the West section of the Sanctuary of Apollo
the West section of the Sanctuary of Apollo
22) The Treasury of the Potideans
6th c. B.C.
The Treasury was made out of limestone and was built around 500 B.C. by the colonial settlers of Corinth in Potidea Chalkidiki.
The two Kouros (Kleovis and Viton) statues, which are now exhibited in the Delphi Archaeological Museum, were found in the northwest part of the Treasury.
the West section of the Sanctuary of Apollo
23) The Treasury of the Athenians
490 - 485 B.C.
The Treasury of Athens is the most famous of Delphi Treasuries and one of the few whose original building material and decoration has been preserved.
It was restored by the French Archaeological School after the "Great Excavation" in 1905-1906 with funding provided by the Municipality of (modern) Athens.
The Treasury of the Athenians
It is believed that the Treasury was built around 490 - 485 B.C. on the foundations of an older treasure, which the Athenians had founded in the years of Solon, around 580 B.C.
The Sacred Way and the Treasury of the Athenians view from the North
Its dimensions are 6,621 x 9,687meters, and it has been made entirely with marble from the island of Paros. It consists of the cella* and the pronaos*. Two doric order columns, 4 meters in height at the facade, between the pilasters, hold the entablature with rich sculptural decoration.
A colored reconstruction of the building
The sculptural decoration of the Treasury consisted of thirty beautiful metopes* among the triglyphs, six on the small sides and nine on the long sides, all of them were saved however, they were not well preserved. The metopes are reproductions; the originals are exhibited at Museum of Delphi.
Each metope depicts scenes from the adventures of Heracles and of Theseus, as well as , from Amazonomachies. All of them together comprise the adventures and feats of the two heroes as independent scenes from a great ongoing adventure that continues from metope to metope on each side.
Heracles is depicted, on the north and west sides and equally divided on the south and east sides is Theseus, the mythical ancestor and beloved hero of Athens, who was given a more prominent position towards the side of the Sacred way.
Thesean metopes include:
- Theseus and Athena
- Theseus and Sinis
- Theseus and the Crommyonian sow
- Theseus and Sciron
- Theseus and Cercyon
- Theseus and Procrustes
- Theseus and the Bull of Marathon
- Theseus and the Minotaur
- Theseus and the Captive Amazon
Amazon Antiope. Metope 8. The hero, a mantle, himation, draped over his back, is poised to deliver the final blow to the Amazon who has fallen on her shield.
Heraklean metopes include:
- Heracles and the Nemean Lion
- Heracles and the Ceryneian Hind
- Heracles and the Centaur
- Heracles and Cycnus
- Heracles and Orthrus
- Cows of Geryon (three metopes)
- Geryon
Heracles and Cycnus
On the base platform of the Treasure were columns engraved with scripted texts and on the southern side there were other various inscriptions, honorific votes for the Athenians, descriptions of the Pythaitha and two hymns* to Apollo with musical symbols, unique sources of ancient Greek music (today they are exhibited in the Delphi Archaeological Museum).
The hymns to Apollo inscriptions
the Marathon votive
On the south face of the Treasury, a triangular base with ten places bears the inscription:
ΑΘΕΝΑΙΟΙ Τ[Ο]Ι ΑΠΟΛΛΟΝ[Ι ΑΠΟ ΜΕΔ]ΟΝ ΑΚ[ΡΟΘ]ΙΝΙΑ ΤΕΣ ΜΑΡΑΘ[Ο]ΝΙ Μ[ΑΧΕ]Σ
(= The Athenians dedicated this to Apollo as first-fruits from the Persians at the Battle of Marathon
The Navel, the Marathon votive and the treasury of the Athenians. View from the Southwest.
Cella: (from Latin for small chamber) or naos (from the Greek ναός, "temple") is the inner chamber of an ancient Greek or Roman temple in classical antiquity.
Pronaos and opisthodomos: In front of the naos, there is a porch, the pronaos, created by the protruding side walls of the naos (the antae), and columns placed between them. A door allows the naos to be accessed from the pronaos. A similar room at the back of the naos is called the opisthodomos. There is no door connecting the opisthodomos with the naos; its existence is necessitated entirely by aesthetic considerations: to maintain the consistency of the peripteral temple and to ensure its visibility from all sides, the execution of the front has to be repeated at the rear. A restricted space, the adyton, may be included at the far end of the naos, backing up on the opisthodomos.
metope: a rectangular architectural element that fills the space between two triglyphs in a Doric frieze, which is a decorative band of alternating triglyphs and metopes above the architrave of a building of the Doric order.
Hymnhymn: a metric composition whose text addresses a god, either directly or indirectly. They are the earliest formal type in Greek music, and survive in relatively large numbers
the West section of the Sanctuary of Apollo
26) The Treasury of the Knidians
6th c. B.C.
The only found traces of the Treasure of the Cnidians are some preserved elements from the foundation of the building. Knidos (or Cnidus) was a city in Asia Minor which, according to Herodotus, was founded by Lacedaemonian colonists.
The Cnidians had constructed two buildings in the Sanctuary of Apollo: the Treasury (archaic period) and the so called «Lesche», a kind of club for social gatherings dating from the classical period.
We know that the Treasury was made of marble and measured 5.13x6.60 m. It was built during the peak period of Knidos, around 555 -545 B.C., just before the city was occupied by the Persians (544 B.C.).
Before the Treasury of the Siphnos, the Treasury of the Cnidians was also built in Ionic order. Its entry, facing northeast, had two Caryatids, instead of two columns. Some fragments of the Caryatids have been preserved and today are exhibited in the Archaeological Museum of Delphi.
The votive inscription of the Treasure has also been found:
ΚΝΙΔΙΟΙ) ΤΟΝ ΘΗΣΑΥΡΟΝ ΤΟΝΔΕ ΚΑΙ ΤΑ ΑΓΑΛΜΑΤ(Α
ΑΠΟΛΛΩΝΙ) ΠΥΘΙΩ (ΑΝΕΘΕΝ) ΔΕΚΑΤ(ΑΝ ΑΠΟ ΤΩΝ ΠΟΛΕΜΩΝ
=
the Cnidians dedicated this Treasure and the statues to Pythian Apollo
with the tenth from what they seized from their enemies
Pausanias mentions that the Cnidians had placed inside the building a complex of statues representing Triopas (the founder of Knidos), standing in front of his horse, Leto and Apollo and Artemis. The two Gods were represented throwing arrows at a reclining and wounded Tityos (a giant in Greek mythology), as a punishment for insulting their mother.
the West section of the Sanctuary of Apollo
27) Bouleuterion (Delphi Counsil House)
around 550 B.C.
The foundations of a rectangular building measuring 6.5x13 m are found next to the Treasury of the Athenians. The foundations are made of tufa (a variety of limestone) and it is believed that the building housed the Bouleuterion of Delphi.
The Bouleuterion (Delphi Counsil House)
Plutarch mentions it as: "Next to the Treasury of the Athenians, on the left of the Sacred Road, where the Boulevard of Delphi was located..."
The Bouleuterion was a local parliament with fifteen deputies and eight rectors. Their term was of six months and one year, respectively. They looked after Delphi and the Oracle. It should be noted that the inhabitants of Delphi, who never exceeded a thousand citizens, had acquired a kind of pan-Hellenic status, as a small autonomous city with its own laws and its own currency.
The oracle of Apollo at Delphi was the most important of all the oracles of Ancient Greece but was primarily a local Oracle for Delphi. The priests of Apollo, as well as the Pythias, were elected by the tribes that inhabited Delphi. Keep in mind that no "foreigner" could receive an oracle if he was not accompanied by the local consuls and priests.
After the 1st Sacred War, in the 6th c. BC, the oracle was dominated by the Delphic Amphictyonia, the religious and political union of the cities in the greater area of Delphi. The Delphic Amphictyonia directed the local parliament, which met here in the Bouleuterion.
the West section of the Sanctuary of Apollo
28) The Sibyl Rock
To the right of the Bouleuterion, on the side of the Sacred Road, stands a large rock supported by a small wall. The rock, which rolled once from the Phaedriades and stopped here, is considered as the Rock of Sibyl.
Plutarch and Pausanias mention the Rock of Sibyl. As they wrote, they had seen it, during the 2nd century B.C.,"lie within the area of the sanctuary of the Earth".
According to traditions the Delphic Sibyl, pre-dating the Pythia of Apollo, sat on the rock to deliver her prophecies (Paus. XII, 6). The first Sibyl was called Herophile, and came to Delphi before the Trojan War and prophesized the beginning of the war.
the West section of the Sanctuary of Apollo
29) Asklepeion
Behind the Bouleuterion we can see the remains of a building constructed on the foundations of an older one.It's attributed, according to the inscriptions found here, to Aesculapius, the son of Apollo, and was an Asclepeion: a healing temple dedicated to Aesculapius.
Treatment at these temples largely centered around promoting healthy lifestyles, with a particular emphasis on a person's spiritual needs. Characteristic of the Asclepieion was the practice of incubatio, also known as "temple sleep". This was a process by which patients would go to sleep in the temple with the expectation that they would be visited by Asclepius himself or one of his healing children in their dream. During this time, they would be told what it is that they needed to do in order to cure their ailment.
At the very least, they would wake up having not been directly visited by a deity and instead report their dream to a priest. The priest would then interpret the dream and prescribe a cure, often a visit to the baths or a gymnasium. The preliminary treatment for admission into the Asclepions was catharsis, or purification. It consisted of a series of cleansing baths and purgations, accompanied by a cleansing diet, which lasted several days.
Between the Asclepeion and the western end of the polygonal wall are the remains of a small edifice. It's considered to be the fountain of the spring of Aesculapius.
the West section of the Sanctuary of Apollo
30) The Polygonal Wall
Moving forward on the Sacred Way from the Treasury of the Athenians, we can see on our left the "Polygonal Wall", which marks the northern area.
The Polygonal Wall view from the Southwest
The wall is constructed at an altitude of 565 m. and crosses the sanctuary of Apollo horizontally creating two sections: the North where the Temple of Apollo was and the South where the area of the Halos was.
It was built after 548 B.C. at the time of the reconstruction of the archaic Temple of Apollo in the area where the earlier sanctuary of the Earth and the Muses was, covering and razing at least ten older edifices, to support the platform on which the new temple was erected. Behind it rise the columns of the Temple of Apollo, giving a vertical tension to the harmony of the landscape.
Having a solid construction throughout its length of 87 m., and a height of 5 m., the Polygonal Wall withstood during the centuries many earthquakes and landslides, especially at the western part, and has remained upright and unmovable. It's only in the middle that this exceptional monument of Ancient engineering curved somewhat.
Made of big stones of various shapes this facade looks like a large mosaic. The joints are carved smooth and curved, without corners. Thus, no vertical joints, potential fissure points, are created. The absolute junction of the stones is ensured by the extremely fine chiseling of the surfaces.
The archaeological value of this monumental wall, called "Polygonal" despite the fact that it uses a different masonry style (the so called Lesbian-style), is immense. The administrators of the Sanctuary had made the surface of the wall available, for a fee, to those who wished to "publish" a document in this high-profile place.
So during the 3rd and 2nd c. B.C. hundreds of inscriptions were engraved on the entire surface of the wall. Most of them are manumission acts*, official documents of Delphi, resolutions of the Delphic Amphictyonia regarding Greek cities and referring to public, private, religious and political affairs. The Polygonal Wall is truly an "archive of the antiquity".
Acts of manumission: In antiquity, manumission was the act of freeing slaves by their owners. Slaves belonged to their masters until they served long enough or until they gathered the necessary sum of money for their liberation. When that moment came, the act of manumission had to be guaranteed by a god, most commonly Apollo. The slave was thus fictitiously sold to the deity, so that the sale action could never be violated. The act was recorded on inscriptions with a rather formulaic expression. The majority of the manumission inscriptions of Delphi are gathered in two main spots: on the supporting wall of the parodoi of the theatre and on the polygonal wall, particularly the part which served as back wall to the portico of the Athenians. Most of the inscriptions date between 200 B.C. and 100 A.D.
the West section of the Sanctuary of Apollo
31) The column of the Sphinx - a votive offering from Naxos island
570. B.C.
In front of the Polygonal Wall, on a small rock, the votive offering of the Naxians was located: a column (10 m.) surmounted by a colossal Sphinx made of marble.
It was composed of a column (10 m.) surmounted by a colossal Sphinx made of marble.
On the left the exact point of the Column of the Naxians, just in front of the Polygonal Wall. In the background the columns of the Temple of Apollo
Today the Sphinx and some vertebrae from the column have been transferred to the Archaeological Museum of Delphi and are exhibited there. On the site we can see the base and some vertebrae from the column where the Sphinx stood. The total height of this impressive monument, was almost thirteen meters!
The Sphinx as exposed at the Museum of Delphi.
The Sphinx was dedicated from the inhabitants of the island of Naxos to the Sanctuary of Apollo around 570 B.C. On the round pedestal of the column is engraved an inscription: an honorary resolution of Delphi regarding the Naxians. Re-engraved later on 332 B.C., it mentions the privilege of Promanteia* in accordance with the inhabitants of Naxos by the Sanctuary of Apollo.
ΔΕΛΦΟΙ ΑΠΕΔΩΚΑΝ ΝΑΞΙΟΙΣ ΤΑΝ ΠΡΟΜΑΝΤΗΙΑΝ ΚΑΤΤΑ ΑΡΧΑΙΑ
ΑΡΧΟΝΤΟΣ ΘΕΟΛΥΤΟΥ ΒΟΥΛΕΥΟΝΤΟΣ ΕΠΙΓΕΝΕΟΣ
Delphi accorded the Naxians the right of Promanteia as before, at the time of archon Theolytos and Epigenes the Bouleutes
A Sphinx on a Attic red figure amphora. Attributed to the Achilles Painter, ca 450 – 440 B.C. (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston).
Bear in mind that the Sphinx was considered as a funerary monument in ancient times. This is not irrelevant in the case of the Sphinx of the Naxians: according to Greek mythology on the very same place the Tomb of Python and the sacred places of earlier cults of older deities, as Gaia (Earth) used to be situated.
Promanteia: was the privilege, bestowed upon cities or individuals by the Oracle of Delphi, to ask the Pythia in priority.
the West section of the Sanctuary of Apollo
32) The Porch of the Athenians
The Porch (Stoa in Greek) of the Athenians was 30m long and nearly 4m wide. The north side used the Polygonal Wall as a closure.
The roof was made of a wooden structure, supported by seven whole-piece columns of Pentelic marble with bases and capitals of Parian marble, was tiled on the top. The monument has been identified through the inscription of attic letters on the stylobate:
ΑΤΗΕΝΑΙΟΙ ΑΝΕΘΕΣΑΝ ΤΗΝ ΣΤΟΑΝ ΚΑΙ ΤΑ ΟΠΛ[Α Κ]ΑΙ ΤΑΚΡΟΤΕΡΙΑ ΕΛΟΝΤΕΣ ΤΩΝ ΠΟΛΕΜΙΩΝ
-
The Athenians dedicated the portico and the armaments and the figure heads of the ships that they seized from their enemies
The Stoa of the Athenians view from the Southeast
The votive offerings housed in the Stoa of the Athenians were armaments taken from the vast pontoon bridge the Persians had built across the Hellespont at the beginning of the Persian War in 480 B.C. King Xerxes had ordered the construction of the bridge to expedite the movement of his enormous forces across the strait.
It was built by lashing together the ships with ropes and setting planks on them. The Athenians attacked the last remnants of Persians on the Greek side of the Hellespont at Sestos. After they defeated them at the end of a long siege in 478 B.C., they dismantled the bridges, bringing home some of the cables the Persians had used to lash the boats together.
In the following years, more exhibits were put on display in the Stoa at Delphi, as the Athenians gained more naval victories. The war memorials on display were dedicated to Apollo, but they also served as monuments of the Athenian victory.
the West section of the Sanctuary of Apollo
33) The Rock of Leto
To the east of The Rock of Sibylla, next to the Column of the Sphinx, is another smaller rock named "the Rock of Leto" and closely associated with the founding myth of the the sanctuary of Apollo.
It was given this name because according to the myth Leto stood on this rock with the newborn Apollo in her arms and gave him courage with the cry "IE Pai" (dared child) to exterminate the terrible dragon Python with his arrows.
Apollo and the Serpent Python - Cornelis de Vos (1584-1651)
The Rock of Leto, among the other sacred rocks that existed since the period when the Sanctuary of Gaia (Earth), was closely associated with the early myths of Pythian Apollo in Delphi. That is is the reason they remained there in the later times, when the surrounding area was leveled to receive the votive offerings of historical times.
the rock of Leto view from the South. In the background the Polygonal wall and the columns of Temple of Apollo.
the West section of the Sanctuary of Apollo
34) The Halos
A series of marble bases leading to the front of the polygonal wall, emerge on the North side of the Halos.
The first of these bases, the one next to the Bouleuterion, belonged to an ex-voto of the Boeotians. The inscription on it refers to the impiety commited by the Phocians when they had occupied Delphi. Therefore we deduce that the basis of the ex-voto was made by the Boeotians in the 4th c. B.C, perhaps to erect the statues of their generals, who took part in the Third sacred War against the Phocians.
The marble bases of the Halos
The other bases and the large pedestals belonged to unknown votive offerings with statues and clusters, which adorned the Halos.
the West section of the Sanctuary of Apollo
36) The treasury of the Corinthians
The Treasury of the Corinthians’ foundation is found on the eastern side of the Halos , close to the Sacred Way. The Treasury was a simple archaic building, without pilasters and columns, and measured 6x12 m.
It was built in the 7th century B.C., by Cypselus, the tyrant of Corinth. Herodotus says (E, 12) that Cypselus was in power and supported by the Delphic Oracle during thirty years, until his death in about 600 B.C.
The foundation of the treasury of the Corinthians view from the West.
The Treasury of the Corinthians is considered the most ancient treasury of the Sanctuary of Apollo. Pausanias writes that after the fire of the Temple of Apollo in 548 B.C. the “Gold of the Lydians at Delphi” was transferred to the Treasury of the Corinthians building.
Among the offerings of the Lydians to Apollo were some older ones , such as the golden throne of Midas, King of Phrygia, around 700 B.C., the six Golden craters of Gyges of Lydia, which weighed 30 talents and called "gygada" from the name of their dedicator. Gyges ascended to the throne following a Delphic oracle.
The precious offerings of the Lydians included the Golden Lion of Croesus, weighing about 150 kg, which in part had melted in the fire of the Temple of Apollo. Most of the offerings were described by Herodotus (a 14, 50) in the middle of the 5th c. B.C.
Plutarch, in the 2nd century. B.C., writes that in front of the Treasure of the Corinthians there is nothing left from the offerings of the Lydians except the bronze palm tree with embossed frogs and grass snakes.
Previous: the South Section of the Sanctuary
Next: the Temple of Apollo (coming soon)
The reconstruction map of Delphi, by the Archaeological Guide of Greece
Designed and produced for a convenient and handy use in site and at home, it will assist you to visualize the Sanctuary of Apollo, where the Oracle of Delphi was, the Ancient Theater, the Stadion, the Gymnasion of Delphi and the Sanctuary of Athena Pronaia.
The accurate map legend will give you information so you can place the monuments in their historical frame.
The Delphi reconstruction map is :
- a superb wall poster (85X56cm - 34X22in)
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