Delphi

We stopped for the night in the small village of Delphi (pronounced with a long i, like in kite). We stayed in a nice little hotel with a lovely view. After a group dinner in town, we all pretty much just crashed—the ferry ride made for a long day/night/day. On Tuesday morning we were refreshed and ready to go to the ancient site of Delphi. “According to legend, when Zeus released two eagles from opposite ends of the world their paths crossed in the sky above Delphi, establishing the site as the centre of the earth” (Eyewitness Travel, Greece). The signs for the town say it is the navel of the earth—we even saw the rock that was used to signify this. Well, the rock in the museum is a Roman copy of the one the Greeks used. The rock on the site is just a place marker. Delphi was also the site of the Oracle where people could go to ask questions of the priestess (think of the story of Oedipus).

First we visited the Sanctuary of Apollo. These are the ruins of the Temple of Apollo, treasury houses, altars, theater, stadium, etc. You know, ancient Greek stuff.

Then we were able to visit the museum at the site (hooray for air conditioning). All day long the songs from the Disney movie Hercules kept going through my head . . . now they’re in yours too!