Delphi Apollo Temple

Location: Ancient Site

Delphi Temple of Apollo: According to the Greek mythology, Apollo came to Delphi in the guise of a Dolphin and carried on his back the priests of Crete. Another version is that Apollo walked all the way to Delphi from the northern part and he ultimately stopped at the city of Tempe primarily to collect laurel, which was of great spiritual importance to him. Keeping this legend in mind, the champions of the Pythian Games were awarded a wreath of Laurel or Bay leaves found in abundance in the city of Tempe.

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In the beginning, a holy spring flowed all the way to the temple but thereafter vanished underneath. This caused the formation of a cleft, from which vapors started rising which in turn was instrumental in compelling the Oracle of Delphi to make known her prophecies.

In the ancient days, there was an important temple in Delphi, the one of Phoebus Apollo. It was also the venue for the Pythian Games, named after the Serpent Python that was killed by Apollo during his childhood. However, according to the ancient divine law he deserved to be punished for this act of cruelty, given the fact that the Python happened to be the child of Goddess Gaia.

There is not much of truth in the fact that the Oracle envisaged and foretold the future in observing the natural phenomenon. Far from it, the Oracle of Delphi only counseled on how disasters could be avoided.