From the dawn of the Greek world under the Bronze Age civilizations of the Minoans and Mycenaeans, the wisdom of the gods was sought. Would we be successful in war? Would the harvest be a plentiful one? Would one grow up to kill one’s father and marry one’s mother? All these burning questions, and more, necessitated undergoing a pilgrimage to a place where a lady high on toxic fumes and hallucinating from chewing poisonous leaves would rant incoherently, and from that we would know what the gods of Olympus had planned for us and our lives.

Sarcasm aside, Delphi and its famed oracle played a hugely important role in Greek society. While not involved in the day to day aspect of life, few major decisions (war/peace, long-term planning, etc…) were undertaken without consulting Apollo’s representative. So delegations would be sent from all of the major Greek city-states to seek out this wisdom. Leaders would make pilgrimage here to ask their questions. And yes, seemingly shockingly, the major decision making processes of so many Greeks would be determined by what was said.

Delphi is about 75 miles from central Athens, just north of the Gulf of Corinth, a narrow inlet from the Ionian Sea to the west (which separates Greece from Italy) that delineates the Greek mainland from the Peloponnesian Peninsula. (The land joins at Corinth, hence the name, on the eastern side of the Gulf.) The water is actually central to the city’s name, as Delphi means dolphin in Greek, owing to Apollo taking the form of that seagoing mammal and leading a boat of eager followers to where he wanted his temple built.

The city and its oracle date to at least 1400 BCE or so, although Apollo was a relative latecomer, roughly from 800 BCE. The city was once dedicated to Gaia, goddess of life. But Apollo wanted the real estate and its power, so he slew the serpent Python who held the area for her. The body of Python was buried beneath the newly dedicated Temple of Apollo and as it decomposed, the priestess (called Pythia for the snake) breathed in the fumes from its body to gain the wisdom of the god – while also chewing on poisonous oleander – and dispense that information in a rather obtuse manner. (We now know the fumes to be ethylene or some other hydrocarbon, similar to what was used in early anesthesia. The high from those plus the oleander might have led to fairly violent hallucinatory trances, hence the always cryptic answers given by the oracle.)

A fair bit of ancient Delphi still exists today, but my pilgrimage begins with awe at the natural surroundings. The city is built on the side of a mountain, with large stone peaks above and a deep valley below, resulting in incredible views no matter which way one turns.

As a result of its hillside location, a visit to Delphi necessitates some climbing. Access is via stairs with basically nothing being mobility-friendly. Benches are few and far between, and hand-rails are pretty much non-existent. But if you’re able to make the ascent, each level brings something new and cool into view.

The bottom (entry) of the sacred complex contains remnants of shops. Why? Well, new arrivals to Delphi seeking the oracle would a) be hungry and b) need to purchase something to sacrifice to Apollo. The city of Delphi depended on this revenue, so rules were set up to make certain that delegations couldn’t just bring their own stuff with them.

Next comes a level devoted to treasure houses. Think of each of these as a bank vault owned by a particular Greek city-state. It would contain the rich offerings and dedications from that city to Apollo, and the more ornate the stuff, the more likely the god was to dispense usable wisdom, apparently. One, the Athenian vault, has been reconstructed as it would have appeared, with votive reliefs around the top, almost a mini temple in itself. (The remainder can only be seen as ruins.)

This area was also once lined with statues. Cities would compete with each other to offer ornate decorations to the temple complex, so there would have been dozens here. Visiting delegations would have to wait their turns to seek out the oracle, but skip-the-line passes could be bought with lavish gifts. (The best example is the monumental altar inside the temple itself, which has a surviving inscription declaring it to be a gift from Chios in the fourth century BCE, and the resultant favor of that city being blessed with a priority visit.)

The Temple of Apollo itself is built on a platform, but the wall of that platform is one of Delphi’s highlights. Here, Ancient Greek inscriptions detail slaves who have been awarded their freedom. These carvings are all over the wall, and in shockingly good condition, a reminder that while slavery was common in the Greek world, it wasn’t necessarily a life sentence.

Finally, one arrives at the temple itself. This iteration of the Temple of Apollo dates from roughly the fourth century BCE, having replaced an earlier version that was destroyed. All that is left today is the base of the temple, six columns, and a ramp to ascend into the interior. Here, inside the inner sanctum of the temple, the Pythia would sit on a three-legged stool (tripod) and hallucinate out the cryptic divine wisdom that visitors came to seek. She would live in the complex, not ever being allowed to leave, so I suppose being high would help with that prison term.

Surprisingly to me, the Temple of Apollo doesn’t occupy the highest area in Delphi. That honor belongs to the city’s theatre district. The theatre dates from around the same time as the temple, and held theatrical performances connected to the Pythian Games (second in importance only to the Olympic Games of Ancient Greece) and other festivals. The theatre itself was used as recently as the 1930s!

The Delphi archaeological site also has a museum with some of the coolest artifacts found here. My favorite is a sphinx statue, one of the guardians of the city.

Regardless of my obvious unease at major civic and national undertakings being decided by the rantings of a prisoner kept high and hallucinating, there is no questioning the importance of Delphi and its oracle to the Greek world. Even Alexander the Great came here in preparation for his conquest of Persia. The religious and historical significance is immense, and that alone makes it a worthwhile day trip from Athens. Add to it the sheer beauty of the site, and it’s a joy to experience.

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