Wonderful day Visiting the Delphi Archaeological Museum and Site

Author: Janice Vazquez | Last updated: July 3, 2023

A man standing across the Delphi Archaeological Museum and Site Front Entrance — *The Delphi Archaeological Museum and Site Front Entrance*

In December 2022, I traveled with my family (mom, dad, and brother, Julius) to Greece. We spent a total of 20 days visiting different cities, sightseeing, eating Greek food, and learning about Greece’s history and culture. Today, we spent the day visiting the Delphi Archaeological Museum and Site.

Today is December 19, 2022.
In the morning, my dad and brother enjoyed the complimentary breakfast at Pan Hotel in Delphi. The spread consisted of various items such as Greek yogurt, croissants, orange juice, hard boiled eggs, and fruit. Me and my mom weren’t fond of the breakfast options, so we decided to visit a local coffee shop instead. We headed to Meaolopeia cafe, which was only a 5-minute walk from the hotel. The cafe had a classic decor and served a delightful selection of coffee, pastries, and wine. We ordered a latte, cappuccino, and a mocha to go. Each drink cost only 2,5 euros, so the total was 7,5 euros (the tax is included in the menu price).

Mealopeia Cafe's interior displaying a selection of wine, alcohol, and baked items — *Interior of Mealopeia Cafe*

Getting to Delphi Archaeological Museum & Site

After breakfast, I drove my family to the Delphi Archaeological Museum. I couldn’t find parking in the front entrance, so I dropped my brother and dad off first. While my mom and I drove back into town to find parking. The closest spot we could find was a 10-minute walk from the Delphi Archaeological Museum. Even though the walk was a bit long, it was gorgeous as it overlooked the mountains.

Delphi Archaeological Museum

We pre-booked a 2-hour private guided tour of the Delphi Archaeological Site and agreed to meet with the tour guide at Noon. Since it was already 10:30am, that meant we only had 1.5 hours to view the museum. We purchased the tickets at the ticket booth.

Me and my mom were worried we wouldn’t have enough time to visit all of the exhibitions, but the worker who scanned our tickets told us that we would have plenty of time to see everything.

Mycenaean Period

I made my way into the first room and saw clay figurines that were found during the Mycenaean period. I also saw ancient objects such as bronze figurines, helmets, and other votive offerings.

Ancient objects found during the Mycenean period on display at the Delphi Archaeological Museum — *Ancient objects on dis*play

Bronze Figurines on display at the Delphi Archaeological Museum — *Bronze Figurines on display*

Sphinx of Naxos

Then, I went into the next room and saw my brother reading about the Sphinx of Naxos, a marble statue that served as a guardian within the sanctuary and, indirectly, as a reminder of Naxian power and influence.

Sphinx of Naxos Statue on display at Delphi Archaeological Museum Side Angle — *Sphinx of Naxos Statue*

Siphnian Treasury

On the other side of the room, I read about the east pediment which depicts a famous Delphic Theme and the east frieze which showed a scene from the Assembly of the Gods during the trojan war, where the gods are discussing the issue with lively gestures like they are arguing. I also read about the north frieze which depicts the Battle of the Giants. It symbolizes the triumph of order and civilization over savagery, barbarism and anarchy.

The Siphnian Treasury has a building part called the north freize which shows a battle in sculpture — *The Northern freize (whole)*

The northern freize shows a lion fighting a soldier — The Northern freize (zoomed in)

Chryselephantine Statues

In the next room, I learned about the precious offerings found in a pit on the Sacred Way: the chryselephantine statues of Apollo, Artemis, and Leto and the silver bull, which represent the Apollonian triad.

Chryselephantine Statue of Apollo is dressed in gold from head to toe. — *Chryselephantine Statue of Apollo*

Statue of a bull reconstructed from fragments of silver sheets on display at the Delphi Archaeological Museum — *Silver Bull*

Kleobis and Biton

Afterwards, I made my way to the next room and saw the Kleobis and Biton marble sculptures, which depicted Archaic Greek Kouros brothers from Argos. Click here to learn more about their heroic tale.

Sculptures

Then, I went into the next room, which was full of sculptures such as: The Dancers, statue of Antinoos and Agias of Pharsala.

The statue of Antinoos is standing without clothes on top of a pedastal. He is missing a right and left hand. — *Statue of Antinoos*

Julius standing next to the statue called Dancers at the Delphi Archaeological Museum — *Julius standing next to The Dancers*

Statue of Agias of Pharsala standing without clothes. He is missing a left hand and a right elbow. — *Statue of Agias of Pharsala*

Charioteer of Delphi

Afterwards, I explored the rest of the rooms and saw ancient pottery such as the White-ground kylix and the famous sculpture, the Charioteer of Delphi. Overall, the museum provided a wonderful glimpse into the religious, cultural, and athletic practices of ancient Greece.

Archaeological site of Delphi

After the museum, I went to the bathroom, which was located outside of the museum, next to the coffee shop. Then, my family and I met the tour guide and commenced the tour as planned.

A view of the Sanctuary of Athena with mountains in the background — *A view of the Sanctuary of Athena*

Tour guide listening to my mom's question while walking on the trail to the Delphi Archaeological Site — *Walking on the trail to the Delphi Archaeological Site*

As we began our walk to the Delphi Archaeological Site, the tour guide explained that the archaeological site included two sanctuaries: one dedicated to Apollo and the other dedicated to Athena. The site at the bottom of the hill was the sanctuary of Athena. Unfortunately, the tour guide said we won’t have enough time to visit the sanctuary of Athena, but she showed us the map of the sanctuary, which included five main buildings: the Old temple of Athena Pronaia, Doric Treasury, Tholos (aka Circular Temple), and the Priests House.

Tour guide holding a picture of Tholos with mountains in the background — *Tour guide holding a picture of Tholos*

Tour guide holding the Sanctuary of Athena Map and pointing to Temple of Athena — *Tour guide holding the Sanctuary of Athena Map*

Once we made it to the entrance of the Delphi Archaeological Site, we showed our tickets and proceeded through the gate. We walked up a few steps made of stone and sat down on a couple of rocks to learn about the sanctuary’s history.

The tour guide informed us that the Priests from Knossos (Crete) brought the cult of Apollo to Delphi in the 8th century BC, and began the construction of the sanctuary to the god. The sanctuary was always crowded until it was eventually abandoned in the 4th century AD due to landslides that caused the buildings to collapse.

Temple of Apollo & Oracle of Delphi

Then, the tour guide told us about the Temple of Apollo, which was the central and most important part of Delphi. This is where the Oracle of Delphi aka the high priestess, or Pythia, delivered her prophecies. Pythia served in the sanctuary of the Greek god Apollo, the god of light, music, knowledge, harmony, and prophecy. Many Greeks believed Pythia could communicate directly with Apollo and functioned as a vessel for delivering his prophecies.

People from all walks of life, including rulers of ancient empires (e.g., Alexander the Great, King Midas) and regular members of society, made the trek to Delphi to consult Pythia on personal matters to major undertakings. The process of consultation was limited to only one day a month for nine months of the year, so people could only visit Pythia for nine days per year. The process begins with people giving the sanctuary a donation and then asking the priest a question. The priest would go to the Oracle’s chamber and relate the question to the Pythia. Pythia would then inhale the natural gasses (methane), and communicate the prophecy back to the priest. The priest would interpret the words of the Oracle and convey the prophecy to the people.

*Tour guide holding a picture of the reconstructed Temple of Apollo (Front Entrance)*

Tour guide holding a picture of the reconstructed Temple of Apollo's side view — *Tour guide holding a picture of the reconstructed Temple of Apollo (Side view)*

Julius standing in front of the Temple of Apollo at the Delphi Archaeological site — *Julius standing in front of the Temple of Apollo*

Temple of Apollo (Back View) at the Delphi Archaeological site — *Temple of Apollo (Back View)*

Treasury house of Athenian

After story time, we got up and followed the sacred way to visit the Treasury house of Athenian. The tour guide mentioned that it has been restored since they found 80% of the original materials. The treasury house was built by Athenians to serve as a repository for valuable offerings such as precious metals, sculptures, and other valuable items. It served as a symbol of Athens’ wealth and power, as well as their devotion to the gods.

Front view of the Athenian Treasury at the Delphi Archaeological Site — *The Treasury house of Athenian (Front View)*

*Janice standing in front of Treasury house of Athenian*

The Treasury House of Athenian (Back View) — *The Treasury house of Athenian (Back View)*

Altar of Chians

Then, we proceeded to the entrance of the Temple of Apollo. The tour guide pointed out the Altar of the Chains, which is where people who requested a prophecy donated their gift upon the altar. The gifts consisted of sacrificial animals such as goats, sheeps, or bulls.

*Julius standing next to the Altar of the Chians*

*Encryption in Greek on a block of the Altar of the Chians*

Theater

Lastly, we proceeded to the top of the hill and saw the theater, which hosted the drama and music competitions of the Pythian Games. Once the tour was over, the tour guide took a couple of family photos for us and then we parted ways.

Final Thoughts

We wholeheartedly believe if we didn’t have a tour guide describing each building at the Delphi Archaeological Site, then it would’ve been very difficult to understand what we were looking at. There were signs that explained what was going on, but we still appreciated the extra detail the tour guide provided for us.

Note: The stadium was closed the day we went due safety reasons (potential landslides).

The Temple of Apollo with mountains in the background

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