The Greatest Collection

This is the Sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi as it looked at the time of Caesar.
temple of delphi (Click twice on thumbnail to enlarge)

The zig-zag road up to the temple was lined with statues—thousands of them, some in gold and silver. They were votive offerings from pilgrims—kings and states as well as individuals.
The temple hill looked a little like some famous cemeteries, with rows of marble figures and family memorials with inscriptions on them.

The Temple was fabulously rich from donations. The Emperor Nero looted it when Rome overran Greece. He carried off, besides gold, five hundred statues. Yet just a few years later, when Pliny the Younger visited Delphi, there were still three thousand standing.
Of course everyone went to Delphi to consult the oracle.

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5 Responses to The Greatest Collection

  1. iondanu says:

    You will not believe me, G, maybe, but I was there! In 1992 or 93 I did a trip to Greece and Delphi was one of the places I went… No gold or silver statues, of course, but a great heat and lots, lots of relicts…

  2. 100swallows says:

    You lucky dog, Danu. See any pretty oracles?

  3. iondanu says:

    No, just fat tourist. And not all where American… The oracle whispered we all die and most of us from heart attacks and cerebrals attck…A few were almost to fulfill the oracle because in was extremely hot and we had to climb… Oracles never lie…

  4. wpm1955 says:

    I have a very interesting book which describes in detail just HOW the oracle worked…if you’re interested, I’ll dig up the title and post it here for you…let me know if you’d like meto.

    Best regards,
    Madame Monet
    Writing, Painting, Music, and Wine
    winewriter.wordpress.com

  5. 100swallows says:

    Thanks, Madame Monet. I am very interested in reading about the oracles but I know that right now I am not going to have time for a book on them. If you can find the title without too much trouble and put it here, I will know where to look when I do have time. And maybe some of my readers would be happy to know of it too.

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