A city at the foot of Mount Parnassos (Parnassus) in central southern Greece.
The modern city of Delphi is adjacent to the ruins of the ancient Oracle of Delphi. The two sites have become synonymous even though there has always been a distinct difference between the city of Delphi and the sacred precinct of the god Apollon, which was called Pytho.
Delphic Oracle is a general term referring to the Oracle of Apollon located at Delphi. This was perhaps the best known oracle in the ancient world and was dedicated to and sanctioned by the god Apollon circa 700 BCE. The actual date for the choice of the site of the oracle goes back to the dawn of time when Zeus attained godhood; when his devious father, Kronos (Cronos), attempted to swallow all of his newborn children, his (Kronos') sister/wife, Rheia (Rhea), substituted a stone in place of her sixth child (Zeus) and Kronos swallowed it down without suspecting that he had been tricked; when Zeus attained manhood, he assaulted his father and the stone and his five swallowed siblings were vomited up; Zeus placed the stone at Delphi to be a portent and marvel to mortals for all time.
The geographical location of the city of Delphi made it easily accessible to all the Greeks and thus added to its popularity; Delphi was considered to be the Navel of the World; the priestesses of Apollon, known as the Pythia, would sit atop tripods and render the prophecies in hexameter verse.
Located just north of the Gulf of Korinth (Corinth) in the district of Phokis (Phocis), the modern city of Delphi is adjacent to the ruins of the ancient Oracle of Delphi. The two sites have become synonymous even though there has always been a distinct difference between the city of Delphi and the sacred precinct of the god Apollon, which was called Pytho.
Delphic Oracle is a general term referring to the Oracle of Apollon located at Delphi. This was perhaps the best known oracle in the ancient world and was dedicated to and sanctioned by the god Apollon circa 700 BCE. The actual date for the choice of the site of the oracle goes back to the dawn of time when Zeus attained godhood. Zeus' devious father Kronos (Cronos) attempted to swallow all of his newborn children, fearing they would usurp his power and authority. Kronos' sister/wife, Rheia (Rhea), substituted a stone in place of her sixth child (Zeus) and Kronos swallowed it down without suspecting that he had been tricked. When Zeus attained manhood, he assaulted his father. The stone and Zeus' five swallowed siblings were vomited up. Zeus placed the stone, called the Omphalos, at Delphi to be a portent and marvel to mortals for all time.
The goddess Themis began giving prophesies from Delphi because the presence of the Omphalos made the site sacred ground. The Apollon learned the art of prophesy from the god Pan and wanted to establish an oracle at Delphi. The site was guarded by a fierce snake-like creature intent on preventing Apollon from building his shrine. Apollon killed the she-beast in a hail of arrows. Helios (Helius), the sun, caused the carcass to rot, which was 'pytho' in Greek. Apollon also subdued a local river named Telphousa and assumed the titles of Telphousian Lord and The Pythian. The area became known as Pytho and the celebratory games Apollon instituted were called the Pythian Games.
The geographical location of the city of Delphi made it easily accessible to all the Greeks and thus added to its popularity. Delphi was considered to be the Navel of the World. The priestesses of Apollon, known as the Pythia, would sit atop tripods and render the prophecies in hexameter verse.
Great reverence was given to the Oracle of Delphi and many private citizens as well as all the major cities erected treasuries to house their tributes to Apollon. There are many references to the correctness of the prophecies provided by the Pythia but there were also occasions where the prophecies were misinterpreted and led to disaster, Perhaps the most famous example of a misinterpreted prophecy is described by the third century BCE historian Herodotos (Herodotus) in the case of King Kroesus (Croesus), of Lydia. Kroesus sent an emissary to Delphi asking if he should fight or surrender to the invading Persian army. The Pythia said that if Kroesus fought the Persians he would destroy a mighty empire. Kroesus mustered his army and took the field against the Persians and was captured after his army was soundly defeated. Thus a mighty empire was destroyed just as the Pythia had predicted. The only problem was that the empire which was destroyed was not the one that Kroesus had imagined.
To say that the prophecies of the Oracle at Delphi were believed literally and without question is unrealistic. There were doubters even among the citizens of Delphi. When the Persian army led by Xerxes was marching towards Delphi in 480 BCE with the undisguised intentions of looting the treasuries, the citizens and temple workers asked the god if they should bury or remove the riches to protect them from the Persians. Apollon said that they should do nothing because he was well able to defend his temple and its treasures. Regardless, all but sixty citizens and one prophet fled Delphi. As the Persians approached the temple of Athene (Athena) Pronaia, on the outskirts of the sacred precinct, the prophet Akeratus (Aceratus) saw weapons magically coming out of the temple. As the Persians came closer, bolts of lightening flared in the skies and two large boulders fell from Mount Parnassos and killed many of the invaders. As if this was not enough, the larger than life images of two ancient heroes entered the fray, they were Phylakus (Phylacus) and Autonous whose shrines were nearby. The temple and city were undamaged by the Persians and the credibility of the Oracle at Delphi reached new heights.
Another truly amazing event took place at Delphi circa 279 BCE when the Celts were marching on Greece for plunder. As the Celts reached the coastal city of Thermopylae, they were confronted by an army commanded by the Athenian general Kallippus (Callippus) and were unable to force their way through the narrow pass which Kallippus guarded. Just as the Persians had done in 480 BCE, the Celts used a mountain pass to get behind the Greek army and attack them on two fronts. The Greeks retreated and made their escape by sea giving the Celts a decisive victory.
Instead of marching into southern Greece, the Celts turned their attention to the treasuries at the Temple of Apollon at Delphi. The defenders from Delphi were joined by other contingents of Greeks and the battle began. Thunderbolts and rocks from Mount Parnassos rained down on the Celts. Terrible, phantom warriors haunted the Celts, including two Hyperboreans named Hyperochus and Amadokos (Amadicus), and Achilles' son, Pyrrhus. Faced with the supernatural defense of Delphi, the Celts retreated and marched into Asia where they were eventually defeated and driven into the sea.
Before the fight with the Celts, Pyrrhus (son of Achiles) and his tomb were held in dishonor but after his spirit came to defend Delphi, the Delphians pronounced Pyrrhus a hero and began making sacrifices in his honor.
There are two conflicting accounts as to how the Delphic Oracle was discovered. The Homeric Hymn to Pythian Apollon was composed circa 750 BCE and gives a detailed and poetic description of how Apollon personally established the Oracle at Delphi. Historical accounts came much later (first century CE) and shied away from any sort of divine explanation.
The following is the secular rationalization of the discovery of the Oracle at Delphi:
In ancient times, goats accidentally discovered the oracular site. The area where the temple of Apollon is now located was uninhabited and used for the grazing of animals. When goats would get near a certain chasm, they would begin to leap about in an unusual way and make uncustomary sounds. When the herdsman saw the peculiar behavior, he too approached the chasm and experienced the same extraordinary physical symptoms and have visions of the future.
When other people saw what was happening to the first herdsman, they approached the chasm and experienced the same physical symptoms. They also began to utter prophecy. This went on for quite some time but eventually people in a frenzied state began to hurl themselves into the chasm. Finally, the inhabitants of the area stationed a young woman at the site and allowed no one but her to approach the chasm. For her safety, she was seated atop a tripod. It was decided that the woman delivering the prophecies should be a virgin in imitation of the goddess Artemis and also because a young virgin would likely be discrete and not divulge private matters she overheard during her consultations with the supplicants.
The practice of using virgins as the prophetess changed abruptly when a Thessalian named Echekrates (Echecrates) became obsessed with one of the virgins. He kidnapped and violated the young woman. To prevent future deplorable acts, it was decided that a fifty-year old woman should be the prophetess but she would dress in the costume of a virgin to preserve the memory of the original tradition.
The Titan gods ruled the earth with indulgent self-interest. The Titan Kronos, fearing a prophecy that one of his children would usurp his power, devised a cruel and unconventional way to thwart the prophecy. Kronos decided to swallow his children as soon as they were born. He swallowed the first five children born to his Titan wife Rhea but she concealed their sixth child to prevent Kronos from swallowing it ... the child's name was Zeus. Rhea wrapped a stone in swaddling cloth and Kronos swallowed it without realizing the deception. Rhea hid the infant Zeus on the island of Krete (Crete).
When Zeus reached maturity, he ambushed Kronos while the aged god was out hunting. Zeus kicked Kronos in the stomach so hard he vomited up the stone and the five children he had swallowed. In this way Demeter, Hades, Hestia, Hera, and Poseidon were born. Zeus took the stone Kronos vomited up and placed it at the foot of Mount Parnassos near the city of Delphi and proclaimed that the stone would be a portent and marvel for the mortals of the earth for all time. The stone was called the Omphalos (Navel) and Delphi became known as the Navel of the Earth.
