Δελφοί / Delfi

At the foot of Mount Parnassos, within the angle formed by the twin rocks of the Phaedriades, lies the Pan-Hellenic sanctuary of Delphi, which had the most famous oracle of ancient Greece. Delphi was regarded as the centre of the world. According to mythology, it is here that the two eagles sent out by Zeus from the ends of the universe to find the navel of the world met. The sanctuary of Delphi, set within a most spectacular landscape, was for many centuries the cultural and religious centre and symbol of unity for the Hellenic world. The history of Delphi begins in prehistory and in the myths of the ancient Greeks. In the beginning the site was sacred to Mother Earth and was guarded by the terrible serpent Python, who was later killed by Apollo. Apollo's sanctuary was built here by Cretans who arrived at Kirrha, the port of Delphi, accompanied by the god in the form of a dolphin. This myth survived in plays presented during the various Delphic festivals, such as the Septerion, the Delphinia, the Thargelia, the Theophania and, of course. the famous Pythia, which celebrated the death of Python and comprised musical and athletic competitions. The earliest finds in the area of Delphi, which date to the Neolithic period (4000 BC), come from the Korykeion Andron, a cave on Parnassos, where the first rituals took place. The remains of a Mycenaean settlement and cemetery were discovered within the sanctuary, but traces of occupation are rare and very fragmentary until the eighth century BC, when the cult of Apollo was established and the development of the sanctuary and the oracle began. The first stone temples of Apollo and Athena, who was also officially venerated under the name of “Pronaia” or “Pronoia” and had her own sanctuary, were built towards the end of the seventh century BC. According to literary and archaeological evidence other gods were associated with the sanctuary; these included Artemis, Poseidon, Dionysus, Hermes, Zeus Polieus, Hygeia and Eileithyia. The sanctuary was the centre of the Amphictyonic League, an association of twelve tribes of Thessaly and the Sterea (south-central Greece), with religious and later political significance. The Amphictyonic League controlled the operation and finances of the sanctuary, as it designated its priests and other officials chosen from among the inhabitants of Delphi. In the sixth century BC, under the League's protection and administration, the sanctuary was made autonomous (First Sacred War), it increased its territory and political and religious influence throughout Greece, and reorganised the Pythian Games, the second most important games in Greece after the Olympics, which were held every four years. Between the sixth and fourth centuries BC, the Delphic oracle, which was regarded as the most trustworthy, was at its peak. It was delivered by the Pythia, the priestess, and interpreted by the priests of Apollo. Cities, rulers and ordinary individuals alike consulted the oracle, expressing their gratitude with great gifts and spreading its fame around the world. The oracle was thought to have existed since the dawn of time. Indeed, it was believed to have successfully predicted events related to the cataclysm of Deukalion, the Argonaut's expedition and the Trojan War; more certain are the consultations over the founding of the Greek colonies. It was the oracle's fame and prestige that caused two Sacred Wars in the middle of the fifth and fourth centuries BC. In the third century BC, the sanctuary was conquered by the Aetolians, who were driven out by the Romans in 191 BC. In Roman times, the sanctuary was favoured by some emperors and plundered by others, including Sulla in 86 BC. The rise of the Rationalist movement in philosophy in the third century BC, damaged the oracle's authority, yet its rituals continued unchanged into the second century AD, when it was consulted by Hadrian and visited by Pausanias. The latter's detailed description of the buildings and more than three hundred statues has greatly contributed to our reconstruction of the area. The Byzantine emperor Theodosius finally abolished the oracle and the Slavs destroyed the precinct in 394 BC. With the advent of Christianity, Delphi became an episcopal see, but was abandoned in the sixth-seventh centuries AD. Soon after, in the seventh century AD, a new village, Kastri, grew over the ruins of the ancient sanctuary, attracting in modern times several travellers interested in antiquities. Archaeological research in Delphi began in 1860 by Germans. In 1891, the Greek government granted the French School at Athens permission for long-term excavations on the site. It is then that the village of Kastri was removed to allow for the so-called “Great Excavation' to take place. The Great Excavation uncovered spectacular remains, including about three thousand inscriptions of great importance for our knowledge of public life in ancient Greece. Today, the Greek Archaeological Service and the French School at Athens continue to research, excavate and conserve the two Delphic sanctuaries. Of all the monuments, only the Treasury of the Athenians had enough of its original building material preserved to allow for its almost complete reconstruction. The project was financed by the City of Athens and carried through by the French School in 1903-1906. The Chiot altar, the temple of Apollo and the Tholos were also partially restored. In 1927 and 1930, the poet Angelos Sikelianos and his wife, Eva, attempted to revive the Delphic idea and make of Delphi a new culturacentre of the earth, through a series of events that included performances of ancient theatre! Visit Δελφοί/Delfi!

Αρχαιολογικό Μουσείο Νικόπολης / Nikopolis Archaeological Museum

• 
• The museum opened in 2011 to host artifacts from the Roman and Byzantine ears, which were unearthed in the excavations in the vicinity of ancient Nikopolis. It is located just to the north of Preveza town in Epiros, Greece!
• 
• Semi-circular marble base with low relief depicting gods from the Greek pantheon. Found at the Monument of Augustus and it is believed that it was part of the decorations of the Altar of Apollo!
• 
• The above relief in flattened view as presented at the museum. From left to right it depicts: Athena, Hercules, Hera or Hebes, Three Graces or Nymphs, Hermes, Leto, Artemis, Apollo!
  • 
    
  •  Two marble statues: Aphrodite Urania (left), and Athena Orator (Δημηγορουσης). 2nd c. CE!
  • 
  • Statue with a relief depiction of a battle with amazons. 1st - 2nd c. CE!
  • 
  • The above pedestal was used in Byzantine times as an ambo in Basilica B in Nikopolis, and the marble relief was covered with a Christian mosaic with figures of saints. 5th - 6th c. CE!
  
  
• Visit the Nikopolis Archaeological  museum!

Greece the true experience - Βόρειο Αιγαίο / North Aegean

The ABTA recommends your destinations in Βόρειο Αιγαίο / North Aegean For those who seek true relaxation is proposed Αλόνησσος / Alonissos and Σκόπελος / Skopelos in the Σποράδες / Sporades. "Really spectacular views from the volcanic island of Σαντορίνη / Santorini, which is considered the most likely location of the historical origin of the mythical Ατλαντίς / Atlantis!

 The British tour operators indicate that most popular destinations in Greece remain Κρήτη / Crete, Κέρκυρα / Κerkyra, Ροδος / Rhodes and Ζάκυνθος / Zakynthos!

National Arcaeological Museum - Object Of The Month - February 2013

 

Visit this month

National Arcaeological Museum in Athens 

 - Object Of The Month - February 2013

 
Περίαπτο σε σχήμα ανδρικού μορίου με οπή εξάρτησης

Material: Green glass paste

Provenance: Antikythera shipwreck. From the material retrieved in 1976

Date: 1st c. BC

Dimensions: H. 0.021 m

Inv. no: Athens, National Archaeological Museum, 30664

Exhibition Place:Temporary Exhibitions Wing, Room II

Usually made of faience or glass paste, phallus- shaped pendants were thought to have apotropaic properties. Talismans of this type were common in Hellenistic and Roman Egypt and in most Roman provinces. In fact, they were intended particularly for children.

Similar pendants, usually dated to the 1st c. BC, have been found at Delos and Dura-Europos also dated to the 1st c. BC.

The pendant's discovery in the shipwreck suggests that a young boy or girl slave may have been aboard the ship.

The tradition of talismans began in Egypt, which is considered the home of magic. The great variety of Egyptian charms influenced the production of contemporary and later ones -from prehistoric Aegean pendants to Christian crosses. Talismans were thought to protect against and intimidate evil spirits!

Arcaeological Museum of Greece - Subject Of The Month December

Πινάκια και κύπελλα
από το ναυάγιο των Αντικυθήρων 
60 π.Χ.- 50 π.Χ.

(Plates and cups from the Antikythera shipwreck)

quantity of fine tableware, mostly plates of various sizes and cups. Their main characteristic is the bright red to orange slip and the interior stamped decoration consisting of concentric notched homocentric circles (the so-called "rouletting"), combined with palmettes.

This distinctive and highly standardized mass-production late Hellenistic pottery, known as "Eastern Sigillata A ware" (ESA), emerged around the middle of the 2nd c. BC., and ceased to be produced in 2nd c. AD. It reached the peak of its dissemination around the mid-1st c. BC, at the time when the ship sank off the Antikythera coast. This kind of red-slipped ceramic ware was produced in huge quantities and was widely circulating particularly across the eastern Mediterranean, mainly along the Syropalestinian coast, Cyprus, Asia Minor, Cyclades, and in smaller numbers, in mainland Greece and Italian peninsula. The red-slipped pottery from the Antikythera shipwreck is, most probably, part of the output of a Syropalestinian workshop. It has been suggested that these vases, decorated with the distinctive combination of red-slipped coating and stamped decoration, emulate tableware of precious metals, and that coincide with the "rhosica vasa" mentioned by the Roman orator and politician Cicero (1st c. BC) and the "rhosic crockery" used by the queen Cleopatra of Egypt as stated by the alexandrian grammaticus Athenaeus of Naucratis (2nd c. AD). They were given this name after the city of Rhosus, a major export harbour for neighbouring Antioch, situated on the south coast of the Gulf of Issus. Sailing to Italy, the Antikythera ship, carried along with the rest of its precious cargo and a load of pottery of this kind, most probably destined for sale to the Roman aristocratic class (nobilitas), which was inclined towards eastern luxury!

The Princesses of Mediterranean History at the "Cycladic Museum"

Women of the Mediterranean, and noble princes, lords or priestesses and witches, all of them women with prestige, emerging from the long course of history, to seduce the public, the exhibition "Mediterranean Princesses at the dawn of history" at the Museum of Cycladic Art from today!

 The chronological range of these cases extends to the eastern and central Mediterranean from 1000-500p.ch!

The duration of exposure to 10 April 2013.

The Minoan murals at "Αρχαιολογικό Μουσείο Ηρακλείου" ("Heraklion Museum")

Opened the room of Minoan murals in Heraklion Museum in History!

A new initiative of the Cretan Museum!

Visit it now!

  (Arcaiologiko Mouseio Herakliou)