Delphi was the most important religious sanctuary of the ancient world devoted to the worship of the god Apollo, the Olympian god of light, knowledge, music and harmony. Located on Mt. Parnassus, overlooking a beautiful vista of the valley below to the sea, the site is impressive and awe inspiring today as then.
Delphi was the site of the famous Delphic Oracle, the most important oracle in the classical Greek world and beyond. It was widely known throughout the ancient world for the oracles (prophecies) and the advice it gave!
Pythia (in Greek Πυθία) was the name of the high priestess at the Temple of Apollo. She served as the oracle of Apollo and was consulted by leaders and kings of many city states who traveled there to ask for guidance. She sat on a tripod and went into ecstasy, being filled by the spirit of the god Apollo. She offered her prophecies and inspired advice to those who consulted the oracle. She gave cryptic predictions and guidance to both city-states and individuals many of which played an important historical role. The oracles were always open to interpretation and often signified dual and opposing meanings though many came true. One very famous oracle saved the Greeks from the Persian invasion. When the Persians were nearing Athens, in 480 BC, the Athenians asked for advice from the Delphi Oracle. Pythia advised the city that it would be saved from its wooden walls. Many understood that they had to build wooden walls around the Acropolis to fortify themselves. General Themistocles however convinced the Athenians that their wooden walls were their wooden fleet of ships. The Athenian fleet hid in waiting and then destroyed the Persian fleet near the island of Salamina. Many other oracles came true also.
Delphi is a priceless legacy bequeathed by the ancient Greek world to us today. Apart from the famous Oracle, Delphi was a place for healing for the mind, body and spirit, as all other sanctuary sites in ancient Greece were. Carved onto the temple wall were these phrases: Γνῶθι σεαυτόν (gnōthi seautón) - "know thyself" and Μηδὲν ἄγαν (mēdén ágan) -"Nothing in excess". "Know thyself ” is one of the most well-known Delphic maxims which has inspired many philosophers throughout the ages. It was also one of Socrate’s sayings and Plato tells us of Socrate’s other famous words: “The life that is unexamined is not worth living.” Pythagoras also said something similar, "Know yourself and you will know the universe and the gods."
The Delphic maxims or precepts were a concise series of instructions for life, with the continued emphasis on the attainment of virtue as a way of achieving happiness. There were 147 of these maxims in all and they were engraved on the pronaos of the temple of Apollo in Delphi. They are also known as The Pythian Letters, precepts, axioms, aphorisms, epigrams or counsels. They were initially attributed to Apollo himself but later to the seven wise men of ancient Greece.
