- Temple of Apollo
The Temple of Apollo on Mt. Parnassus was revered in ancient times as the place to come, make a significant sacrifice, confer with the oracle, and reap your rewards. Many influential citizens of the time did just that, and the Delphi is mentioned over and over in history. We came not knowing what to expect, but looking for a few things: one- the oracle or some tales of the oracles and what they did and predicted and two-King Midas’ throne. Supposedly he had made his way to Delphi and gave a very handsome and expensive throne to Apollo. The museum only briefly mentions Midas, and we were highly dissappointed about that.
The archaelogical site, however, was far from dissappointing. We spent a couple of hours climbing among the temple, theater, stadium, and whatever else. It was a pretty spread out place. In my mind, it should have been very small, with an eerie countenance, but instead you could tell it was a thriving and wealthy metropolis. Like all the other Greek museums we’d been to, this one was fantastic. Placards in English, explained the findings, history, and myths of the city. Fascinating. For a UNESCO World Heritage site, there were not as many people there as I would have expected. A few coach tours came through, but the site was more than large enough to accommodate everyone without it being at all annoying.
Delphi the town was also one of our favorite stops. It is small, with only a few pensions and one big hotel. Most tourists only come for the day on a bus tour and few actually spend the night. After the tour buses went home, we had a quiet dinner with a gorgeous vista. With grapevines lining the window, we saw the sunset on the olive groves and the ocean in the background. I must mention here, that Greek wine is pretty good, and the waiter at our restaurant very willing to ply us with it until almost midnight.