Greece - Land of the Oracle

It was the day to visit the Oracle! We've all heard about the Oracle at Delphi, but I've never stopped to think about what it was. In practice, the oracle was a priestess serving at the Temple of Apollo, who  spoke for Apollo, Greek God of the Sun (and light, and poetry, and a whole host of other things).  Pilgrims sought out answers from the seer priestess who entered a trance before giving a response. This often cryptic answers were then translated by a priest. The Oracle at Delphi was considered to be one of the most powerful in ancient Greece, and was regularly consulted by rulers.

At the recommendation of our innkeeper, we chose to visit the Museum before going to site. It was  rainy day, and we had high hopes that the weather would clear a little later in the morning. The museum and site are about 5 minutes walk out of the main town area, and we got to the museum bright and early to avoid the bus-loads of tourists that were to follow. The museum houses the treasures unearthed at the Delphi site, and it was useful education for us before going to the site.

Rain

The Sphinx of the Naxians, a guardian of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, approx. 570 -560 BCE.
Photo Credit: Dawn LX

Relief depicting a battle between the Olympian Gods and the Giants, the children of Gaia.
Photo Credit: Dawn LX

Even more detail. That the features were still so clear was amazing to me. 

The twins of Argos, votive offerings at Delphi, probably from the 6th century BCE.
Photo Credit: Dawn LX

A white kylix (drinking cup) depicting Apollo crowned with myrtle leaves, seated on a lion-legged stool. He is holding a lyre and pouring wine from a navel-phiale in an offering of libation. The black bird is probably a crow, recalling his love for Aigle-Koroni, daughter of King Phlegyas. 480-470-BCE. (adapted from the museum's description of the artifact).  

Cult Statue of Antinoos, a youth of extraordinary beauty and beloved companion of Emperor Hadrian. He drowned in the Nile at a young age, and was thereafter made a hero and worshipped as a demigod by order of the Emperor. 1st century BCE. 

The Charioteer, bronze statue depicting the charioteers in panhellenic games. The statue was preserved from looting and destruction because it was buried in the debris of the great earthquake of 373 BCE. Considered a masterpiece of the Severe Style (transitional phase between archaic and classical periods).  480-460 BCE. 

Feeling a lot more knowledgeable about Delphi, we ventured over to the archaeological site itself. It was still raining but the fogginess added to the mysterious feel of the place.

Misty mountains served as the backdrop today. 

Every city-state had their own little treasury build to house their valuable offerings.
Photo Credit: Dawn LX

View of the Athenian Treasury. 

The Altar of Apollo
 Photo Credit: Dawn LX

The setting of the Temple of Apollo

Entry way to the Temple of Apollo. The priestess would sit in a tripod seat over a fissure in the earth, from which fumes  rose to put the priestess in a trance, allowing her to give answers to her questioners.

More ruins

The whole site was built on the side of a mountain, so it was an upward climb. 

The Temple of Apollo dominated the site. 

Well-preserved theater from 4th century BCE. The theater was restored by the Pergamenon kings in 1st Century BCE. Plays were performed here every four years during the Pythian Festival.

View of the theater and the Temple of Apollo from above. 

Above the theater was the stadium, one of the best preserved in Greece. 

After a wet morning in Delphi, we set off on our next destination in the Peloponnese - Ancient Olympia, birthplace of the Olympic Games. The drive was spectacular as we hugged the shores of the Gulf of Corinth.

We stopped for a lunch break at the resort-town of Galaxidi, (population: 3030), which had pretty streets and charming waterfront dining.

We heart poppy flowers!

Funny door.

Picturesque streets

We stumbled into this bakery with yummy yummy treats!

More goodies than we could handle. 

Our hole in the wall lunch spot was in the Lonely Planet. Food was ok, but the old couple that ran this place were really adorable!

Octopus. 

Humus!

Clouds creeping over the mountain. 

After Galaxidi, we drove straight on to Olympia, half of it on highways which weren't too picturesque, except for this very ironic moment:

Tee hee.
Photo Credit: Dawn LX.

By the time we got to Olympia, the light was falling, and we decided to make our ancient ruin-exploration the following day. Didn't stop us from wandering around town and then going to a local restaurant for dinner.

Olympia
Photo Credit: Dawn LX

The tiny restaurant of Thea a distance away from town. The owner's 100 year old grandmother was there the whole time. Photo Credit: Dawn LX

Stuffed, fried peppers. Yum.
Photo Credit: Dawn LX

Local pasta.
Photo Credit: Dawn LX

In the next post...the ruins of Ancient Olympia!

Greece -- Land of Monasteries and Mountainside Towns

Day 5 in Greece -- We were starting off on our big road trip today, in our pre-booked Audi A1 (!), living it up on the Greek Peninsula. Away from the islands of the Mediterranean, the landscape was lush and hilly, and the exoticism of the whole vacation came together. Beautiful scenery, check. Sweet wheels, check. Unexpectedly great experiences, check.

Today was a driving day towards the town of Delphi - most known for the Oracle of Delphi, some 178 km northwest of Athens. As with any road trip, we made a few stops along the way. Some were planned, others were just out of plain curiosity.

Our sweet ride, complete with contrasting trim! Even the cat was impressed.

Verdant

Going downhill

That was what we were going downhill on.... then we realised we had taken a wrong turn and went all the way up again. The left turn was BEFORE this mountain. Sigh.....

Driving in the mountains (back up)

Occasionally we could come across roadside memorials built in the form of miniature churches. I found out only after we had left Greece that these were built to mark the spot where people had been killed in accidents. I'm glad I didn't know that before going on the road.  

Our first planned stop was the Monastery of Osios Lukas, named after a hermit that had lived in the area in the year 946, in the ruins of a temple to Demeter (Greek goddess of the harvest). This monastery was on UNESCO's World Heritage List because it stood out as one of the "outstanding examples of a type of construction characteristic of the middle period of Byzantine religious architecture". The church was constructed in the middle of the 10th century and contains some breathtaking frescos and architectural features (at least to my non-architect eyes). The setting of the monastery, on the slopes of Mount Helikon, was also magnificent.

 

The monks' living quarters

Front facade

Side arches buttressing the main building.

Photo Credit: Dawn LX

Front Courtyard
Photo Credit: Dawn LX

Amazingly restored mosaics/frescos inside the main church

Exquisite decor inside the chapel

The main dome covered with gold leaf mosaic
Photo Credit: Dawn LX

I liked the flowers around the monastery

A side chapel... and Dawn doing the cool photographer thing.

Inside the crypt - frescoed ceilings

Crypts usually freak me out, but the beauty of this crypt served as a distraction for some time. 

Continuing on the theme of doors...

 Back on the road - and we were now on our way for real to Delphi (apparently only 37 km away!)

Do you see what I see?

Here's where we made an unplanned stop. We went through many mountain towns during the drive, but the charming, picturesque town of Arahova hugging the slopes of Mount Parnassos made us do a double-take. This ski-resort town was only 12 km away from Delphi, but we decided it was time for lunch anyway ...

Arahova

Driving through Arahova. I'm a sucker for any town with star-lights strung across its main streets.

Photo Credit: Dawn LX

Tiny alleyways criss-cross the town.

Doors!
Photo Credit: Dawn LX

These many, many steps lead up to the church of Agios Georgios (St. George)

Mid-way rest-stop...

Made it to the top!

Church of Agios Georgios. The festival of Agios Georgios was scheduled for the following day - but we couldn't backtrack to join in the celebrations.. we had a whole country to explore!

We took the advice of our Lonely Planet guide and stopped in at a taverna across from the Church gates for lunch. This turned out to be one of our most enjoyable meals in Greece! The taverna was filled with an air of post-Easter celebrations. There were large families still savouring their mid-day meal, the owner was friendly and accommodating to two non-Greek-speaking Asian girls, and we struck up a great conversation with our fellow diners at the next table who shared their alcohol copiously. We had the most delicious Mastic (produced only in Greece) compliments of the owner, and warm raki with honey which went down like, er, honey from the diners on the next table. This was Greek hospitality at its best.

Ok, so I think the sign says Panagiota. If you can read Greek, please help me confirm this.

First, a steaming bowl of vegetable (?) soup with crusty bread.
Photo Credit: Dawn LX

Baked pasta
Photo Credit: Dawn LX

Something delicious... I think it was dolmades?

Eggplant and cheese baked. Yummm.

Yogurt with candied fruits. Seriously, the best dessert I had during the trip. This was amazing Greek yogurt, smooth, creamy, and tear-evoking. *choke*

Savouring a meal in the shadow of the church.

 Bellies filled, we were back on the road to Delphi, a quick 15 minute drive away. On the way into the modern town of Delphi, we drove past the ruins of ancient Delphi, and couldn't resist a stop to sneak a peak of what we would be seeing the following day. It was also a gorgeous place to stop and take in the view.

Ruins at the middle left.

Another memorial. 

Wisteria blooming!
Photo Credit: Dawn LX

Closer zoom of the ruins.
Photo Credit: Dawn LX

Watching the fog roll in over the mountain tops.
Photo Credit: Dawn LX

In true free-and-easy fashion, we had wandered into the town of Delphi without hotel reservations. We figured that it was off-peak travel season and since Delphi was such as tourist town, it should not have been difficult to get a room. We were surprised to find that we were wrong... and found that there were still bus-loads of tourists coming through and booking up whole hotels. Finally, at the 4th or 5th stop, we ran into the owner of one hotel who pointed us to his other hotel across the road - and said "Girls, I have the best room for you." We were a little skeptical, but he let us see the room before we decided. We were so pleasantly charmed by the room, we took it right away! It was spacious and had great views over the valley!

Pan Hotel, our life-saver!

Spectacular views towards the Gulf of Corinth

Our little balcony

The great room

I originally took this photo to remind myself of where we had parked the car. I am now using it as proof of my superior parking skills - parallel parking UPSLOPE! 

We hired this cat to watch over our car. 

Main streets of modern Delphi

 Settling in, we had a light dinner and were off to bed early, in preparation for our ruins-exploration the following day!