One with the Gods: the Parthenon, the Temple of Apollo and the Temple of Athena

It is a pleasant boatride  from Kusadasi to the Greek Island of Samos, said to be the birthplace of the goddess Hera. After a  plane ride you are in Athens and the embrace of Mythology.

Leaving Turkey for Greece

Greek mythology tells you that you will find the center of the earth if you drive through lower central Greece and soon find yourself in Delphi which is north of the Gulf of Corinth in central Greece. Here, along the slope of Mount Parnassus lies the Sanctuary of Apollo where the ancient oracles were pronounced in a trance by the Sybil, and the one to Athena, complete with a theatre and athletic areas, or the stadium.

Apollo’s sanctuary is rough hewn, built of limestones that surround the area, unlike the Parthenon in Athens which is built of marble. This roughness adds to the mysticism of the area, and its location on the highest peak of Delphi provides an arresting view of the surroundings , evoking silent reverence.

You walk up the slopes in a sort of awed silence – perhaps because you know the spiritual and cultural significance of the area, but also because the multiple plateaus and terraces bespeak the depths of two sanctuaries.

In the ancient past, the Aegean area emerged from the Dark Age and these two sites forged the cultural unity of the Greek world: Zeus’s Olympia and Apollo’s Delphi. While the Olympic games demonstrated civilized competition among Greeks, the Oracle at Delphi was the essential site for knowledge. In fact, the motto on Apollo’s temple reads, “know thyself” and “everything in moderation”.

In the Delphi museum a lateral sculpture depicts the “Omphalos” or the navel – symbolic of Delphi as the center of the universe. This navel stone also symbolized worship to the goddess Gaia, the earth mother.

The Temple of Apollo

Apollo spoke through: the sibyl or priestess of the oracle at Delphi . The sibyl was an older woman who had lived a pure life and chosen from among the peasants of the area. It is said that she would sit on a tripod seat over an opening in the earth where Apollo slew Python. Fumes from its decomposing body rose as vapors and the sibyl would fall into a trance, allowing Apollo to possess her spirit. In this state she prophesied. The Sibyl would get into a trance and she would incantate prophecies whih were translated by the temple priests.  It is here that the the most famous Greek prophecy was revealed – a prophecy that was the central theme of what is probably the most famous Greek tragedy, the tragedy of Oedipus.

The Stadium

The amphitheater where spiritual contests were held

The Laurel represents Apollo’s first love, Daphne.  It is said Apollo’s love for her was triggered by an earlier dispute between Apollo, god of the silver bow and Eros (cupid) who used bows to enchant individuals to love. Eros flies to the peak of Mt. Parnassus and shoots his gold tipped arrow against Apollo and the fatal love for Daphne ensued. At the same time Eros shot a lead tipped arrow at Daphne, putting her into flight, upon which she turned into a laurel tree.  Apollo broke a branch from the tree and set this on his head, declaring

Since you cannot be my bride, you shall at least be my tree. My hair, my lyre, my quiver shall always be entwined with you, O laurel. (Apollo. Ovid Metamorphoses).

ATHENA’S SANCTUARY: MARMARIA

Athena’s sanctuary  is situated below Apollo’s sanctuary and is probably  one of the most well-recognized structures in Greece.

The Treasury

Delphi was so extremely developed and a treasury was built to house its wealth. In the ancient past the treasury was embellished with friezes and statues of caryatids – (“carya” – place south of the Peloponnese where girls were extremely beautiful and danced to honor the gods; therefore caryatids refers to the lovely girls from his area ) – holding up larger statues,such as that of the sphinx, and Kouros (statues of young men with the ‘archaic smile). Now these works are found in the museum close to the sanctuary.

The Parthenon , Temple to Athena, goddess of Athens

Work on the Parthenon began in 447 BC and displays the height of the Doric era. It is a temple to Athena built on the Acropolis, a hill overlooking the city of Athens. It is said to have been designed by Phidias at the behest of Pericles, a Greek politician credited with the founding of the city of Athens and with stimulating the Golden Age of Greece. The temple was sacred to two aspects of the Greek goddess Athena, Athena Polios (“of the city”) and Athena Parthenos (“young maiden”).

The Parthenon is a dazzling display of marbles,  so treasured that many dominant countries struggled to own at least some of them. The controversial Elgin Marbles refer to  ancient sculptures taken from Athens to England in 1806 by Thomas Bruce, 7th earl of Elgin. The Parthenon is meant to dazzle and to awe.

The Parthenon drenched in the Greek Sun

The Parthenon all lit up, the most awesome sight in Athens