers' inquiries posed to her by the intermediary of priests, who interpreted her pronouncements for them. Other ancient texts mention mysterious vapors at the temple site at Delphi, as well as the priestess's trance states. At least one portrayal of the Oracle painted on pottery could be interpreted in support of the written texts.

Findings from later geological and chemical analyses appeared to support the view that the Oracle may have inhaled naturally occurring ethylene (ethene) gas as part of the ceremony.