History of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi and its Oracle

This essay explores the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, a significant sanctuary in ancient Greece, renowned for its Oracle. Situated between the Phaidriades Rocks, the temple was dedicated to Apollo, the god of light and knowledge. The essay details the temple's construction, attributed to Trophonios and Agamedes, and its destruction and rebuilding over time. It highlights the role of the Pythia, the high priestess who delivered oracles, and discusses various myths surrounding the oracle's origins. The essay also examines the temple's significance in ancient Greek politics and religion, the benefits of being a priestess, and its eventual destruction by Emperor Theodosius I. The provided references offer further insights into the temple's history and the practices of the Oracle.

Running Head: Temple of Apollo at Delphi and its Oracle 0
Temple of Apollo at Delphi and
its Oracles
July 22
2019

Temple of Apollo at Delphi and its Oracle 1
Temple of Apollo and Oracles
Delphi is the place which lies between the rocks of Mount Parnassus which is also known as
Phaidriades Rocks these rocks are in a towering shape which is the part of central Greece. This
place is known and famous for the sanctuary of Apollo. According to mythology, Apollo was the
god of Light, knowledge, and Harmony. It was also home for the Oracle; they were the priest or
priestess in ancient Greece they used to make a decision about events which were going to
happen in the future or statement about the truth. The temple of Apollo is a valuable site of
Greece, in ancient times all the topics which were related to politics and religion were discussed
at the place. Archaeological department of Greece has preserved the site in an appropriate and
respected manner. At the center of the sanctuary, the temple of the Apollo was built now some of
the doric columns are remaining which explains about the splendid construction of ancient times.
Temple of Apollo was built around in 7th B.C. by two architects whose names were Trophonios
and Agamedes. The temple was in the Doric order and there were 6 columns were in the front of
the temple while 15 columns were at the flanks. This temple was destroyed by the earthquake in
373 B.C. and later on, it was rebuilt again in 330 B.C. It was the third time when it was rebuilt
(de Boer).
At the temple of Apollo, Pythia was the highest priestess at Delphi who had the responsibility of
serving the oracles. The term Pythia is derived from the word Pytho which is the real name of
Delphi. According to one of the famous story in which Pythia served the oracles in the state of
Frenzie which was generated by the vapours, rising by the chasm present in the rock and then she
started speaking gibberish which was converted by the priestess as a prophecy of Enigmatic.
There are many stories which explain the origin of the oracle in Delphi. According to one of
them, there was a herder of goat whose name was Coretas. He observed that every goat from his

Temple of Apollo at Delphi and its Oracle 2
herd fell in the crack of the earth which was a totally strange act for him to resist. Later on, he
discovered that there is a presence of divine which cannot see outside of the present; in
excitement he shared the experience with the other people of the village and other people of
nearby villages. Many people started visiting the place to check the presence of the divine but
none of them succeeded. Almost when 10 people died by this act, people of the village decided
that they will choose a person and that person will speak and explain facts on behalf of the God.
According to the mythology, the office where the Oracle worked or lived was possessed by the
Goddesses Themis and Phoebe. It was also believed by the people that the place was sacred to
the Poseidon who is considered as the God of Earthquake (Pfanz, Hardy, et al). In the dark age of
Greek, a new prophecy was announced by which Apollo seized the temple and the twin serpent
who were the guardians of the temple got expelled.
According to the mythology, it was believed that the God who lived in a holy plant gave the
oracle to explaining about the future happenings with the rustling of the leaves. By another story
in which it was explained that there were three sisters with the Wings at that time Apollo was
grazing the cattle over there. The Thriae was known as the first oracle of the Delphi. By the
belief of the Phemonoe Phytia was the first oracle, she was the young virgin girl but later on, she
fell in love and after the Echecrates of Thessaly, she was kidnapped and violated. Later on a
woman who was almost 50 years old was chosen as Oracle she dressed and wore jewelry to look
like a young girl. For the women of Greek, the job of Priestess was a respectable career
especially for the Pythia (Capra). She was served by other three women and there were so many
benefits of being the priestess. They never had to pay any tax, they had the right to own a
property and attend public events. They were rewarded by housing and gold crowns (Tsoucalas,
and George Androutsos). The temple of Apollo was survived until 390 A.D when the Emperor of

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Rome whose name was Theodosius I eliminated the Oracle by destroying the temple and almost
every statue, he also removed all the traces of Paganism.

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References
Capra, Andrea. "Father and Son: Apollo, Asclepius and the Socratic Birth of the Platonic
dialogue." Plato's Phaedo. Academia-Verlag, 2019. 317-322.
de Boer, Jelle Z. "The Oracle at Delphi: The Pythia and the Pneuma, Intoxicating Gas Finds, and
Hypotheses." Toxicology in Antiquity. Academic Press, 2019. 141-149.
Pfanz, Hardy, et al. "The Gates to Hell in Antiquity and their Relation to Geogenic CO2
Emissions." Toxicology in Antiquity. Academic Press, 2019. 185-219.
Tsoucalas, Gregory, and George Androutsos. "Asclepius and the Snake as Toxicological
Symbols in Ancient Greece and Rome." Toxicology in Antiquity. Academic Press, 2019.
257-265.