10 March 2010 (Wednesday #3) – Delphi day

 
(still) At the Ruins of Ancient Delphi 

Still walking up the Sacred Way:

Passing the Treasury of the Boeotians:

Boeotian city-states existed in Ancient Greece. In the Mycenaean period, Thebes, one of the fortified Boeotian towns, attracted attention from invading Dorians, whose soldiers took their name from their tendency to march into battle carrying a Doric column. Not really, but I enjoy working “Doric columns” into my blog.

As noted in the previous post, a treasury was a small rectangular building used to protect valuables such as silver and gold offerings brought in by representatives of various city-states. The offerings were frequently a tithe (tenth) of the spoils of a battle.

The treasuries resembled simple temples. They were built high off the ground, on pedestals without steps, which made them difficult to enter. The treasuries typically had thick, windowless walls and columns on the front.

Here’s our tour group, standing in front of something and listening to our tour guide tell about it:

There I am to the right, enjoying some time with my black L.L. Bean trench coat.

As indicated by the marble marker, we have now arrived at the Treasury of the Athenians:

It was built to commemorate their victory at the Battle of Marathon and to house some of the spoils of that war.

A look at part of the Treasury of the Athenians:

A (crooked) look at the whole front of the Treasury of the Athenians:

The Treasury of Athens was built about 500 BC. with two Doric columns and thirty metopes depicting the labors of Herakles and Theseus. It was over 30 feet tall, but only about 22 feet in diameter.

You’ll note one of the Doric columns looks really weird:

This treasury has been partially reconstructed. You’d think with all the column parts lying around all over the place, the reconstructors could have found a better match. Pathetic. What a desecration of a Doric column!

A close-up of some of the metopes surrounding the Treasury of the Athenians:

A metope is a square space in a Doric frieze, or border.

While continuing on the Sacred Way, I couldn’t resist a look back at the Athenian Treasury . . . must have been those Doric columns:

Shortly after the Athenian Treasury, we came to this cone-shaped stone known as the Omphalos.

“Omphalós” is the Greek word for “navel.” This stone at Delphi was thought to have marked the center, or navel, of the earth. (See previous post about Zeus and those two eagles.) The navel of the earth is an outie.

Side note: Every time I type something like "is the Greek word for..." or "comes from the Greek word...,"I feel like I'm the father in My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

Now we’ve arrived at the Rock of the Sibyl:

Here’s the whole thing:

It’s a tad overgrown. Legend has it that Herophile, a daughter of Zeus, sang her oracles and foretold the future from atop this 10-foot high rock.

Here are some of the flowers surrounding the rock:

Looking at these bright, cheerful flowers, it’s hard to believe it was pouring rain.

Delphi is a gorgeous place, even in the rain:

Back on the Sacred Way, almost to (what is left of) the Sanctuary of Apollo:

There’s a peek at the Sanctuary of Apollo (the columns midway up on the left).

Before we got to the Sanctuary of Apollo, we passed the Athenian Stoa:

In Ancient Greek architecture, a stoa (such as this Athenian Stoa) was a covered walkway or portico, commonly for public usage:

WHAT?? It has Ionic columns? Didn't the Athenians get the memo that Greece is all about Doric columns?? Originally the Athenian Stoa had seven columns, each carved from a single stone. It was built primarily to house the trophies of their naval victories over the Persians. And it has the wrong kind of columns.

The stones in the foreground show more of the names of the freed slaves:

The writing is teeny, tiny.

Here’s a closer look at the Polygonal Wall behind the Athenian Stoa:

It was built to shore up the foundations of the Temple of Apollo (the thing we were still trying to walk to), after the temple was rebuilt following an earthquake. (Before the earthquake, the temple was also rebuilt after a fire.) The wall is called the Polygonal Wall because of the shape of the stones. Great job fitting those stones together without mortar!

Bases of some columns that didn’t survive:

View of the valley from high up the Sacred Way:

Looking back at the Athenian Stoa (right) and the Treasury of the Athenians (where the people in the background are):

If it looks like I’m now going backwards, that’s because I was. I got tired of the rain, cut short my walk to the top, and went to the Delphi Museum. Conrad continued to the top. The next post will show photos he took as he finished climbing the Sacred Way.