Dawnya visiting the oracle in Delphi

Delphi

Day 3

I was excited to get to Delphi. I had read about this sacred place and also went to see the movie "The 300" with my son. I think they should have renamed the movie "How to wax off all your body hair and wear a leather speedo", but I digress. Before the Battle of Thermopolye, Leonidas, the King of Sparta, must consult with the Delphi Oracle before he wages war against the Persians. The oracle is a young beautiful virgin who flails around in a trance. The priests tell Greek leaders the at the oracle is conversing with the God Apollo and only the priests can understand what the oracle is trying to say. Of course the Greek leaders must pay the priests for the translation.

Our local guide, Peggy, told us some sort of mineral vapors came out of the ground in Delphi and that is what made the oracle dance. I guess she high on vapors.

Regardless of the scam perpatrated on ancient Greek leaders, Delphi is a peaceful and lovely place. I asked Peggy what Greeks thought of the movie "The 300". She said they found it entertaining but not historically accurate.

Peggy took us into the Dephi Museum first and then outside to explore the amazing ancient site.

It was a great museum that I would like to go back to and spend more time at the exhibits. There is a gift shop outside the museum where I had some yummy fresh squeezed orange juice.

This magnificent ancient site has existed since 1600 B.C. It held the most sway over Greek leaders from the 6th to 4th centurys B.C. Only Men were allowed to consult the oracle through the priests. The only female allowed in Ancient Delphi was the oracle. After Christianity took over it was closed down by Emperor Theodosius 1 in AD 394 as it was considered a pagan sanctuary.

I was surprised to learn in the museum that this site was covered by the village , Kastri, until 1892. Wow, all this beauty under a town!

I walked up above the Delphi site to the stadium above. It was a good hike to get up there. It was a good workout for me.
It was also a nice view of the site of Delphi. I noticed that the soil here is red like it is at my home in St. George, Utah. I like the play of the red/orange dirt against the green of the foilage and the blue sky.

This place felt peaceful which was quite the contrast from Athens. There were tourists, but nothing like the day before. As I walked back to our hotel I only saw a handful of people. It could also be that it was late in the afternoon.

As I was walking down from the ancient Dephi site I keep hearing bells. It reminded me of the bells I heard on the cute cows in Switzerland. All of a sudden there is a goat right in front of me. He was munching away on a shrub. No rope or fence. He just had a bell on his neck so the goat herder would know where he was.

We had a very nice location and view from our hotel. This hotel had a large deck right off our room. I enjoyed a private viewing of the sunset. I had rooster in red sauce for dinner. The restaurant had spectacular views over Mt. Parnassos and the Gulf of Corinth.

Let's venture further into the Peloponnese