Apollo stands for rationality. The Python stands for the Dark Forces. Apollo was set to kill the Python to conquer evil. However, you can't simply kill a python without bringing catastrophe onto yourself. Thus, Apollo combined with an Oracle to prevent anything bad from happening to him. When the Temple was later built for him, the Oracle was housed in there. People would come from far and wide to get a reading from her. They would give questions to a Priest who would give it the Oracle. Then, she would send a message and the Priest would interpret it for the people.
Professor Ryan finished this story with a quote, "Dark Powers are the Light's Yeast". This means if there was no evil in the world, there would be no need for those who are good to rise and challenge them. Thus, those such as the Python cause those who are good to come and conquer. There is more we learned, but I will touch upon that when we get to the actual site.
Before that, we visited the Archeological Museum attached to the ruins of Delphi. Nikh made us aware that Nero took about 500 statues from Delphi, so a lot of important aspects of the ruins are missing. One of the first statues we saw was an Egyptian-like sculpture from the Archaic Period (800-500 BC). The sculpture featured stiff bodies with a small smile. This one specifically was two brothers, Cleobis and Biton, who dragged their mother to the sanctuary. We also saw the bust of Antinoos, the most beautiful man in the youth; a chariot racer from the 5th century, one of the only statues with its eyes still intact; and Plutarch, one of the first biographers in Ancient Greece. I also learned an interesting fact that young warriors and athletes were sculpted naked while old wise men were always dressed.
As we entered the site of the ancient sanctuary, there were many similarities to Ancient Olympia from yesterday. There were treasuries like the Treasury of the Athenians. There was also a stadium, but it seemed much larger. It actually had seating too, but they were added later. I was most impressed by all the laws inscribed throughout the sanctuary. In the Polygonal Wall, Nikh explained when a slave became free, his name was inscribed in the wall, so that no one could challenge his freedom.
We also saw the site where a famous tripod used to stand. What is currently in Delphi is a replica of the base. The statue was built as a dedication to all Greeks after the Persians were finally defeated. The tripod was made of gold, which was later melt down to makes coins to pay for the military. The designed featured 3 serpents creating the tripod on top of the base. This portion made up of the serpents currently lives in Istanbul! There was also an theater in this sanctuary.
After leaving Delphi, we headed on the bus 3 hours to Athens. Once in Athens, Professor Ryan gave us a broad overview of the area. We saw the Greek Parliament building first. We then walked through a park that had some beautiful trees with purple flowers. After that, we passed the Zappeion located in the National Gardens, a meeting hall from the 1800s. Eventually we made it to the Marble Stadium. This was the site of a stadium from the Ancient Games that was remade in marble. 85,100 Metric Tons of Marble is used in this stadium. There is a standard track located inside, even though we didn't get to walk on it.
After a long day in 2 different cities, the group sat down for dinner at a local restaurant. This restaurant was really into family style dining. However, for our group of 12, they decided they would need 6 plates of each item. This included Tzatziki, Greek Salad, Fries, the Mixed Grill, and Pita Bread. It was a lot of food. This picture of P Ry and P Kim sums up how everyone felt after this meal. Yet, this never stopped us from getting gelato. After a quick stop at a quaint gelato shop, the group went back to finally sleep. Quite a long but amazing day in Greece!
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