The Oracle at Delphi

Crews Letter #2004 04 The Oracle at Delphi

To find the center of the world, the omphalos (“navel”), Zeus dispatched two eagles from the ends of the universe. Their meeting point was at Delphi.

Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen:

There in the foothills of Mount Parnassos, between two enormous rocks called the Phiadriades, the ancient Greeks built and maintained a sanctuary to Apollo. For many centuries this was the religious and spiritual center of the Greek world.

The quality and the extensiveness of the Delphi ruins are in the class with the Athens Acropolis, Knossos, Efes and Pergamon. The stories they tell are well worth the visit. There are some pictures on our site at Delphi. For a better collection, check out the Delphi Site.

The Temple of Apollo is massive in size. The columns were of Paros and Ionian marble. Paros is 290 miles away as the Albatross flies. The forth and last temple was completed in 510 BC. It is hard to imagine how you cut stone in the mountains of Paros, carry it down to the sea, sail it 290 miles and then carry it up to Delphi. Delphi is 570 metres above sea level.

At the left is the foundation and parts of six columns of the Apollo Temple.

To consult the Oracle, one brought gifts and a sacrificial animal. The question was then made by a priest to Pythian, the priestess. Her answer was interpreted by the priest. As is often the case when dealing with the future, clear answers did not have clear meanings.

Croesus, King of Lydia, during his war with Cyrus sought strategic direction. The Oracle replied:

“If Croesus crosses the river Aly, he will destroy a great kingdom.”

And so he did. It was Lydia that was destroyed.

At the head of Bençik Limani, the Dorian peninsula is at its narrowest, with Buyuk Cati on the other side in Gokova Korfezi. Herodotus tells us that when the Knidians were threatened by the Persians they set to work to dig a canal across here as a defensive measure. The red rock was evidently hard going, and on consulting the Oracle at Delphi they heard what they wanted to hear:

“If the peninsula had been meant to be an island then Zeus would have made it so.”

Work was abandoned, and when the Persians invaded, the Kinidians were forced to surrender. Herodotus doesn’t tell us what the Knidians had to say about the Oracle after that.

- Turkish Waters & Cyprus Pilot, Rod Heikell

But, of course, slaves and dead men do not have opinions.

The stadium is 177 metres long and 25 metres wide. It was used for athletic games and musical presentations. Note the starting gate with places for the athletes’ feet and square posts to designate the lanes.

The wealth of Delphi was pillaged by Nero. The spiritual value gutted by Christianity when the Holy Roman Empire declared all other religions heresy. How easy it is when a religion gets the government’s ear to declare a monopoly on God.

Science is such a religion.

At Philmont Scout Ranch, Fred had a colleague, Craig, who was studying geology. When Craig had a couple of days off he went to Albuquerque to read up on the mountains Philmont is in. After three days study, he had a very thorough understanding of when, where and how those mountains were formed. He also knew the evidence to support the knowledge. As luck would have it, the next group to visit the camp was from a Roman Catholic orphanage. The adults with this group, two laymen and a young priest, got the full explanation with tens of thousands of years here and hundreds of thousands of years there. When the lecture had run its course, the priest observed, “The God I believe in could have created all of this in a moment and left enough clues to confuse scientists for eons. And the God I believe in has a sense of humor that might cause him to do just that.”

If Zeus dispatched two eagles from the ends of the universe… Who is to say he didn’t? How does the naysayer know?

The harbor town that provides the closest access to Delphi is Itea. Here again, we find a marina that was built several years ago, eleven years in the case of Itea, and is not opened as a business. We stayed for free. What is missing is electricity, water, toilettes and showers. They are all here, but they are either not turned on or they are locked.

The people of this town are unusually pleasant even by Greek standards. And there is just about anything a yachtie could want. The bus to Athens runs 7 times a day and takes only three and a half hours. Two supermarkets and many produce and butcher shops. Tavernas. Internet cafes. Shops of all sorts. And it is quiet. Probably the most interesting person we met there was Jim. He, like us, is an American. He is a native of Itea who lives in Yuma, Arizona during the winter and runs a jewelry and relics reproduction shop in Itea during the season. He is a man with one foot firmly planted in each of two cultures. His perspective was good to listen to. He loves both and finds fault with each.

Mount Parnassos is a ski resort of 13 lifts and 16 pistes (25km). Delphi is in the foothills of Mount Parnassos. See their web site at Mount Parnassos.

Ease the sheet, please,

Phyl & Fred

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