Delphi

The next day we set off by private bus, along winding mountainous roads, for the town of Delphi.  This tiny town is built beside the famous ruins thought to be the navel of the world by the ancient Greeks, and known for the Oracle of Delphi.  The oracle is actually a place, not a person, in the Temple of Apollo, where fault lines in this area of frequent earthquakes released a gas that was inhaled by a woman from the town, who then gave a prophetic answer to a question posed to her.  The gas contains ethylene, which made her very perceptive, which I interpret to mean probably just got her high.  We had a very enthusiastic, emotional and philosophical woman as our tour guide explaining these things to us.  She would probably not be happy with my interpretation of her teaching.

Many of the statues and other artifacts from the site of Delphi are in the museum, and like the site itself are very well preserved since there is no pollution here like there is in Athens.  The site is high on hills above an inlet of the ocean.  Our hotel is set on the cliff side, with rooms below the reception area that have a view overlooking the ocean (with a scrubby garden and laundry on a line in the foreground but you can just ignore that).  One of the largest olive forests in the country is nearby, but much was burned in a fire this summer, when temperatures reached over 40 degrees in the blazing sun.

On the following day we had a tour of the ruins, with a theatre seating 5000 and a stadium far above on the hillside.  I learned many interesting things from the guide, including the meaning of some English words derived from Greek – an idiot is someone who keeps to themselves (I’m such an idiot sometimes!) and Philadelphia, city of brotherly love, literally means that.  And Aesop, of Fables fame, was taken up to the cliff above the site and pushed to his death.

Keep in mind the words of wisdom I learned here – history is the lies men choose to believe.