10 Top Attractions in Sithonia (2024)

635. Delphi

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Ancient Towns

Sammy0618The Pan-Greek Holy Land is a complex structure outside the politics of the city-state, the only way to provide self-knowledge to all Greeks in a religious sense, and the motto "know yourself" is said to be engraved on the entrance to the temple of Apollo. Apollo worship gained a high reputation between the mid-8th and mid-7th centuries BC as patron of the then-fierce colonial cause. In 373 BC, an earthquake severely damaged the Holy Land's buildings and played a decisive role in its fate. It was during the second half of the fourth century that the Holy Land was gradually declining as Greece experienced political turmoil, and since Roman rule in the first century AD no new buildings have emerged. In 392, Roman Emperor Theodosius I issued a decree banning paganism, marking the end of the Apollo cult. The site of the Holy Land was occupied by a village in early AD and rediscovered in the 15th century. The operation of the shrine has undergone many changes in history, according to Prutak, one of the most authoritative witnesses, who was once a priest of the temple, and there was only one female prophet in the temple during his time (1st century AD), who was asked once a month; Earlier, the ritual was in full swing, requiring three priestesses to take turns to cope with the long line of requests. In another temple in Apollo, the oracle was only passed on through thought to the prophet's spirit, which made him/her likely to play more freely. In Christian times, Chrysostom believed that Pitia was a woman possessed by the devil, drilling into the prophecy woman from the depths of the strata beneath the tripod. Every year, when Apollo leaves, there is naturally no shrine, which causes countless believers to wait when the shrine reopens every year. So the priests of the temple have the right to arrange priority for the ceremony (Προμαντεία / promanteia). Participants first offered a proper gift to God, then the priest poured cold water on a goat, and if it did not shudder, it would not be considered an ominous sign; If the worshiper is accepted, the goat will be offered, and he can enter the temple to ask the female prophet a question, of course, whether the question is answered depends on God's will.

Greece · Phocis