4 February 2003
Delphi
Our trip to Delphi took us through some beautiful mountains and even snow to a great archaeological site on the side of a mountain—the omphalos (navel) of the earth. This site is home to the ruins of the Sanctuary of Apollo, god of music and poetry. Paved walkways wind back and forth as you climb to where the Pythia once prophesied. On the way, there are the remains of treasuries from many city states where the people of that city state would bring their offerings. The Athenian Treasury is the only one standing today, but they have had to reconstruct it. Locating its pieces was fairly simple because Athenian Marble was used.
So, if you are like me, you are wondering why they chose Delphi over some other nice place a little closer to a big city. People did come from all over, even outside of Hellas (Greece) to learn about the future. But the answer was revealed during our visit. The mountains we were in have not settled completely and are or were prone to earthquakes. Between two mountains is a Kasma (chasm) out of which came some vapors. Apparently these vapors come from ethylene. The Pythia or Priestess of Apollo upon purifying herself would enter the temple, drink some water, chew laurel leaves and inhale the vapors until she entered a state of enthusiasm (god inside) and babbled. The Priests translated this unintelligible speech into a prophetic message. A large stone was placed over the Kasma that was known as the navel stone.
The prophecies given were almost always ambiguous or vague. But people continued to come and place their trust in the words of the oracle. There was only on day a month that the oracle was open—the seventh day of the month. On that day, certain city-states would be allowed to come. This order was determined by lots, but could be changed with bribes. One example of a prophecy to an Athenian general, Themistacles, who was facing a Persian attack, was this: “Wooden walls will save Athens.” Knowing the Persians would burn the wooden walls of Athens, they retreated to wooden ships. And so they “fulfilled” the prophecy. The wooden walls of the ships did in fact save Athens, but the general already had this plan of escape in mind before visiting the Oracle.
One thing I learned on this trip was that men have not really changed so much over the year. People still want to know the future. And they want to have a bridge to the supernatural. This is why we have Miss Cleo and others cluttering the airwaves and taking in tons of money through credit cards and such. The crazy things people do and believe…but the God who created the earth (and definitely does not live in its navel (if it has one) is near to us all and instructs us not to worry about the future.
Our connection to the Bible on this trip came from our group being allowed into the storeroom of the museum. Several years ago, an inscription was found from Tiberius Caesar to Gallio, the proconsul mentioned in Acts 18:12 ff. Until this discovery, this was one of several problems scholars had with Luke as a historian. But this stone places Gallio power in Corinth during the time Paul visited. It aids Luke’s credibility.
Personally, I was surprised. Delphi was not just a bunch of old rocks to a pagan god. There are lessons to be learned all around us; even ones that come from 2,500 years ago. Though I didn’t get to race in the stadium, I still had a great time with our group in the beautiful setting that played a major role in the life of Ancient Greek culture.