Ancient Greek history – Veronica Winters Painting

Tag: Ancient Greek history

From Perseus to Trojan War: 7 mind-blowing myths about Mycenae that changed ancient Greece

Posted on September 11, 2024August 29, 2024 by veronica

Mycenae-view from the top — Mycenae, view from the top of the mountain where excavations unearthed the ancient site.

Mycenae is the ancient archeological site near Mykines in Argolis, Greece. It’s a fascinating place to visit when you learn about its connection to the ancient Greek history. What seems to be a myth today was a reality in some 16th century BC. This is a place of one of the oldest known cultures in the world- the Mycenaeans. They wrote in Linear B text, the cyclopes built walls and people worshiped the Earth goddess. Perseus founded Mycenae and Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, set out against Troy in the Trojan War. Thanks to independent excavations of an adventurer and explorer, Heinrich Schliemann in 1876, Mycenae got unearthed to us today. Mycenae is located about 120 km (75 miles) south-west of Athens, near Argos. Corinth is about 48 km (30 miles) away from it. The site stands on a beautiful mountain rising 900 feet (274 meters) above the sea level. The collapse of the Mycenaean civilization happened around 1100 BC.

While you can view some artifacts from these excavations in a nearby archeological museum, other items are on display at the museum in Athens. I’m placing pictures about the Mycenean culture from both museums here. I also put some pictures of the local landscape and excavations in the area for you to see how it looks like today. Some pictures look orange and it’s not because of a fancy filter. When we visited Mycenae, the sky turned orange and a rain of sand drops covered the entire landscape as far as we could see. It turned out, it was due to the Sahara dust storm that moved with the wind turning everything orange. The sand covered trees, cats and us. 🙂 The historic descriptions of the place you’ll see below come from the area and museums I visited there.

Mycenean figures in excavations of the site in Mycenae, Greece — *Mycenean figures revealed during the excavations of the site in Mycenae, Greece*

Video release on 9/14/2024 https://youtu.be/V1iCUh91qD0

Fact or Myth #1: Perseus found Mycenae

According to Greek legends, Mycenae was founded by Perseus, son of god Zeus and the human princess Danae. King of Argos, Perseus beheaded the gorgon, Medusa who turned men to stone. The legend tells a story that Perseus after fulfilling the prophesy that he would kill his grandfather Acrisios, exchanged the kingdom of Argos for that of Tiryns and then founded Mycenae, a new city for himself.

"It's known to the Greeks, that Perseus founded Mycenae……." Pausanias, II, 15,4

*Perseus with the Head of Medusa, Antonio Canova, Italian, commissioned by Count Jan and Countess Valeria Tarnowski, 1804–6, the Met,* http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/204758

Where does the name ‘Mycenae’ come from? There are at least 3 explanations given for this name.

1. It comes from Perseus’ sword pommel that he dropped in this place. The sword had a mushroom shape (mykes).

2. It comes from an actual mushroom that Perseus picked up to drink from when he was thirsty. It caused a spring to well up (Perseia spring).

3. Homer derives the name from Mycenae, a nymph of great beauty but of uncertain origins. The Perseid dynasty ruled over Mycenae and its territories for at least three generations. Eurystheus, the last of the line, was the king for whom Hercules performed his famous twelve labors. When Eurystheus was killed in a battle against the Athenians and the sons of Hercules, the people of Mycenae chose Atreus, the son of Pelops, to become their king.

*Perseus beheading Medusa, terracotta lekythos (oil flask), attributed to the Diosphos Painter, ca. 500 BCE the Met.* While Perseus flies over the Medusa, Pegasus jumps out from the gorgon’s dead body. http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/247488

Fact or Myth #2: Perseus employed Cyclopes to build the walls

To fortify his city, Perseus employed the mythical “Cyclopes” to build the walls and it is from that event the style of gigantic masonry is named “Cyclopean”. So the cyclopean masonry can be seen in the Lion Gate and the North Gate. It’s believed that the cyclopes built the walls around the gate because the weight of these stones is between 20-100 tons!

Funerary Proto-Attic Amphora with a depiction of the blinding of the cyclops Polyphemus by Odysseus and his companions, 670-660 BCE Eleusis-veronica winters art blog — *Funerary Proto-Attic Amphora with a depiction of the blinding of the cyclopes- Polyphemus by Odysseus and his companions, 670-660 BCE, Eleusis.* The cyclops is depicted on the right of the vase | photo: Veronica Winters

**Who are the cyclopes in ancient Greek mythology?** Cyclopes are a race of giants with one eye in the middle of their foreheads. Their name comes from the Greek words Kýklōpes, which means “circle-eyes” or “round-eyes”. The Cyclopes are often depicted as unintelligent who work as shepherds. They are known for their extraordinary strength, height and power. Two of the main myths appear in the works of Homer and Hesiod, 7th century BCE poets and storytellers. In Theogony, Hesiod describes the Cyclopes as three brothers named Arges, Steropes, and Brontes who were blacksmiths and made Zeus’s thunderbolt. In Odyssey, the Cyclopes are an uncivilized group of shepherds that Odysseus encounters, including Polyphemus, one of their brothers. In the story, Odysseus and his men get trapped in Polyphemus’s cave after eating and drinking his food. Odysseus eventually blinds Polyphemus by plunging a burning stake into his eye while he’s sleeping, and escapes with six of his friends by clinging to the bellies of Polyphemus’s sheep.
The Cyclopes are also known for building the Cyclopean walls of Mycenae and Tiryns, and for helping the Olympian gods defeat the Titans in the Titanomachy. In gratitude, the gods released the Cyclopes from Tartarus after Uranus imprisoned them for unruly behavior, and the Cyclopes went on to make Hades’s helmet, Poseidon’s trident, and Artemis’s silver bow.

Fact or Myth #3: The Lion Gate mystery reveal

THE LION GATE

The main gate of the Acropolis was constructed in the middle of the 13th century BC. One of its main features is a limestone slab, which fills the area of the “relieving triangle” and bears two lions facing each other in relief. Their front paws lean on two small altars supporting a column. The missing heads were probably made of a different material- steatite. These lions look different and out of place, like they were carried from some place and set in here to make this unusual entrance. This is the earliest example of a monumental sculpture set between the gigantic stones that symbolizes the royal house of Mycenae.

THE NORTH (POSTERN) GATE

It was constructed during the second building phase of the walls around 1250 BC. Four monolithic blocks of conglomerate (‘almond stone’) form the two jambs, the lintel and the threshold. The gate was closed with a double wooden door, bolted by a sliding bar. Instead of a relieving triangle it has two, plain, vertical slabs set on edge above the lintel, thus transferring the weight to the two doorposts. Inside the gate is a small internal court, from which a road led up to the megaron. The special care with which the two large gates of the citadel were built attests to the Mycenaean masons’ expertise.

*The Gate showing the Cyclopean masonry with multi-ton stones*.

Fact or Myth #4: Discovery of the Agamemnon Shrine of the Mycenean king who fought in the Trojan War

THE AGAΜΕΜΝΟΝΕΙΟΝ

In Greek mythology, Agamemnon was a legendary king of Mycenae who led the Greek army during the Trojan War. Famous for his bravery and military skills, Agamemnon was the son of King Atreus and Queen Aerope, and the brother of Menelaus. He married Clytemnestra, and they had several children, including Iphigenia, Electra, Orestes, and Chrysothemis.

The Agamemnoneion is one of the most important shrines of historical times in the vicinity of Mycenae. It is located approximately 1 km southwest of the Acropolis. Excavations in the area brought to light the architectural remains of a rectangular building that was used from the late Geometric ( 700 BC) to the Hellenistic period ( 2nd century BC). The early form of the shrine remains unclear. However, in the Hellenistic period, the shrine was repaired and transformed into a temenos.

Most of the finds come from an archaic deposit that contained among other finds geometric and archaic Argive pottery and archaic figurines, all of which appear to be offerings to male gods or heroes. Inscribed sherds referring to Agamemnon, have led to the identification of this small sanctuary as a shrine of the hero and protagonist in Homer’s Iliad.

The Trojan War

The Trojan War is the most famous event in Greek mythology that involves a decade-long siege of the city of Troy by the Greeks. Three goddesses, Hera, Athena and Aphrodite quarreled who was the fairest of them all. Their judge, Paris, the handsome son of the Trojan king Priam, decided in favor of Aphrodite and as a reward, was promised the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen, wife of king Menelaus of Sparta.

The abduction of Helen, Queen of Sparta, by Paris, the Prince of Troy triggered the Trojan War. Helen’s husband, King Menelaus of Sparta, convinced his brother, King Agamemnon of Mycenae, to lead an expedition to Troy to retrieve her. Agamemnon was joined by many Greek heroes, including Achilles, Odysseus, Nestor, and Ajax, and a fleet of 1186 ships and more than 100.000 men from 22 different states set out against Troy under the command of Agamemnon, king of Mycenae.

The ten-year war included many events, such as raids on other cities, single combat challenges, mutinies, and love affairs. The Greeks won many battles and killed the Trojan hero Hector, but they were unable to break through the walls of Troy. Odysseus then devised a plan to trick the Trojans into opening the gates by leaving behind a large wooden horse containing a raiding party. When the Trojans brought the horse into the city, the Greeks opened the gates and sacked Troy, killing the men and taking the women.
The war is told in many works of Greek literature, most notably Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, which were likely composed in the 8th century BC. The Trojan hero, Hector, was slain by Achilles. Homer’s poem ends there and does not mention Achilles death, the stratagem of the wooden “Trojan Horse” and the sack of Troy.

The legends of Mycenae: the house of Pelops

Atreus, son of Pelops, ruled Mycenae. His enmity, towards his brother Thyestes led him to give the unfortunate man the flesh of his own children to eat (the so-called “Thyestean feast”). The deed brought upon Atreus and all his descendants the wrath of the gods and Thyestes’ curse. His son and heir, Agamemnon, was murdered on his return from the Trojan war by his own wife Clytemnestra, assisted by her lover, Aegisthos. Orestes, Agamemnon’s son, and his sister Elektra killed both their mother and Aegisthos. After that, Orestes was forced to flee, pursued by the Fates, until he was finally acquitted by the Areopagus court in Athens. The last king of Mycenae, according to tradition was Tisamenos, Orestes’ son. He got killed while defending his state from an incursion by the descendants of Heracles.

Fact or Myth #5: The Agamemnon’s Gold Mask Mystery

Agagemnon gold mask history — *The Mask of Agamemnon displayed at the National Archeological Museum in Athens.*

The Mask of Agamemnon is a gold funeral mask that was discovered in 1876 by archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann in the shaft graves of a royal cemetery at Mycenae, Greece (Grave Circle A). This mask was one of several gold funeral masks found laid over the faces of the dead buried in the shaft graves of a royal cemetery. The golden mask is 12 inches tall. Made from a single sheet of pure gold, it was hammered thin over a wooden mold. It’s considered one of the most famous discoveries from the Late Bronze Age as it shows the wealth and craftsmanship of the Mycenaeans at that time. The mask is displayed in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.

Schliemann named the mask after the famous king of ancient Mycenae, Agamemnon, who is featured in Homer’s Odyssey and Euripides’ plays. The archeologist believed the mask was Agamemnon’s because of its preservation and nobility, and thought it could prove the king’s existence. However, the mask’s origin is up to debate since its discovery. Some art historians and archaeologists believe the mask is not Agamemnon’s because modern research has dated the mask to 1550-1500 BCE, which is 300 years before Agamemnon would have lived.

Grave Circle A

Grave Circle A is an extensive cemetery of the Middle Helladic and the early Late Helladic period, which spread west of the citadel. It was used for royal burials exclusively during the 16th century BC. It contained six shaft graves (I-VI), five of which were excavated by H. Schliemann in 1876 and one by P. Stamatakis in the following year. Marked with stone stelai, the graves contained inhumations of family members, luxury grave goods, etc that are on view at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. Initially, Grave Circle A lays extra muros. Around 1250 BC, however, and with the extension of the cyclopean wall westwards, the royal burial ground appeared within the area of the citadel. The construction of a circular enclosure enhanced the structure.

What is the Helladic Period in Ancient Greece? The Helladic period is an archaeological term used to describe the culture of mainland Greece during the Copper and Bronze Ages, from around 3200–1050 BC. It's divided into three phases: Early, Middle, and Late Helladic. The Late Helladic period is also known as the Mycenaean period.

Gold iron ritual weapons found in grave IV, circle A, Mycenae 16th BCE

Some Excavated Buildings in the area:

1. The Pylos tholos tombs, 16th-14th centuries BC

The characteristic Mycenaean tholos tombs, with their strange beehive-shaped funerary chamber and long entrance passage, first appeared in Messenia. Two large tholos tombs (Tombs III and IV) were constructed near the palace at Pylos in the 16th century BC. Although looted, they contained many precious grave gifts, which spoke of the rulers’ wealth in this region. (There are the tholos tombs at Myrsinochori (Routsi) found in the area of Pylos, one of the early Mycenean centers in Messenia).

Submycenaean geometric Period

Although the area of Mycenae was gradually abandoned at the end of the 13th century BC, it was inhabited in the centuries that followed. The submycenaean and protogeometric periods are represented exclusively by burials in the south slope of the Acropolis, in the area of the tholos tomb of Clytemnestra and Grave Circle B. Evidence of the geometric period comes from a number of houses built over the ruins of the palace as well as pottery both inside and outside of the fortification wall. This fragmentary pottery is probably connected with some kind of hero cult.

*Early Geometric period vases, figure of eight shield, ivory sphinx, some golden decorations, etc shown at the Mycenae archeological museum*

*Early geometric period vases displayed in the Athens museum*

2. House of Columns

The most important building on the east slope of the citadel. At its northwest corner, where the main entrance was situated, are preserved the doorjambs and the threshold of conglomerate. The house owes its name to the existence of a colonnade in its central courtyard. Destroyed in fire, the building is dated to the second half of the 13th century BC. In the basement and storerooms of this building, archeologists found commercial stirrup jars with a Linear B tablet.

3. Artisan’s Quarter

Together with the House of Columns, the Artisans’ Quarter belongs to the east wing of the palace. This building complex was almost a square in its ground plan. It had two floors with a staircase in its northwest corner. Only the foundations exist here today.
The Artisans’ Quarter has two rows of rooms on both sides of a narrow courtyard with the entrance. The building is known as artists’ workshop on the basis of excavated objects found here – unfinished ivory objects, raw materials, gold leaf, remnants of semi-precious stones, etc. It dates to the second half of the 13th century BC. It was also destroyed in conflagration at the end of the century.

4. Great Ramp & Hellenistic Chambers

Acquiring a form of a wide monumental ramp, the sloping ascent to the top of the citadel appeared in late 13th century BC. Paved with thin slabs of schist, it got supported by a cyclopean retaining wall. The ramp begins from the inner courtyard of the Lion Gate, follows the incline of the rock and stops at its south end. At the end of the ramp lies a suite of four Hellenistic chambers. Their function was possibly related to the processing and dyeing of textiles, a common activity of that period.

Acropolis of Mycenae, oil jars, 14-13 BCE

5. Ramp House & House of the Warrior Vase

These two houses are situated to the south of the Grave Circle A. The Ramp House had at least two floors, but only the foundations of the ground floor have survived to today. The House of the Warrior Vase is named after a famous krater decorated with the Mycenaean warriors. The building consists of basements and storerooms as storage jars with carbonized olives and bronze vases were found inside it. Both houses have the burials of the Helladic period, indicating that this entire area was previously a part of the Prehistoric Cemetery, which occupied the west slope of the hill before the fortification walls were constructed.

6. Other houses outside the Grave Circle B.

There is another group of excavated houses that lies outside the city walls. These are the House of Shields, the House of the Oil Merchant, the House of the Sphinxes, and the West House.

art symbols — Butterflies printed on ancient Greek golden disks found in Mycenae, Grave Circle A. They date to 16 BCE. **A butterfly was a symbol of the soul in the ancient Greek world.** **Cocoon** was a symbol of rebirth. **Pomegranate** was a symbol of bounty. **Gold balances** represented the weighting of the soul in the Underworld. | Photo: Veronica Winters

Fact or Myth #6: Linear A and Linear B tablets discovery

According to Wikipedia, during the second millennium BC, there were four major branches: Linear A, Linear B, Cypro-Minoan, and Cretan hieroglyphic languages.

Linear A is a writing system of the Minoans practiced between 1800 BC -1450 BC on the island of Crete. ( the Minoan civilization preceded the Mycenean one). The Linear A script evolved into the Linear B script, which was used by the Mycenaeans as the earliest form of ancient Greek language. It’s fascinating to learn that modern archeologists and historians still can’t read the Linear A script but they can read the Linear B texts. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linear_A

*The Phaistos disc found in Crete with linear A script displayed at the museum on the island of Crete.* The Phaistos disk is a round, clay tablet. It has 45 pictorial signs being arranged in different combinations forming 61 groups. These groups are separated by incised lines that might represent words. These signs were stamped into a soft clay with seals arranged in a spiral on both sides of the disc.
Experts don’t understand the language or this writing in relationship to Cretan scripts. The repetition of some combinations of signs suggest that the inscription is either a hymn or a magical text created in early 17th century BC!

*Examples of the Linear B script*. The images are examples of the texts I saw in the archeological museums of Greece.

**Linear B script** has been proven to be the first form of Greek writing. In 1900, Arthur Evans discovered the script in the palace of Knossos in Crete, where the Myceneans lived after 1450 BC. The Linear B text wasn’t read as a language until the discovery of a large archive of clay tablets stored in the Mycenean palace at Pylos in 1939. British architect, Michael Ventris and his assistant philologist John Chadwick, deciphered Linear B texts in 1952. They proved that the tablets got written in an early form of Greek language preceding the Homeric poems.

Linear B is a syllabic script. Each symbol corresponds to a certain syllable. It consists of about 90 syllabic signs, numerals and ideograms (every picture denotes a concept). The Palace kept its records in a form of these clay tablets, which were administrative documents, such as lists, inventory recordings and tax forms. These ancient recordings give invaluable insight into the palace’s hierarchy, social status, professions, trade and manufacture of goods.

Fact or Myth #7: The birthplace of Hera’s worship & a peacock

*Marble Head of Hera found in the Argive Heraion*. **Hera was the queen of the gods, wife to Zeus, and the patroness of women, marriage, and childbirth.**

THE ARGIVE HERAION, The sanctuary of Hera near Mycenae

Hera herself claims to be the protector of Argos in Iliad IV, 50–52: "The three towns I love best are Argos, Sparta and Mycenae of the broad streets".

The sanctuary of Hera was famous, ancient cult center that lies on a low hill between Argus and Mycenae. It was probably the birth place of worship of Hera in ancient Greece. The first temple of Hera was built in the 7th century BC that burned to the ground in fire. It’s said that it’s due to neglect of the priestess Chryseie in 423 BC.

The second, Doric temple got built to honor the goddess by the architect Eupolemos of Argus about 420-410 BC. right on a terrace below the old temple. Some parts of the 5th-century temple got preserved, including lavish sculptural decorations. The depiction of the birth of Zeus decorated the pediment of the east side of the temple. The Gigantomachy decorated the metopes of the same side. The Trojan War cycle themes dominated the west side of the temple. The west pediment had a representation of the Sack of Troy. The metopes of this side depicted the Trojan Amazonomachy. There were also some lion-shaped water-spouts, relief palmettes, tendrils and cuckoos, the bird anered to the goddess.

The colossal gold and ivory cult statue of Hera that had stood inside the temple was the work of the Argive sculptor Polydoitas. Its form is known from the depictions on coins of Argos issued in the 2nd century AD and from the descriptions of a travel writer Pausaniaus. * From the description in the museum in Athens.

The Peacock in Greek Mythology

The peacock was a sacred bird to Hera, Hera became jealous when Zeus would spend time with one of his many mistresses, and recruited Argus to watch her with his hundred eyes. (According to Ovid, Argus had a hundred eyes). When Argus got killed, Hera set his eyes on the peacock's tail to immortalize him. In another version of this myth, Hera turned Argus into a peacock. This bird pulled her chariot in honor of his faith to her. Juno, Roman goddess has similar to Hera status and myth.

Other fun facts about the Mycenean world:

1. The use of Seals

Seals appeared in the Aegean area in the Early Bronze Age (3rd millennium BC). They had a long history of use in the advanced administrative systems of the Near Eastern cultures. Their wide-spread, administrative use reaches its apex in the Minoan palaces.

The microscopic engraved stones and the seal rings were true works of art that were used as jewelry, votive offerings and amulets. The seals were used alone and in a combination with the clay sealings for many years, confirming the existence of goods quality control. People who owned and used them were representatives of the upper class or other authority. Although the Mycenaeans were influenced by Minoan iconography, they used the seals primarily as objects of authority, while their contribution to the central administrative system was supplementary to the clay tablets. Their rich iconographic repertoire provides valuable information concerning religious convictions, the administrative framework and the social structure. * From the museum in Heraklion, Crete

2. The status of Women in the Mycenaean World

Women’s role in the Mycenaean world is suggested through iconography, precious and household objects and the Linear B tablets. Many skills in the domestic economy that included the special skills like textile-making and corn grinding belonged to slave women or female tied workers.

There are many Linear B symbols talking about the textiles dying. The fabric was wool of different weight died in to purple-red color. People worked in different stages making fabric, having separate profession for each step of the process.

The upper class women were involved in the royal activities that included creation of personal, refined adornment pieces. The goddesses wore ornate Minoan dresses. The female priestesses played an important role in religious activities that gave them special social status.

The vast majority of this information comes from the local museum & notes placed along the route in the archeological site of Mycenae, Greece that I visited in 2024. I also used some Google to write the summary of the Trojan war and alike. If you’d like to explore other fascinating archeological sites of Greece, visit the links below as I explore the archeology and art of Delphi, Holy Meteora and more.

Greek art styles

Greek art is generally divided into four major periods, each with distinct styles and characteristics:

Geometric Period (900 – 700 BCE):
- Emerging from the Greek Dark Ages, Geometric art is characterized by its focus on geometric patterns and stylized figures.
- Pottery decoration is prominent, featuring abstract motifs like meanders, triangles, and swastikas.
- Human and animal figures are depicted in a simplified, geometric manner.
Archaic Period (700 – 480 BCE):
- This period witnessed a shift towards more naturalistic depictions.
- Sculptors began carving figures in the nude, adhering to a rigid and idealized form known as the Archaic smile.
- Pottery decoration continued to evolve, with the introduction of the black-figure technique where figures are painted in black silhouette against a red background.
Classical Period (480 – 323 BCE):
- Considered the pinnacle of Greek art, the Classical period emphasized balance, proportion, and realism.
- Human figures were depicted in more natural poses with a focus on ideal beauty and perfect anatomy.
- The red-figure technique dominated pottery decoration, with intricate details and narrative scenes.
- Famous Classical sculptors like Phidias and Polyclitus developed influential styles portraying gods and heroes in a majestic and harmonious way.
Hellenistic Period (323 – 31 BCE):
- Following the conquests of Alexander the Great, Hellenistic art embraced a wider range of emotions and expressions.
- Sculptures became more dynamic and dramatic, capturing movement and individual personalities.
- Art from this period often reflected a more theatrical and emotional style.
- Genre scenes depicting everyday life gained popularity alongside mythological themes.

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More about Ancient Greece:

Cult center of Delphi: its history, Apollo, oracles, Greek myths, architecture and art

From Ancient Thera to Oia: 6 must-see places in Santorini

The Sphinx of Greece: its history, mythology & art

Holy Meteora: its history & Byzantine painting

What you don’t know about Ancient Delphi, God Apollo, Oracle, Myths, History, Architecture & Art

Posted on September 6, 2024August 23, 2024 by veronica

Have a deep dive into the ancient Greek history by virtually visiting the cult center of Delphi with its gods, oracles, art, architecture and myths.

To see art, article and references for this episode, visit: https://veronicasart.com/cult-center-of-delphi-its-history-oracles-greek-myths-architecture-and-art/

Video release on 8/31/2024: https://youtu.be/qogqH1kKzHM

Subscribe & rate this podcast on Spotify and Apple | Show your support for the podcast: here | Host: Veronica Winters, MFA | veronicasart.com

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Cult center of Delphi: its history, Apollo, oracles, Greek myths, architecture and art

Posted on August 9, 2024August 23, 2024 by veronica

The cult center of Delphi: its history, architecture, oracles, Greek myths & art

Video release on 8/31/2024: https://youtu.be/qogqH1kKzHM

Delphi buildings reconstruction-veronica winters art blog — **Ancient Delphi**: buildings reconstruction shown at the site

When I’ve looked at the images of Delphi before going to Greece, I wasn’t impressed with the site. It seemed that not much was left there but a few columns and stones. However, when I actually reached that place, I was stunned by Delphi’s ethereal beauty and historical significance. The ruins of ancient Delphi lie less than a mile east of the modern town of Delphi (which is small and insignificant).

Situated at the top of the Mount Parnassos, the breathtaking view of ancient Delphi channels mysticism, history and unique culture. This is the place where Zeus marked the center of the world, God Apollo slayed the serpent, the oracle uttered her prophecies that influenced ancient Greek history, the Pythian Games came about and the Greeks worshiped their gods with incredible offerings. Delphi couldn’t be a more beautiful place for a temple to Apollo.

According to ancient legends, the first settlement of Delphi was a shrine of the Earth Mother, Gaia. Ice-age people worshiped her divine powers. When the Mycenaeans lived in the village, Delphi was already known for its divine oracle and prophecies around the second millennium B.C. (according to the International Dictionary of Historic Places, book).

Red-Figure Squat Lekythos (Oil Vessel): Birth of Erichthonios, c. 420–410 BCE, attributed to Meidias Painter, Greek, Attic, active c. 420–400 BCE. A closeup of a vase, The Cleveland Museum of Art.

The seated earth goddess Gaia or Ge handing her baby, Erichthonios, to Athena. Conceived from the seed of Hephaistos, Erichthonios would go on to become a king of Athens, and the story of his birth became popular in Athenian art of the 5th century BC.

In antiquity, reaching an important cultural cult center and sanctuary of Delphi would be a long and tough journey traveling from Attica or other places. It would be a place of cleansing, worship and rich offerings to receive guidance from the oracle. The messengers sent to enquire of the oracle entered the sanctuary only after being purified in the Kastalian Spring. The ancient Greeks consulted the Delphic Oracle as she spoke the truth channeling prophecies coming from God Apollo himself.

When you reach Delphi, you’ll see the ruins and foundations of both temples and votive offerings in the Sacred Way with some reconstruction and artifacts in the archeological museum. The sanctuary got destroyed after the last Roman Emperor, Theodosius I, in the name of Christianity, wiped out the temple of Apollo and art in the sanctuary around 390 AD. Only in the 17th century, considerable interest emerged with major excavations taking shape in the 19th century. Greece became independent from Turks in 1829, and archaeologists began researching the site. They removed a small village built atop Delphi and unearthed the ancient ruins in late 19th century. In 1935, the archeologists found a pit below the paving of the Sacred Way filled with precious materials that got destroyed in the earthquake of 548 B.C. They included parts of the chryselephantine statues (female head made in bronze and gold), miniatures, silver bull fragments, and other artifacts now displayed at the Museum of Delphi. You can also see some pretty amazing archeological finds like the Naxian Sphinx and the bronze charioteer.

Stop by a small and beautiful town, Arachova on your way to Delphi. Have some coffee there and climb up the stairs to see a local church. You’ll find a perfect spot for selfies with a stunning landscape below.

Bronze charioteer of Delphi face closeup — The Charioteer, closeup of a bronze sculpture done in Classical period, 478 BC, 1,82m in height.

*The Oracle, Camillo Miola (Biacca), Italian, (1840 – 1919); 1880; Oil on canvas; 108 x 142.9 cm (42 1/2 x 56 1/4 in.);* The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles has a painting called The Oracle by Camillo Miola (Biacca), 42x56in, 1880. **This painting depicts the Oracle of Delphi (Pythia) chosen by Apollo.**

The Tholos of Delphi

One of the most interesting ancient Greek buildings is the Tholos of Delphi. It’s a masterpiece of ancient Greek architecture because of its elaborate decoration, polychromies and exceptional craftsmanship. In antiquity, the Tholos would stand out among the monuments of the Sanctuary of Athena Pronaia, which was the first sanctuary encountered by the pilgrims arriving from Attica or Boeotia.

Dated to the early 4th century BC, the circular edifice consists of a core structure built from the Pentelic marble originating from the Mount Penteli in Attica. Theodoros from Phocaea was the architect of this building because the Roman architect- Vitruvius mentioned his name in the book titled “De Architectura.”The floor was made of white marble in the center and dark limestone from Eleusis towards the circumference.

The marble roof had layered square panels and bows. The outside space had decorations in the shape of dancing women, clay tiles or marble slabs.

Comprised of twenty Doric columns, the outer colonnade supported a frieze with triglyphs and metopes. What we see today at the site is just three columns that were restored in the 1930s to give us better visual reference of the building. You can see the smaller interior metopes of the tholos in the nearby museum. These are broken pieces of figures from Greek mythology and history.

Delphi-Greek Doric order-architectural style. Delphi architecture — Delphi. **Greek Doric order architectural style** features the triglyphs, metopes and the Anthemion flower decorating the frieze of the outer colonnade. **Triglyph** is a vertically channeled angular tablet that defines the Doric style. **Metopes** are either painted or sculptured decorations set between these triglyphs. (The Parthenon of Athens has 92 metopes). **The Anthemion flower** is one of the main decorations in Greek architecture and pottery. If we take off the triglyphs and metopes of the Greek building, it would become made in the Tuscan order, not the Doric one).

The Anthemion shape found on a pottery, Delphi Museum

**The Tholos of Delphi** with three reconstructed columns and the ruins of cella with a staircase. The building was destroyed in fire in the 1st century B.C. It was partly restored in 1938.

The cella or ‘temple’ is the inner, windowless chamber with a door in ancient Greek buildings. It usually contained a cult statue or a table with precious offerings. In the Tholos of Delphi, the inner colonnade of ten Corinthian style half-columns decorated the circular wall inside the cella. The relief metopes of the outer frieze had the scenes of Centauromachy and Amazonomachy, now on display in the Archaeological Museum of Delphi. The conical roof also had sculptural decorations. The original function of the building is unknown. It was possibly associated with the cult of Mother Earth, the first divinity worshipped in the sanctuary.

The open area of circular Halos, which means the “threshing-floor” used to have religious significance with a ritual held every eight years in that place. The ritual showed reenactment of the god Apollo slaying the serpent. The boy who impersonated Apollo walked the Doloneia staircase situated at the rear of the Halos. There were 4 semi-circular exedras built surrounding the Halos in antiquity with just two of them preserved today. Exedra means a portico or arcade with a bench or seats for people to converse.

The Tholos observed from the Temple of Apollo

**“Polychromy” means “many colors” in Greek.** There are traces of colors left on some ancient Greek sculptures that show cinnabar red, yellow ochre, carbon-based black, and blue pigments.

“Kunsthistorische Bilderbogen”, Verlag E. A. Seemann, Leipzig. Picture is in the public domain.

This is a reconstruction of the Polychrome decoration characteristic of the ancient Greek architectural style.

The Omphalos of Delphi

The Oracle; Camillo Miola (Biacca) (Italian (Neapolitan), 1840 – 1919); 1880; Oil on canvas; 108 x 142.9 cm (42 1/2 x 56 1/4 in.);

The Rock of Sibyl: The oldest cult center in Delphi was made of rocks fallen from the Phaedriades, dark limestone cliffs on mount Parnassos. According to a local tradition, the first prophetess of Delphi, the Sibyl Hierophile, stood here to utter her oracles. It’s believed she had foreseen the fall of Troy. The ancient sanctuary of Earth (Ge) appeared around the sacred spring in this area, meaning that Delphi was the center of the world.

A copy of **The Omphalos of Delphi** displayed in the archeological museum of Delphi. The original stood in the adyton, where Pythia gave the prophecies or oracles. Hellenistic period. Marble. Delphi. Height: 1,23 m, Diameter: 0,92 m.

The sacred omphalos of Delphi (or navel-stone), believed to have fallen from the heavens. Devoid of artistic shape, it was a conical stone thrown down by Zeus to find the center of the world, the Earth’s navel. According to the Greek myth, Zeus released two golden eagles to fly in the opposite directions from the Mount Olympus. These two birds met over Delphi and Zeus threw down a stone there, which became the Earth’s navel thereafter.

This marble representation of the omphalos is a Hellenistic or Roman copy of the Archaic omphalos, which was kept in the adyton inside the temple of Apollo. The adyton was a restricted area within the cella of a Greek or Roman temple. It was the most sacred part of the temple, often located at the end of the cella, and translates to “innermost sanctuary, shrine” or “not to be entered”. The ancient writings suggest that the sacred tripod, prophetic laurel and omphalos were all kept in the adyton of the Temple of Apollo, where Pythia pronounced her oracles.

The relief decoration of the stone imitates the weave of the agrenon, the thick woolen net with attached bands of wool that covered the original sacred omphalos stored inside the adyton. There were many copies of the sacred omphalos that existed at the sanctuary. The exhibited stone may have been the one witnessed by the travel writer Pausanias in the 2th century AD. According to him, the tied bands had the points with gorgon-shaped precious stones. The two golden eagles were affixed to its top.

It's quite fascinating to learn that the omphalos played an important role in the oracle's predictions, suggesting that Pythia talked to Gods and channeled her oracles through this stone. Moreover, it's speculated that Apollo buried the Python (that was the Earth's spirit) under the Omphalos and that allowed for this communication.

The Delphic Tripod: Apollo, Hercules & Pythia

The Oracle; Camillo Miola (Biacca) (Italian (Neapolitan), 1840 – 1919); 1880; Oil on canvas; 108 x 142.9 cm (42 1/2 x 56 1/4 in.);
Painting detail showing the Oracle of Delphi seating on the Delphic Tripod uttering the prophesies. This Delphic tripod was a chair on which the oracle set.

Apollo as the oracular god, Dionysus as his brother

The Greek god Apollo arrived at Delphi around 1000 B.C. In legends and myths, the oracle of the earth goddess, Gaia was guarded by a great serpent, the python. Apollo killed the serpent with an arrow and became known as the Pythian Apollo. Apollo is the most important oracular god in ancient Greece. He helped ancient Greeks navigate decision-making by knowing the future and communicating thoughts of his father, Zeus. Therefore, the oracle was so important to the nation, giving people the divine guidance they needed to live their life.

So consultations with the oracle took place in the temple of Apollo on a monthly basis. The rituals happened inside the temple’s adyton. A priestess sat upon a tripod to cry out her oracles. Following a purification ritual at the Castalian spring, she believed to be in a trance answering questions of the visitors. Some important outcries got engraved on stone. Those cries received interpretation of priests and were written down into verses. People asked different questions in regards to their personal life, military and religious conquests. The city-states also asked questions that were written down on a sealed tablet to travel back to them. According to the museum’s description, 615 prophecies were saved in literary sources and inscriptions. The interpretation of such prophecies or oracles was ambiguous because the person who asked the question could interpret them as well. Therefore, God Apollo was also known as Loxias or ambiguous. He represented the best virtues, mainly art, music, poetry, beauty, health, and reasonable behavior.

Attributed to the Nikon Painter, Terracotta lekythos (oil flask), ca. 460?450 B.C., Terracotta, H. 15 in. (38.1 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Leon Pomerance, 1953 (53.224)

Apollo’s younger brother Dionysus, was also worshiped at Delphi. In ancient Greco-Roman sculpture, Dionysus has a beautiful slender body and long, wavy hair, and sometimes is thought to be Apollo and vice versa. Dionysus was the god of wine and irrational behavior. The two gods were worshiped at different times of the year.

John Collier, Priestess of Delphi, 1891, oil on canvas, 160 cm (62.9 in); width: 80 cm (31.4 in), Art Gallery of South Australia. The artist imagines Pythia sitting on a tripod with vapor rising from a crack in the earth beneath her.

There are several known inscriptions that came from the Delphic oracle. In 680 B.C., an oracle ordered citizens of Megara to found the city of Byzantium (Constantinople/ İstanbul). In 547 B.C., Croesus, the king of Lydia, was told that he would destroy a great kingdom if he crossed the Halys River. He did so, was defeated by the Persians, and it was his own kingdom that was destroyed. In 480 B.C., Athens was threatened by Persian military forces. The oracle told the Athenians that they would be unconquerable behind a wooden rampart. This prophecy proved to be true: an Athenian fleet composed of wooden boats defeated the Persians at the decisive battle of Salamis. Many other of the oracle’s pronouncements influenced political and economic decisions of importance in the Mediterranean world. In return for the oracle’s advice the temple received numerous valuable gifts. The remains of some of these treasures can be seen in the Delphi Museum. (International Dictionary of Historic Places).

The Father of Psyche Consulting the Oracle of Apollo-Baron Gerard-1796-JPGetty Museum, Delphi history — The Father of Psyche Consulting the Oracle of Apollo by Baron François Gérard, 1796, pen and brown and gray ink, brown and gray wash, and gouache, over black chalk,18.9 × 14.6 cm (7 7/16 × 5 3/4 in.), The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.

In the picture, Psyche and her mother enter the temple of Apollo at the moment when the oracle delivers message from the god. With his pointed finger, Apollo prophecies that beautiful Psyche will marry a monster. While the girl falls into a despair in her mom’s arms, her father and Cupid stay calm suggesting reason over emotion.

Simonides Consulting the Oracle of Apollo 1475 JP Getty museum — *Unknown illuminator, **Simonides Consulting the Oracle of Apollo, 1475**, tempera colors, gold leaf, and gold paint, Leaf: 43.8 × 30.5 cm (17 1/4 × 12 in.), JP Getty museum, Los Angeles.*

This is one of the pages from the illuminated manuscript depicting the Oracle of Apollo.

Apollo slaying the serpent Python in Greek mythology

Apollo standing at left shooting a python with an arrow, above to the left are the muses and at right on a cloud Cupid approaching Apollo, from “Story of Apollo and Daphne”, engraving, Master of the Die, Italian, After Baldassare Tommaso Peruzzi, Italian, 1530–60. The Met. http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/364035

In Greek mythology, Apollo was the son of the king of all gods, Zeus (Jupiter) and a Titan mother, Leto, goddess of darkness. Apollo was one of the twelve gods of Olympus. Python was a gigantic serpent, the son of Gaea (the Earth goddess and the first goddess of the sanctuary), that lived inside the Earth in Delphi in accordance with the ancient Greeks belief. Hera, the wife of Zeus, got upset and decreed to kill Leto before giving birth to her child. Eventually, Leto gave birth to twins in a cave, Apollo and Artemis (Diana), the god of light and the sun and the goddess of the moon and the hunt. Hera sent the python to kill them but baby Apollo protected his family and slayed the serpent shooting arrows with his bow. Apollo's punishment for that act was his servitude to King Admetus as a cowherd for 9 years.

A closeup of “Latona and Her Children, Apollo and Diana,” William Henry Rinehart, American, 1870, carved 1874, (Leto in Greek).

In classical, Greco-Roman sculpture Apollo is the ideal of male physical beauty. He was shown nude with arrows and a bow, young, tall, fit, beardless, with long wavy hair collected in a bow-like not and beautiful, well-proportioned face. There are many depictions of Apollo in art history. I think the most beautiful ones are the "Belvedere Apollo" in the Vatican and Bernini's "Apollo and Daphne" in Rome. Below you'll find the most beautiful sculptures of god Apollo.

**Belvedere Apollo, Marble. H. 2.24 m, 7 ft. 4 in, the Vatican.** This marble statue is thought to be a copy of a bronze original by the Greek sculptor Leochares from the 2nd century. Usually, it’s on view in the Vatican but it’s under restoration in 2024. Image author: Livioandronico2013 via wikimedia commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
You can also see a life-size plaster cast of the Belvedere Apollo in the Wilcox Classical Museum Collection at the University of Kansas https://wilcox.ku.edu/s/wilcox/item/11600 https://www.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani/en/collezioni/musei/museo-pio-clementino/Cortile-Ottagono/apollo-del-belvedere.html

Apollo the archer in Pompeii — **Apollo as an Archer** (**Apollo Saettante**), found in **Pompeii**, Italy in 1817. Roman, 100 B.C.–before A.D. 79; Bronze, 57 7/8 x 21 5/8 x 44 7/8 in. (147 x 55 x 114 cm).
This bronze sculpture of Apollo was buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD and discovered in early 19th century after the discovery of another bronze sculpture of the Apollo’s twin sister-Artemis. This statue was conserved at the J. Paul Getty Museum in 2009 and 2010.

Apollo’s eye from the sculpture in Pompeii, photo: JP Getty Museum. 500-100 BC, marble, obsidian, glass and copper.

Cleveland Apollo, the eyes, 350–200 BCE, The Cleveland Museum of Art

Apollo and Daphne, Bernini 1625-veronica winters art blog — Bernini, **Apollo and Daphne,** marble, 1625, the Borghese gallery, Rome.

In Greek mythology, Apollo, the god of light, poetry, and music, falls in love with Daphne, a nymph and the daughter of the river god Peneus. Apollo angered the **Cupid, Eros,** the god of love, by mocking his bow and archery skills after killing the Python. In retaliation, Eros shot two arrows: one hit Apollo with a golden tip, causing him to fall in love with the first person he saw, and the other hit Daphne with a lead tip, making her hate romantic advances. When Apollo chases her, she calls for help from her father. Peneus transforms Daphne into a laurel tree to protect her. Apollo later adorns his lyre with the laurel leaves and crowns the victors with laurel leaves. This depiction of Apollo and Daphne comes from the Ovid’s Metamorphoses.

**Statue of Eros stringing his bow**, marble, 350-330 BC, a Roman copy from the Capitoline Museum of a Greek original by Lysippos; 2nd century AD; marble; height: 123 cm; Capitoline Museum, RomePhoto: Marie-Lan Nguyen. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Generic license.

**Marble statue of Apollo with a kithara and quiver or the Apollo of Cyrene, the British Museum**, London. Marble, Roman copy of a Hellenistic original of about 200-150BC. Excavated from the Temple of Apollo at Cyrene (modern Libya). Height: 2.28 meters (7 ft. 6 in.) © The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license. This statue was discovered broken into many pieces by the British explorers and re-assembled to view at the museum today.

Torso of Apollo
c. 100–200 CE — Torso of Apollo, c. 100–200 CE, Marble, 90 cm (35 7/16 in.), Roman, Italy, the Cleveland Museum of Art.

From the museum’s description: Both the kithara, decorated with griffins, and the swan upon which it rests, signify Apollo’s roles as the god of music and leader of the Muses. **Apollo received his lyre from Hermes, who invented it.** **Swans were considered sacred to Apollo because he gave them the gift of prophecy**. Swans sing a glorious song before they die, knowing they will soon return to Apollo to be reborn.

Marble statue of the so-called **Apollo Lykeios,** Roman, 130–161 CE, the Met, This is a Roman copy of a Greek bronze of the mid-4th century B.C. often attributed to Praxiteles. This famous statue of Apollo stood in the outdoor gymnasium near Athens. The legs got restored from many shuttered pieces. http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/247002

The Cleveland Apollo or Apollo Sauroktonos (Lizard-Slayer) or Apollo the Python-Slayer
c. 350–200 BCE, The Cleveland Museum of Art, attributed to Praxiteles, (Greek, Athenian, c. 400–330 BCE)
or Follower, Greece, Athens, Bronze, copper, and stone inlay, Overall: 150 x 50.3 x 66.8 cm (59 1/16 x 19 13/16 x 26 5/16 in.), Weight: 52.2 kg

Sculpture by **Pietro Francavilla of Apollo**‘s first triumph, when he slew with his bow and arrows the serpent Python, which lies dead at his feet. The Walters Art Museum. In my opinion, this is not the best sculpture of Apollo but it’s a famous example within the US.

Apollo of Sparta statue in Athens — Apollo of Sparta, Museum in Athens. Marble. 2nd century AD, a marble copy of a famous bronze statue of Apollo Parnopios (450 BC) created by Pheidias.

Apollo or Dionysus in Athens museum, marble.

Contemporary statue of God Apollo in Athens

Apollo & Heracles fight over the Delphic Tripod

**Apollo and Heracles struggle for the Delphic tripod**. Side A from an Attic red-figure stamnos, c. 480 BC. Louvre, wikimediacommons image.

In Greek mythology, Hercules and Apollo, half-brothers by Zeus, fight over the Delphic tripod in a story that appears in numerous vase paintings. Hercules travels to Apollo's sanctuary at Delphi to consult the oracle, but when she doesn't give him the answer he wants, he becomes enraged and tries to steal the tripod to establish his own oracle. Apollo, who holds the tripod sacred, intervenes and the two half-brothers wrestle over it. Hercules is supported by his patron Athena, while Apollo is supported by his sister Artemis. Zeus eventually tries to break up the fight by throwing a thunderbolt between the brothers. After they are separated, Hercules receives an oracle that condemns him to atone for his crime by serving as a slave to Eurytus for three years. Hercules eventually returns the tripod to Apollo and reconciles with him.

Apollo and Heracles fight for the Delphic tripod displayed at the Met. Terracotta amphora (jar)
Signed by Andokides, Attributed to the Andokides Painter, Attributed to the Lysippides Painter, ca. 530 BCE

The temple of Apollo in the 4-6th century B.C.

http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/391072

The Temple of Apollo at Delphi, was first built of stone in the 8th century B.C. The ruins of Delphi are of the third temple that survived until the Romans. This first temple was destroyed in fire in 548 B.C. and the second one was destroyed in the earthquake in 373 B.C. The third and last temple of Apollo got purposefully destroyed with the rise of Christianity around 390 AD. Roman emperors wiped out pagan culture in Greece including the Sanctuary of Apollo. Both interest and excavations to this site emerged in the 17th century. (International Dictionary of Historic Places, page 183-186.)

**The Temple of Apollo**, a closeup showing the ruins and the altar of the third temple of Apollo ( the altar made and dedicated by the people of Chios)

The Apollo Sanctuary map, copyright international dictionary of historic places book

The first Temple of Apollo was the centerpiece of the sanctuary as the abode of the god and the seat of the oracle. By the 6th century BC, its fame had spread throughout the entire world. The first Temple of Apollo was founded by the god himself, according to the Homeric Hymn to Apollo. However, the fire of 548 B.C. destroyed it.

The second temple of Apollo

After the fire the Temple of Apollo got rebuilt on a much larger scale. The Greeks extended the length of the terrace of the temple. They built a long retaining wall with the polygonal blocks and curved joints to keep the ground in place. This construction of the temple lasted for many years and required enormous financing raised in generous contributions of Greek cities, colonies and foreign rulers. The administration of this new temple was associated with the Alcmaeonids, an aristocratic Athenian family that was living in exile during the tyranny of Peisistratus. The Amphictyony entrusted the completion of the building to the Alcmaeonid family in 510 BC. In order to receive the god’s patronage as well as the alliance of Greek cities in their struggle against political adversaries, Herodotus wrote that the Alcmaeonids used marble for the temple’s facade, instead of poros (tufa) as got planned in the contract. They also hired famous Athenian sculptor (possibly Antenor) to create sculptures and decoration for the temple. These impressive statues of poros and marble were found in fragmentary condition during the excavations. Placed in compositions, these statues adorned huge gables measuring 2.35 m in height by 19.40 m in width. The result is a visual harmony between restrained sculptural decorations and austere Doric order of the temple.

The west pediment got decorated with moving figures, depicting the Gigantomachy (the battle between the Olympian gods and giants). The east pediment has static figures in «hieratic stillness» being in awe of Apollo’s arrival at Delphi. Great classical poets and pilgrims praised the Alcmaeonids and the Athenians for the creation of the Panhellenic sanctuary for over a century.

The 373BC earthquake destroyed the temple of the Alcmaeonids. The rockfall buried much of the construction including the statue of the Charioteer we can see in the museum today. The Amphictyony was busy fundraising for the temple’s construction throughout Greece but most of the funds came from the fine imposed on the Phocians for looting the sanctuary during the ten-year Third Sacred War. A recorded testimony of plans, financial management, and technical methods of the site’s construction is left in the inscriptions on the stone stelae found during the excavations.

The third temple of Apollo

The third, peripheral Doric temple opened in 330 BC. It had beautiful sculptural decorations set on the pediments that depicted god Apollo and the Muses on the east side and Dionysus and the Thyiads (or Maenads) on the west side. Persian shields, taken by the Athenians at the Battle of Marathon, were nailed to the metopes.

Archeological excavations didn’t reveal much about the temple’s interior space as it was destroyed to the ground. It’s assumed that the gilded statue of Apollo stood in the cella. There were wall engravings, and the oracular tripod and the navel-stone would be found under the cella’s floor.

The Apollo sanctuary model presented at the Delphi museum

In recent years, the systematic re-examination of a number of sculptures that had laid neglected in the museum storeroom led to their identification. They were the statues of the two pediments which were previously believed to have been carried off by the Roman emperors. This discovery confirmed the description of the pediments given by Pausanias, who had seen the sculptures in situ in the 2nd century AD and provided us with the picture of two compositions shown in fragments in this display.

Art of the Athenian artists lacks the majesty and strength of the Archaic pediments of the earlier temple, but feature many innovations in iconography. The depiction of the two gods on the same monument and the unique representation of Dionysus as a kithara player. Apollo, the principal deity of the sanctuary concedes the west pediment of his temple and lends his favorite musical instrument, the kithara, to his brother, Dionysus. It appears that this relates to the official recognition of Dionysian worship at the Delphic sanctuary with the support of the temple priests at the time of the pediments’ construction in 340-330 BC. (*taken from the description inside the museum).

temple of Apollo view with the serpentine column-veronica winters art blog — The temple of Apollo with the Serpentine column, Delphi, Greece

The temple of Apollo and stoa of the Athenians, reconstruction, Delphi

Delphi history & archeology — This is a white-ground kylix found in a tomb in Delphi and displayed in the archeological museum. **Kylix** is a cup with a shallow bowl and a tall stem crafted in ancient Greece.

Created by the unknown vase-painter, the artist crowned Apollo with a wreath of myrtle leaves. The god seats on a fancy stool with legs in the shape of lion paws. Apollo wears a white peplos and red himation draped over his left shoulder. He plays a lyre with his left hand and offers libation with his right one, pouring wine. A black bird (a crow) accompanies Apollo that recalls his mythical love for the beautiful Aigle-Koroni, the daughter of king Phlegyas. 480-470 BC.

I took this picture in late afternoon in April, showing the Serpentine column and ruins of the Temple of Apollo. You can see the breathtaking view of the ruins and mountains.

Agora

Agora is a paved rectangular square with 3 stoas reserved for social interaction and commercial meetings that occurred in late antiquity around 4th century AD. There is only one out of three stoas preserved today. It had shops where visitors purchased their souvenirs and votives. Five small entrances led to the sanctuary of Apollo. The main entrance of the Sacred Way with the Pythian Games’ processions was the place for the Roman Agora in later times.

The Stoa of the Athenians

Built between 510- 470 B.C., the stoa of the Athenians was a building in the Ionic style that was located at the center of Apollo sanctuary. Measuring 30 meters long, Stoa housed the trophies from the Athenians’ naval victories. The facade had seven monolithic marble columns (four of which survive) supporting a wooden roof. The Stoa was supported by the polygonal retaining wall of the Temple of Apollo in its back.

The carved inscription, "ΑΘΗΝΑΙΟΙ ΑΝΕΘΕΣΑΝ ΤΕΝ ΣΤΟΑΝ ΚΑΙ ΤΑ ΗΟΠΛΑ ΚΑΙ ΤΑΚΡΟΤΕΡΙΑ ΕΛΟΝΤΕΣ ΤΟΝ ΠΟΛΕΜΙΟΝ", notes that the Athenians dedicated the stoa, the ropes from the boats and the prow figureheads to the god after defeating the Persians. The building appears to have been constructed with public funds to promote Athens' leading role in the victory against the Persians at the Pan-Hellenic sanctuary of Delphi.

Archeology of Delphi — I think it’s really interesting to see how the ancient Greeks constructed their buildings. In some cases it looks like they repurposed much older structures, construction materials and methods of holding the stones together in their architecture.

The polygonal wall: Well-preserved polygonal retaining wall of the Temple of Apollo was built in the 6th century B.C. It provided support to the terrace with a temple for centuries. The construction blocks and their perfectly fitted curved joins is a construction that features precision and artistic perfection. Many carvings with about 800 inscriptions stretch across the entire length of the wall.

Τhe Sanctuary of Athena

In the Sanctuary of Athena, the goddess was worshipped as the patroness of wisdom, fertility and health. The eastern part of the precinct retains two porous stone foundations of the Archaic temples dedicated to Athena. These Doric-style temples date to the mid-7th century B.C. and to 500 B.C. respectively. The second temple had a surrounding colonnade consisting of six columns on its narrow sides and twelve columns on its long sides. Its interior consisted of two chambers, the pronaos (porch) and the cella. The cella would have had the cult statue of Athena inside it at that time. The earthquake destroyed this temple in 480 B.C.

The third temple of Athena was made of a local grey limestone in the mid-4th century B.C. in the western part of the precinct. The façade displayed six Doric columns. The opening between the pronaos and cella had two ionic columns. This temple didn’t have a surrounding colonnade.

The winged goddess, Nike was the symbol of victory who expressed the will of the gods in Greek myths. She named and rewarded the winners. Many Nikes were found at the sanctuary in Delphi coming from public buildings.

We can also find some meager remains of the two other buildings built around 500 B.C., located east of the temple. They are attributed to the precinct of the local hero Phylakos (Phylacus). According to Herodotus, the two heroes-Phylakos and Autonoos, defeated the Persians in 480 BC by hurling the stones down on them.

The Treasuries

Beyond the Sacred Way monuments you can find the ruins of over 20 treasuries in which gifts to the shrine were displayed. They had various architecture, offerings and dedication. Unfortunately, not much is left but the stones of some foundations. However, the Doric temple Treasury of the Athenians is reconstructed to view.

**The Siphnian Treasury** drawing shown inside the museum of Delphi.

Created in the Ionic order, the treasury is the first one built out of marble completely around 530 BC. It consisted of 3 types of marble – Siphnian, Naxian and Parian. This treasury had rich sculptural decorations, some depicting scenes from the Trojan war. It was painted in bright colors of blue, red, gold and green.

The pediment over the façade of the treasury depicted Zeus attempting to prevent Hercules from stealing the Delphi tripod. The marble roof had sculptures and gutters depicting the lion heads. The pediment also had sculptures of Nikes and a sphinx.

Siphnian treasury north and south friezes exhibited at the Delphi museum.

There are two, small treasuries present among the non-religious structures in the precinct of Athena Pronaia. These treasuries were dedicated sanctuaries. One Doric-style treasury dates back to the 5th-century B.C. The second one is called the Treasury of the Massaliots. (Greek colonists of Massalia, modern Marseilles, who came from Phocaea in lonia). Built around 530 B.C., it looked like a small temple. The ionic order treasury consisted of gleaming Parian marble with two columns in its façade. The columns had the Aeolic capitals.

Delphes. Voie sacrée et Trésor des Athéniens; Frédéric Boissonnas (Swiss, 1858 – 1946); 1910; Heliogravure / Photolithograph; 14.4 × 22 cm (5 11/16 × 8 11/16 in.); JP Getty Art Collection.

View of a sacred pathway in Delphi. The path faces the Treasury of the Athenians.

**Reconstructed Treasury of the Athenians.** The sacred pathway faces the Treasury of the Athenians – stone building with two fluted Doric columns. Made of Parian marble, the **Athenian Treasury** looks like a mini-temple that was built with a purpose to keep the Athenian offerings to the Delphic oracle. The Doric frieze shows 30 metopes. The roof was made of marble painted in red. The Athenians built the Treasury after 490 B.C. to thank the god Apollo for their victory at the battle of Marathon. The sides have depictions of scenes from the life of Hercules and Theseus. There are many inscriptions inside this treasury related to the rituals dated from the 3d century BC. The most important inscription is a hymn to Apollo displayed in the Museum of Delphi: “The Athenians to Apollo from the Medes at the battle of Marathon”.

The metopes of **the Athenian treasury**, Delphi museum

We can find the stelae foundations left in front of the two treasuries. Their inscriptions recorded confiscations and debts to the sanctuary. In addition, Greeks placed a single pedestal with the Delphic trophy that marked expulsion of the Persians in 480 B.C.

To the North of the Treasury of the Siphnians stand the remains of the Treasury of the Megarians, dated to the end of the 6th century B.C. The building had several reconstructions and some have over 40 inscriptions, referring to the Megarians, dating to the 5th century B.C. The foundations and the wall with the inscriptions were restored in 1976.

The Sicyonian Treasury got built in the 6th century B.C in 3 phases, replacing two older monuments. It was dedicated to the victorious presence the tyrant of Sicyon Cleisthenes in the First Sacred War. It’s believed that one of the buildings contained the chariot with which Cleisthenes won the chariot race in the first Pythian Games of 582 BC.

The Theban Treasury was created of limestone in Doric style. Situated on the Sacred Way in the Sanctuary of Apollo, it was dedicated to the Thebans’ victory at Leuktra in 371 B.C. This was a rectangular building (12.29 x 7.21 meters). The local limestone of St. Elias was dark grey with some bluish shades that made it look plain, especially in comparison to the Treasury of the Siphnians. The architect made a lot of effort to design a very stable structure, decorated with a frieze, metopes and triglyphs in white marble. It probably had no columns but doors and a window illuminating the cella.

The Cyrenaean Treasury or the Treasury of the Cyreneans was probably the last treasury built in the sanctuary of Apollo. Dating back to 334-322 B.C., the Doric-style building was made of Pentelic and Parian marbles. The roof was made of marble as well with gargoyles in tubular and leonine forms. The engraved inscription suggests that it was an offering as a reward for the wheat they had offered during a famine.
The eastern edge of the precinct contains the remains of various altars, dating back to the 6th century B.C. Their inscriptions hold the names of the Gods to whom they were dedicated, including Zeus, Athena Ergane, Athena Zosteria, Eileithyia, and Hygiea.

The Theatre & The Pythian stadium

The theatre is considered being the best preserved monument in Delphi and in Greece. The Delphic theatre hosted musical and religious festivals, the oracular rituals and the Pythian Games dedicated to the victory of Apollo over the Python. The stadium was built around 450 BC where the Pythian Games began as musical contests. The ruins of the theatre and stadium have been excavated together.

The stadium that hosted the games is partially built into the side of Mount Parnassus. The original architectural finish of the theatre is unknown. It’s speculated that the spectators sat on wooden seats or on the ground. The first theatre was made of stone in the 4th century BC.

The restoration took place around 160 B.C. with the funds of Eumenes II, king of Pergamon. The theatre’s present shape dates back to the early Roman period (1st century AD). The stones used for its construction came from the Mount Parnassos. Deep amphitheatrical shape had a seating capacity of 5,000 people. It was divided into two sections by a transverse corridor comprising 35 rows of seats.

The backstage flanked by two wings faced the seats and orchestra. There is only a foundation of this setup left today. Its facade, proskenium, or the part of a theatre stage in front of the curtain, was embellished with a relief frieze. The frieze depicted the labors of Herakles, now exhibited in the Archaeological Museum of Delphi. The frieze was probably added during the restoration period of 67 AD, at the time of the Roman emperor Nero’s visit to Delphi. Parts of the theatre walls have embedded inscriptions regarding the emancipation of slaves.

theatre Delphi, Greece — **The Pythian Games** were a series of athletic and musical competitions held every 4 years in ancient Greece to honor the god Apollo’s victory. **The name ‘Pythian Games’ comes from the myth of Apollo slaying the Python in Delphi.**

The games were one of the four Panhellenic Games, along with the Olympic, Nemean, and Isthmian Games. The Pythian games originated in the 6th century B.C. and continued until the 4th century AD. The Pythian games featured competitions in a variety of events, including: athletics, music, poetry, chariot races, declamation, reading aloud, rhetoric, singing, and drama. This event was more than just a game. It was a big social and musical event with international crowds, diplomats and politicians showing their power. The winners of the athletic games brought fame to themselves and their cities. They also received trophies in a shape of tripods and laurel leaves.

Built around 4th century BC, the stadium of Delphi was about 178 meters long, situated at the highest spot in the sanctuary above the theatre. According to some inscriptions, it was called the “pythikon stadion” or the Pythian stadium. The total capacity of the stadium was about 6500 people. The stadium was abandoned in 394 A.D. Covered with earth, it became a place for pasture.

Τhe Stadium of Delphi is the best preserved stadium in Greece. It had 4 different constructions with tracks for athletes to compete. In the Roman period, they raised the track but reduced its length. The northern side of the stadium preserved 12 rows of seats divided by staircases in 12 tiers. The eastern side has a well-preserved start line, with two rows of slabs bearing incisions for the feet.

The gymnasium

Dated to 4th century BC, the Gymnasium of Delphi nestled between the Castalia fountain and the sanctuary of Athena Pronaia. It consisted of several buildings including baths and restaurants. The running track (paradromis) was 6 meters wide and 172 meters long. The upper terrace had a long portico of 83 Doric columns used for athletics (xystos), which measured 9,05 x 185,95 m, the length of a Pythic stadium. Sand covered the floor for athletes to exercise. The lower terrace had the Palaestra ( ancient Greek wrestling school) and a pool with a sanctuary.

Monuments of the Sacred Way

The Sacred Way in Delphi was a short road that led up to the temple of Apollo. The stone paving slabs covering the Sacred Way belong to late antiquity. Lined up with incredible monuments, sculpture, and treasuries on both sides, this road represented the wins in ancient Greek history as the Greeks and the wealthy made these offerings to the gods. As such, Delphi was an important art center because skillful art and sculpture were created by famous Greek artists and offered as votives to the gods. Unfortunately, only the bases of these incredible monuments exist today. However, they have so many inscriptions there that the Delphic sanctuary is probably the largest open-air library of real ancient texts in existence now.

The serpentine column was the closest to the altar standing next to a bronze sculpture of Apollo (now missing).

One of famous votives originally placed near the Temple of Apollo was a bronze bull (now missing) with a stone base existing today. Presented by the Corcyrans, this sculpture was made by Theopropos in 5th century BC.

The votive of the Arcadians consisted of 9 bronze statues including Apollo. The Arcadians dedicated it to Apollo after they plundered Laconia in 370 BC. Only the base exists today.

There were two different votives of the city of Argos, one glorified their victory over Spartans in 457BC.

1. **The stoa of king Attalus I.** Dated to late 3d century BC, this is probably a 2-storey stoa of Attalus with 10 Doric columns decorating the facades of each floor. The stoa got converted into a cistern for baths’ water supply in the 4th century AD.
**The Altar of the Chiots.** The people of Chiots paid for this monument in the 5th century BC. There is an inscription on the base of the altar stating that the Chios had the right to consult the oracle before other Greeks.
2. Aemillus Paulus statue on a pedestal. This is the equestrian statue of the Roman consul who defeated the king of Macedon Perseus at Pydna in 168 BC. The statue stood on a 12meter base and the pedestal’s frieze depicted the battle scenes from the battle of Pydna. This is considered being the first historical relief, in which the Romans defeated the last Greek Macedonian king. The frieze is on view at the museum of Delphi.
3. **The Sun God statue on a pedestal**. Located behind the Serpentine column as a foundation only today, the pedestal supported a gilded chariot of the Sun God, Ilios, patron of the island of Rhodes. This monument became the votive of the Rhodians in late 4th century AD.

4. **The Tripod of the Plataeans or the Serpentine Column.** All 31 states of Greece contributed to the creation and installment of this votive monument in Delphi.
**The Delphi tripod** was an offering to god Apollo from the Greeks who won over the Persian Empire at the Battle of Plataea in 479 BC. The Greeks collected the spoils of their victory and dedicated 1/10 of it to cover the cost of making the golden tripod with caldron. The golden tripod was set on a 7.5m tall, bronze column with a 3-headed serpent.
The Phocians melted down the gold from the tripod during the third Sacred War (354-343 BC), while Constantine the Great transferred the serpentine column to Constantinople founded in 330 AD. It still stands in the Hippodrome area in Istanbul, Turkey.
* These museum’s descriptions are adapted to English for better reading experience.

The Serpentine Column

Serpent Column or Delphi Tripod — **The Serpent Column or Plataean Tripod** standing in Delphi today is a copy of the original taken from the sanctuary by Constantine the Great and placed in the Hippodrome of Constantinople in 324 BC (Istanbul) where you’ll find it today.
The serpentine column consisted of an in scripted base with 13 coils (inscribed 31-Greek states who fought with the Persians), three bronze intertwined snakes, and a golden tripod with cauldron (long missing). Based on some Ottoman illustrations, the serpent heads existed at the top of the column until the 17th century.

At Meydani square, Hippodrome of Constantinople, Serpent Column, Obelisk of Theodosius-Aubry de la Mottraye, Constantinople, 1727. Image from wikimediacommons

griffin heads in Delphi archeological museum-veronica winters art blog — Griffin heads that often decorated the caldrons, Delphi archeological museum

The votive offering of Daochos

Daochos monument with Agias, Delphi — Daochos monument with Agias, Classical period, 339 – 334 BC, Parian marble.

The offering consisted of nine statues placed on a long, narrow base. This sculptural group is one of the most important offerings made by a private person to the Delphic sanctuary of Apollo. According to the inscription on its base, the offering was commissioned by Daochos II of Pharsala, tetrarch of Thessaly and hieromnemon (Sacred Recorder) of the Delphic Amphictyony, 339-334 BC. At the right end stood a statue of Apollo. Next to the god stood six statues of Daochos’s ancestors starting with the genarch Aknonios, who presents his family to the god as follows: Agias, Telemachos, Agelaos, Daochos I, Sisyphos I, Daochos II himself, and his son, Sisyphos II.

The inscription mentions the names and most important accomplishments of the family members. The statue of Agias (top center), great-grandfather of Daochos II is a renowned athlete of the pankration in the 5th century BC. He was a repeat winner in all of the Panhellenic games. This group is attributed to the famed sculptor Lysippos or his school. * Taken from writing inside the museum of Delphi.

The giant Naxian Sphinx

Greek Kouros

Kleobis and Biton, sons of Hera’s priestess, Greek Kouros in Delphi, Archaic period, 610 BC, height: 1,97 m, Parian marble. Discovered at the Apollo sanctuary, they were made by the sculptor Polymedes of Argos and dedicated to Apollo by the people of Argos.
According to the museum’s description, Herodotus tells us a myth about two brothers, Kleobis and Biton. They helped their mother, Hera, to pull her chariot to the sanctuary and as a reward, the goddess granted them a peaceful death in their sleep.

The Charioteer

Horseshoe-shaped monument

This monument had over 18 marble sculptures dating to the 3d century BC. One of the statues shows “the Delphi Philosopher.”

The Lesche of the Knidians

Lesches were places for public gatherings in antiquity. Located not far from the Theatre, the lesche looked like a rectangular hypostyle chamber built around 5 century BC. (Hypostyle is a building with a roof supported by pillars in many rows).

It became famous because of the paintings depicting the Fall of Troy and the Odysseus Descent to Hades done by a famous artist- Polygnotus.

The column with the dancers

Column with 3 dancers in Delphi — Column with 3 dancers and the omphalos stone (right) in Delphi. Classical period, 330 BC, pentelic marble.
Decorated with the acanthus leaves, this base supported an 11m column with 3 dancers at its top. It’s speculated that the omphalos stone crowned the column with dancers. Their height exceeds 2m, while originally the column was around 11m high.

The Statue of Antinoos

Antinoos-closeup-Delphi-veronica winters art blog — Antinoos, closeup, Parian marble, Roman period, 130 AD, Delphi.

Antinoos sculpture Delphi — Antinoos, Parian marble, Roman period, 130 AD, Delphi.

Antinoos was a very young and beautiful man who was a companion of the Emperor Hadrian (117-138 AD). Antinoos had barely reached adulthood when he drowned in the Nile. The Emperor was upset greatly and ordered to make a lot of statues and monuments dedicated to the man for god-like worship, rituals and admiration in his honor. One of such sculptures was found in Delphi during the excavations. The statue was still shinning because of oil used in antiquity to polish the skin. The holes in his hair served as attachments for a bronze laurel leaf wreath to crown the boy’s head. Both the presidents of the Pythian games and the priest placed this statue in the sanctuary. http://odysseus.culture.gr/h/4/eh430.jsp?obj_id=4672

Greek Sphinxes and griffins — I took this picture at the archeological museum in Delphi. It looks like a demonic sphinx figure, although it could be a gorgon.

golden griffin in Delphi museum-veronica winters blog — The golden griffin on display in Delphi museum.

The Helmet Crest with a copper inlay, bronze, 5th century BCE, the Delphi Museum

These are some of the votive offerings found in the Sacred Way area pit near the Athenian Treasury. These bronze heads are parts of three life-sized chryselephantine statues dating to the 6th century BC!

**Bronze incense burner:** A young woman, wearing a long peplos and reticulated head-dress, holds up a hemispherical cauldron in which the incense was placed. A pierced lid covers the top of the vessel. 460-450 BC.

There are four monuments dated from classical antiquity: Lysander, Marathon, Argos and Tarantinians. Those were the monuments that pilgrims faced entering the temple of Apollo from the main entrance. A school and a small village occupied the site of the sanctuary after the 15th century AD.

The votive of Lysander or the Spartan Admirals votive

The Spartans created this votive in 404 B.C. dedicating it to their victory over the Athenians in the battleship at Aegos Potamoi (405 B.C.). The recording of this monument exists thanks to Pausanias and Plutarch. According to the architect Didier Laroche’s study, the votive had a form of a rectangular pedestal with 39 bronze statues. The erection of the monument is connected with the rise of the hegemony of Sparta and the decadence of the Athenian democracy. Facing the Sacred Way, the front side of this monument depicted Greek military figures and gods- Dioskouri, Zeus, Apollo, Artemis, Lysander (the winner of the battleship), Ermonas (the commander of the flagship), Agias, etc. The statues located on three other sides depicted the admirals of the allied fleet, who defeated the Athenians with Lysander.

The votive of Marathon

This monument got placed on the south side of the Lysander’s monument after the Marathon battle. The votive is dated around 490 B.C. According to Pausanias, one-tenth of the spoils of the battle were used for its construction. The 15m-long, rectangular pedestal held 13 bronze statues that included the sculptures of Athena, Apollo, the general Miltiades and ten eponymous heroes, who according to the oracle of Delphi, gave their names to the Athenian tribes. The statues are attributed to the renowned sculptor of the classical antiquity- Phidias. Three more statues of the Great Alexander’s successors got added during the Hellenistic period.

The Trojan horse

After their victory against the Spartans in 414 B.C., Argos dedicated a bronze simulacrum of the Trojan Horse to commemorate their prominent victory. According to Pausanias’s description it was a work of Antiphanes from Argos. Today, only the stone plinths of the horse’s tiered pedestal and its fastening hole on the surface of one stone are preserved.

The votive of Tarantinias

The votive depicted bronze horses and women in captivity. Dedicated to Apollo, this votive comes from the residents of Tarans. They commemorated their victory over the Messapii in the beginning of the 5th century B.C. According to Pausanias, Ageladas, who descended from Argos, created this piece. In partially preserved pedestal, the inscription states “Taραντίνοι Ἀπόλλωνι από Μεσσαπίων [ελόντε)ς δεκάταν” “The Tarantians dedicated this to Apollo from the tenth of the spoils they seized from the Messaplans”.

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