Delphi

Delphi (dĕl`fī), locality in Phocis, Greece, near the foot of the south slope of Mt. Parnassós, c.6 mi (10 km) northeast of the port of Cirrha. It was the seat of the Delphic oracle, the most famous and most powerful of ancient Greece. The oracle originated in the worship of an earth-goddess, and later legend ascribed it to Gaea. It passed to Apollo; some stories say he won it by killing the Python, others that it descended to him peacefully through Themis and Phoebe. The Delphic oracle was the preeminent shrine of Apollo, but in winter, when Apollo was absent among the Hyperboreans, it was sacred to Dionysus, who was said to be buried there.

The oracle was housed in the great temple to Apollo, first built in the 6th cent. B.C. (it was destroyed and rebuilt at least twice). The oracular messages were spoken by a priestess seated on a golden tripod, who uttered sounds in a frenzied trance. The inspired trance was said by the ancient Greeks to be induced by vapors from beneath the temple's floor; these may have been ethylene or other petrochemical fumes rising through faults that ran beneath the temple. The priestess's utterances were interpreted to the questioner by a priest, who usually spoke in verse.

Delphi was unique in its universal position in the otherwise fragmented political and social life of Greece. It was the meeting place of the Amphictyonic league (see amphictyony), the most important league of Greek city-states, and also the site of the Pythian games. Persons seeking the help of the oracle brought rich gifts, and the shrine grew very wealthy. The prestige and influence of the Delphic oracle prevailed for centuries through all of Greece. During Hellenistic times, however, the importance of the oracle declined. Delphi was frequently pillaged from early Roman times, and the sanctuary fell into decay. One of the art works excavated there is the beautiful 5th-century bronze statue called the Delphic Charioteer (now at the Archaeological Mus., Delphi, Greece).

Bibliography

See study by F. Poulsen (1920).

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Delphi

Site of the ancient temple and oracle of Apollo in Greece. Located on the slopes of Mount Parnassus, it was the centre of the world in ancient Greek religion. According to legend, the oracle was originally sacred to Gaea, and Apollo acquired it by slaying her child, the serpent Python. From 582 BC Delphi was the site of the Pythian Games. The oracle was consulted not only on private matters but also on affairs of state, such as the founding of new colonies.

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Delphi

(1) An application development system for Windows from Borland. Introduced in 1995 and based on the object-oriented version of Pascal (Object Pascal), it includes visual programming tools and generates executable programs (.EXE files). Delphi supports all the major databases including Oracle, Sybase and INFORMIX.

(2) (Delphi Consulting Group, Boston, MA, www.delphigroup.com) The leading consulting organization in document management and workflow. Founded in 1987 by Thomas Koulopoulos, it provides consulting services, publications and inhouse and public seminars on the subjects. In 2004, Delphi became a wholly-owned division of Perot Systems Corporation, Plano, TX, but was taken private once again by founder Koulopoulos in mid-2007.

(3) See also Delphi Forums.

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Delphi

an ancient Greek city on the S slopes of Mount Parnassus: site of the most famous oracle of Apollo

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Delphi

ancient oracular center near Mt. Parnassus. [Gk. Myth.: Parrinder, 74; Jobes, 428]

See : Prophecy

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Delphi

shrine sacred to Apollo and site of temple and oracle. [Gk. Myth.: Brewer Dictionary, 274]

See : Sacred Places

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Delphi - 1. A US Internet service provider.

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Delphi

an ancient Greek city situated at the foot of Mount Parnassus in southwestern Phocis. A major religious center with its temple and oracle of the god Apollo.

During the seventh and sixth centuries B.C., Delphi acquired the role of an all-Greek sanctuary. Beginning in the sixth century B.C., the all-Greek Pythian Games took place in the city, during which a sacred truce was observed throughout Greece. Pilgrims and traders flocked to Delphi, exchanging goods and news. Numerous gifts dedicated to Apollo accumulated at Delphi as well as enormous treasuries, which were under the protection of the Delphic Amphictyony, because of which the city became a major center for credit and loan transactions. Delphi’s role began to weaken at the end of the fifth century B.C. During the 80’s B.C., Delphi was plundered by the Thracians and other tribes. At the end of the first century A.D. the temple at Delphi was restored. The oracle’s activity revived somewhat during the second century A.D. (the last known appeals to the oracle date back to the third century). Officially the temple was closed down by the Roman emperor Theodosius I around 390. Excavations at Delphi have been under way since 1892. At present Delphi is a small village.

The monuments of Delphi fuse harmoniously with the mountainous terrain. Located in the Sanctuary of Apollo are the Temple of Apollo (sixth century B.C.), reconstructed by the architects Chendor and Agathon in the fourth century B.C.; treasuries dating from the sixth to the beginning of the fourth century B.C., including the Siphnian Treasury (c. 525 B.C.) and the Treasury of the Athenians (beginning of the fifth century B.C.), both famous for their sculptural decorations; the Athenian Stoa (475 B.C.); the foundations of the Cnidean Lesche (second quarter of the fifth century B.C.); and a theater dating from the second century B.C. In the so-called Marmaria (sanctuary of Athena) are the foundations of the old (end of the seventh century B.C.) and the new (end of the sixth century B.C.) temples of Athena Pronaia and the Tholos, dating from the beginning of the fourth century B.C. and designed by Theodorus of Phocis. Located outside the sanctuaries are a stadium (sixth century B.C.), a gymnasium (sixth-fifth centuries B.C.), and the pool of the Castalian Spring (dating from Roman times). There is also an archaeological museum at Delphi.

REFERENCES

Gluskina, L. M. “Del’fy v period Pervoi sviashchennoi voiny.” Vestnik drevnei istorii, 1951, no. 2.
Gluskina, L. M. “Del’fy kak ekonomicheskii tsentr Drevnei Gretsii.” Uch. zap. Leningradskogo pedagogicheskogo instituta, 1956, vol. 13, issue 2.
Gluskina, L. M. “Iz novoi literatury o Del’fakh.” Vestnik drevnei. istorii, 1961, no. 4.
[La Coste-Messelière, P. de.] Delphes. Paris, 1957.