On Friday I visited several famous battlefield locations of the Greece and Persian wars in 479-480 BC and today I journeyed to Delphi, the “navel of the world” in Classical Greece, where the Oracles of the Pythia served to forecast the destiny of those who sought her guidance. Say what you want about an old crone who sat in a bronze cauldron in a subterranean chamber inside the Temple of Apollo, breathing psychotropic vapors and speaking in tongues, but many of her oracles were spot on. Take for example her Oracle for King Leonidas on the eve of the battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC:
‘Here is your fate, O you who live in broad-streeted Sparta:
Great and glorious though your city is, yet men bred of Perseus Will sack it.
Either that, or a king sprung from the stock of Heracles
Must perish and be mourned within the borders of Lacedaemon.
For the might of neither the bull nor the lion can check
The Persian, backed as he is by Zeus, face to face.
I tell you this:
There can be no holding him, not until one of the two he has rent”
King Leonidas understood the meaning of this Oracle and embraced his destiny. Either he had to die or Sparta would fall to the Persians. He met his destiny at the “Hot Gates” of Thermopylae where he and 300 Spartan Warriors checked the Persian advance for 3 days and achieved immortality. Come along with me and I will walk you through the drama.
The Pass of Thermopylae, 23 March 2018 (2498 years after the battle). Back in 480 BC the Aegean Ocean reached past the road on the right. This photo is taken from the top of Kronos Hill where the Spartans made their last stand. On the plain in the foreground hundreds of thousands of Persians under the guidance of Xerxes amassed to make the final kill and then point their sights on the destruction of Athens.
The Pass of Thermopylae looking across the plain in the opposite direction, the vantage point of the Persians. Note the sulphuric clouds rising from the hot springs on the right, bordering the mountainous wall of the battlefield, flowing towards Kronos Hill. Hence the nickname the “Hot Gates” which surely fed Xerxes paranoia about messing with the gods of Attica and Sparta.
My “Herodotus Battlefields Tour” guide Nikos on top of Kronos Hill. Before him lies the memorial plaque for the 300 Spartans slain on grounds around him. The transcription of this plaque is famously translated as follows:
“Stranger, go tell the Spartans we stood this ground they bid us hold”
Now we turn our attention to Delphi. The mysterious Oracle was located here at the Temple of Apollo. Pilgrims seeking guidance would ascend the ramp at left (upper photo) and enter the inner sanctum of the Temple. The Pythia was located in the central subterranean chamber in the lower photo. Priests would interpret visions and orations of the Pythia, sending the pilgrims off to face their destiny.
The athletic stadium for the Pythian Games held every four years at Delphi in the 4th and 5th centuries BC. Athletes ran the length of this field which was one “Stade” in distance, 178.5 meters. This stadium is considered the most pristine and best preserved of ancient antiquity. Those craggy cliffs in the background are the “Phaedriades Rocks” which tower over Delphi, reflecting light and heat over the entire temple complex.
The theatre at Delphi with a nice alternative view of the spectacular Pleistos River valley if the play ran on too long and your mind started to wander!
French school kids learning their Greek history on location which I suspect improves retention.
One of the reason’s Delphi is a UNESCO World Heritage site is due to the unusually large inventory of ancient texts (in both Greek and Latin) inscribed in bases, pillars, and walls etc. all over the complex. Zoom in closer to this pillar you will see what I mean.
Make a note to yourself right now in your calendar: Greece – March 2019. Lock it in and you won’t be sorry. Abundant wildflowers in every direction, thin crowds, temps 50s – 60s, and prices are cheap! All prices go up April 1st, which is the start of high Season
