Oracles and Old Ruins

We arrive at the small port of Itea. It is a nice marina that was built with Euro funds and completed by the Greeks. But they just haven’t gotten around to finding someone to manage it all, so the berths are free and there is no water or electricity. It is the closest port to the ancient of Delphi, home to all the ancient oracles. I talk to some Australians that have been sailing for years. They tell us the lay of the land and how to catch the bus to Delphi in the morning. We go to the store and fill up 4 shopping carts with provisions including lots of water. The marina is a couple of blocks away, and the Greeks are having a fun time watching these crazy Americans wheeling shopping carts full of food down the bumpy roads of their city.

The next day we catch the bus to Delphi. It is about a half hour bus ride up the steep hillside overlooking an endless valley of olive trees. There is still a town in the shadow of ancient Delphi. You pass through the town and on the far edge the ancient city still rises. The ruins are extensive and very well preserved. This was once thought to be the center of the Greek world. In the center of the ancient town is an intricately carved stone that looks like the end of a bullet. We are told that it represents the navel, symbolizing the point where all the world receives all the nourishings of the gods. Like Hollywood showing off all their starlets for posterity to see, you enter the city traveling through their own hall of fame. Lined on both sides of the street are statues of ancient heroes with footnotes carved into their pedestals recording grateful nations gratitude. The statues are long gone pillaged by the British Empire, churches and foreign fortune hunters. A few are now housed in the onsite museum. Further up the hillside is the city Treasury. Built out of gleaming white marble, it was meant to show off the wealth of the citizens. The marble was hewed from far off quarries. Built in 500 B.C., it testifies of the dedication it took to impress the world with its wealth. There are grand temples to Apollo, and smaller temples to other now cast-off gods. And a huge stadium built to show off the young men to the world of their physical prowlness. People would come from all over the known world to pay homage to the gods and get answers to questions from the oracles. Fortunes were told and lives received meaning from what was taught. The journey to Delphi would take weeks or months. So people from all over the known world would linger for weeks discussing ideas and sharing knowledge. And when they left, they realized for the first time that they were a part of a nation, a part of a much bigger world. It is one of the most impressive and arguably one of the most important ancient sites I have seen in Greece.