Delphi. Detailed history

Delphi was not only a city, but a religious and political idea due to its famous Oracle, dedicated to Apollo. Physically, the city is located in the territory of Phocis near the Corycian Cave, on the lower slopes of Mount Parnassus, 2,000 feet above sea level and beneath the two Shining Cliffs, and it looks south toward the Gulf of Corinth, six miles away. It had been inhabited since the late Bronze Age.

The Greeks believed the Corycian Cave to be the central point of the entire Earth, and this gave rise to its religious foundation, especially as a giver of oracles. As the Oracle became more famous, the term Delphi came to symbolize the political ideas of the Greek world. Apollo gave his oracles through a woman called the Pythia. The Oracle is mentioned in the Iliad; by the seventh century, it had become famous throughout the Greek world.

Temple or tholos at Delphi, Greece. (Alexandre Fagundes De Fagundes/Dreamstime.com)

The stories relating to the Oracle have the woman being purified in the Castalian spring and drinking its waters from a fountain. She then sat on a tripod overlooking a chasm with smoke arising, and she inhaled the vapors until she went into a trance. A male seer or priest would then ask her a question that a delegation wanted put to her. The Pythia would give a message, which was audible but often not comprehensible.

The priests of Apollo would then give the delegates their interpretation of the god’s utterance through the Pythia, delivering it in hexameter verse. However, archaeological excavations have not discovered any kind of chasm. It is possible that it was merely an opening in the shrine’s floor leading to an underground chamber, or even just a hole where smoke came out. It is possible that the Pythia was drugged by chewing on laurel leaves, which contain traces of potassium cyanide.

Many of the early oracles concerned the establishment of colonies. While the surviving texts appear to be later interpretations or even outright forgeries, it has been established that Delphi became a repository for all types of potential information. Having collected facts from far beyond Greece through travelers, the priests would know about certain regions. While many of the stories or oracular traditions were later invented to justify the location of the colonies or to show that the colonists did not follow the Oracle correctly and hence failed, many of the oracles were vague enough to justify any outcome.

The oracular pronouncements were meant to force the asker to look within his own beliefs and ideas to determine the correct path. Synonymous with this idea of vagueness were two themes associated with Apollo and Delphi: “Know Thyself” and “Nothing too much,” both of which were inscribed on the temple.

“Know Thyself’ really meant to know your place in society and follow the gods. It was then later reinterpreted by the philosophers as an instruction to know oneself for one’s own betterment. The idea here was that by looking within, one would be able to find the right answer. The other theme, “Nothing too much,” meant moderation; the ideal was something always searched for, but usually not attainable. It was the opposite of immoderate behavior or hubris, which was often the cause of so many downfalls in Greek tragedy. If one were immoderate or excessive, one might bring disaster, or nemesis, upon oneself.

Many of the Oracle’s responses, whether interpreted at the time or after the fact, dealt with these two ideas, both of which originated in Apollo’s interaction with mortals. The growth of Delphi’s reputation, especially after the eighth century, was in part due to the supposed accuracy of its pronouncements. By being vague, the Oracle could point out that any proclamation was right, regardless of the outcome.

The religious site increased rapidly in prestige during the eighth century, probably due to its general positive advice on the establishment of colonies, which further enhanced its reputation. As its predictions and advice became well known, cities began to show their appreciations to the shrine with gifts, allowing the complex to be enlarged and beautified. The Sanctuary of Athena Pronaia, to the east of the Castalian spring in the Marmaria district, and the Sanctuary of Pythian Apollo, west of the spring, were the two main temple precincts.

The Sanctuary of Athena Pronaia was built in the early eighth century over preexisting Mycenaean ruins. This area had already been sacred to the original local inhabitants due to the spring, and the construction of the temple continued its previous history. Nearby was a sixth-century shrine with rooms dedicated to Athena and Artemis. The Sanctuary of Pythian Apollo, on the Sacred Way as it made its route up from the main road, was built by the legendary architects Trophonius and Aga- medes from Boeotia.

The temple probably dates from the seventh century. In 548, a fire destroyed the temple of Apollo, which led to the construction of a new great temple, with a larger precinct enclosed by a trapezoidal wall built in a way that would withstand earthquakes. This rebuilding was accomplished by the influx of new funding from all over the eastern Mediterranean, including non-Greek regions such as Lydia and Egypt, based upon the fame of the Oracle. Most of the funds came from the Alcmaeonid clan of Athens, which had been driven into exile by the tyrant Pisistratus.

The Alcmaeonid clan desiring to return to Athens and defeat Pisistratus and his sons, supported the Oracle with gifts (bribes most likely). A by-product of this financial support was the Oracle’s support in advising Sparta to keep Greece free from Persia and to restore order to move rid Athens of Pisistratus’ son Hippias.

The site produced an honorary festival to Apollo, held at first every eight years, which became the precursor for the Pythian Games held every four years. The festival not only honored Apollo, but also Dionysus, who took over Apollo’s position for three months during the year when Apollo ostensibly left Delphi to visit his other shrines. The worship of Dionysus had a long and celebrated history, coming into the region from Thrace early in the Iron Age. It also appears that the Delphic priests did not fully embrace the ecstatic features of the Dionysiac cult, which was in contrast to the calm conservative rites of Apollo.

Since Delphi became involved in the establishment of colonies that often competed with one another, it was only natural that it also become involved in political conflict. Some early disputes revolved around Delphi’s support of Chalcis fighting Eretria in Euboea in the Lelantine War at about 700. The Oracle had supported Chalcis and its allies, especially Corinth, in their colonization efforts. This may have been due to gifts from Corinth, offered by the tyrant Cypselus and his son, Periander. These offerings may have shown their appreciation for the Oracle’s support in establishing their western colonies, but they may also be seen as potential bribes in order to receive favorable pronouncements.

Phocis originally controlled Delphi during the eighth century, but it lost its grasp when Delphi became the center of a religious league called the Amphictyony (meaning “dwellers around” the region of Thermopylae). This new league would take on political acts as well as religious ones. There were twelve tribes represented in the league from Thessaly, the Phocians, and Boeotia. Although mainly concerned with religious issues, the league also took part in political events. An example of this political interference occurred when Delphi and its harbor-town, Cirrha, an independent city, became involved in a conflict over the charging of tolls for pilgrims going to the Oracle.

Delphi, with Apollo’s blessing, declared Cir- rha an enemy and sentenced it to be destroyed. The Amphictyony League attacked Cirrha in the First Sacred War from 595-583, and its forces, led by the Thessalians, destroyed the city and enslaved the survivors, with their territory given over to Apollo.

At this time, the Thessalians became the dominant partner in the league; the original headquarters may have been located at the Anthela near the pass at Thermopylae before being moved to Delphi. This original position was crucial for the control of movement between Thessaly and central Greece into Boeotia. With the move, Delphi became even more important. It was not only the most religious site in the Amphictyony League, but it was also central in location to the other cities and for commerce. Further, it was well protected since it was remote and not on any of the convenient thoroughfares between central and southern Greece. At this time, Delphi became an independent city.

Although the city increased in prestige, its Oracle started to decline. Part of this was due to bad advice from the Oracle. One of the worst examples was advice that it gave to Croesus of Lydia in his campaign against Cyrus of Persia: “If you cross the River Halys, a great empire will be destroyed.” Croesus, and indeed most of the Greeks, thought that that meant Croesus would be victorious. He was not. While the Oracle could claim that its response was really neutral, it probably was meant to support Croesus, who had earlier supported it. Perhaps the Oracle could console itself by claiming it was actually correct, that a great empire (Croesus’s) was indeed destroyed, but that was not what people expected.

The Oracle’s reputation also became tarnished when it was accused of taking bribes in exchange for favorable predictions. In one incident, word leaked out that the priests had been bribed by the Alcmaeonid clan of Athens to throw out their tyrant Hippias. Another incident occurred in 490, when the Spartan king Cleomenes I bribed the priestess to declare his rival Demaratus illegitimate. When that proclamation came out, it caused Cleomenes to go into exile but he was recalled and deemed insane and put into prison where he died mysteriously, with the authorities saying it was suicide.

From then on, the Oracle began to move away from political pronouncements. It was probably this aversion to politics and failing to give “correct” answers that prompted the Oracle in 480 to advise the Greek cities not to resist Persia. This, however, also proved disastrous—when the Greeks defeated the Persians, the Oracle was seen as pro-Persian and lost prestige.

Once it became independent and the strength in its religious power increased, Delphi reconstituted its festival to Apollo with the creation of the Pythian Games, probably in 586. Open to all Greeks, the games became one of the four Panhellenic festivals; now held every four years instead of eight, it took place during the third year of the Olympiads. In addition to musical competitions, the games included athletic events. Even after the decline of the Oracle’s reputation, Delphi would continue to have prestige in personal religious activities, and Greek city- states still felt obligated to ask the Oracle for permission to go to war.