The Sanctuary of Apollo

The Sanctuary of Apollo. TO IEPO TOY AΠOΛΛΩNOΣ. The texts on this marker are written in Greek (left), English (center) and French (right). Only the English text has been transcribed. To read the Greek and French texts, enlarge the marker image by clicking on it. , English: , The area occupied by the Sanctuary of Apollo is on a steep slope at the base of the western Phaedriada, today called Rodine, and lies 1500 m. northwest of the Sanctuary of Athenia Pronaia. It is believed that Ge (Earth), the sanctuary's first divinity, was originally worshipped at the same site. The worship of Ge may be connected with Mycenaean building remains found north of the temple of Apollo. However, the sanctuary's real flowering and its Panhellenic recognition are connected with the arrival of the cult of Apollo and the role played by the oracle during the second period of colonization in the 8th c. B.C. Indeed, Homer mentions the Delphi sanctuary as a place of great wealth. , The site of the sanctuary was surrounded by a built enclosure wall in which entrance gates were opened on the east and west. The city of Delphi extended at some points. The gradual shaping of the precinct on different levels through the construction of support walls was dictated by the need to level the ground and ensure more space for the erection of a great many votives. The first stone temple of Apollo and most of the treasuries, i.e. the small, temple-shaped buildings that housed votives by cities in memory of military victories and noble deeds, were erected in the 6th c. B.C. The elegant Treasury of the Siphnians, the restored Treasury of the Athenians, the treasuries of the Corinthians, Megarians, Boeotians were all built in the 6th c. B.C. , The nuclei of spatial arrangement in the precinct were primarily the Temple of Apollo and the Sacred Way, which after starting from the main entrance in the south east corner of the enclosure, followed a winging course to terminate at the temple in front of the large altar, a Chiot votive. Over time, hundreds of valuable votives were set up along the road, including statues of gods and mortals, tripods and other works of art mounted on inscribed bases, columns and stelae, giving the precinct the appearance of an unique open-air museum even in antiquity. Today only a few of these are preserved; we draw what information we have from the preserved inscriptions and mentions by ancient authors, such as the detailed description of the sanctuary by the 2nd. c. A.D. traveller Pausanias. , The enclosure wall extended northward to include in the northwest corner the theater, built on steeply sloping ground. The last monument visitors encounter inside the sanctuary, and nearly abutting the north enclosure wall, is the Lesche of the Knidians, which has paintings by the renowned 5th c. B.C. artist Polygnotus. Their subjects were the Fall of Troy to the right of the entrance, and Odysseus' descent into Hades (the Nekyia) to the left. Outside the sanctuary enclosure, visitors may walk along a small ascending path and admire the city's ancient Stadium at a distance of about 500 m. beyond the sanctuary. , Delphi was excavated in the late 19th century by the French Archaeological School. It is on the list of UNESCO-protected World Heritage Monuments.