Delphi - visiting the oracle

Delphi, the home of the Oracle.  It is a 3 hour bus ride from Athens, so round trip 6 hours of traveling to go see it.  Fortunately, two nights before, I had met a couple of guys at a restaurant, who were planning to go to Delphi on the same day as me (Roberto and Robbie).  We agreed to meet at the early bus (7:30) to Delphi, and head there together.  They are engineers from Michigan who work for Ford, and were great to spend the day with. 

Delphi is high on the slopes of Mt. Parnassos, at the site the Greeks believed to be the center of the Earth.  They know is was the center of the Earth, because Zeus had released two Eagles from opposite ends of the Earth (which was flat) and this is where they met.  Originally, a priestess, the sibyl, worshiped Gia, the mother of the gods here, with a serpent guarding the site.  Apollo came and killed the snake, and the place and the sibyl now served him, and she became known as the Oracle, skilled in prophecy. 

As far as records can tell, the oracle was here as a prophetess from about 1400 BC until 394 AD when Christians shut down the pagan site.  Of course, it was not always the same person (given that she was there for 1800 years), but since the person was purely the mouth piece of Apollo, it was ok that she changed, and during busy times, they even had more than one, taking shifts.  She would sit in a three legged bowl, over a natural ravine, where a spring bubbled, and after you made the appropriate offerings/sacrifices, you would get a very cryptic message, for you to work out the meaning.  Science has not found a ravine at that location, but there are cracks and springs in the earth in the area, which omit psychotropic gasses, which may have helped form her cryptic divine knowledge. 

For centuries, no important decisions were made in the area without first consulting the oracle.  Socrates, Midas, Croesus, Plutarch, Nero, and many others all got advice here.  Even Alexander the Great came to see the oracle before trying to conquer the world.  Everything from starting wars to marital problems were discussed with the oracle. 

At the site, in addition to the Temple of Apollo, were all of the surrounding buildings, to support such an important site. 

There were the treasuries and statues, built by people to thank the oracle for helping them win a war, or to bribe the oracle to be favorable to them in the future.  There were the stands, where merchants could sell you a better offering, in case you got cold feet and decided that goat you were going to sacrifice was just not good enough for what you had to ask.  There was a theatre, where music contests were held, as Apollo was the god of music. 

Above it all, there was a stadium, where every 4 years, games were held, which were second only to the Olympics in size and popularity.  While wandering around, the Robs and I found a secret tunnel that went under the temple of Apollo, away from any guards saying “don’t climb in there”, which we explored, filled with excitement and mystery! (don't tell the guards)

Most of the statues and friezes from the site are no longer there.  Some are in the museum at the same site, which is great to see.  Many of the rest have been brought to other sites around the globe, either by treasure seekers / archaeologists of the last two centuries, or similar plunderers from ancient times.  (Many are accounted for, just in museums at sites far and wide from here). 

Very impressive.  However, despite our locating the secret tunnel, we were not able to find the oracle, so I know no more about my future than I did before seeking the oracle!