Day 2: Delphi the bellybutton of the world

According to myth, Zeus wanted to know where the center of the earth was and so he released two eagles at opposite sides of the earth to fly towards each other, where they met at Delphi.  Known as the bellybutton of the world, Delphi was also the epicenter of the Greek religious world.  The temple of Apollo and the Pythia oracle that resided there was the ultimate neutral, a mouthpiece of the god Apollo, of prophecy.  

Even with such a short trip, I knew that spending a day on Delphi would be worth the effort.  Its a long drive about 2 and a half hours from Athens, and I used a tour guide service to make the trip.  Including 2 rest stops, and both the temple of Apollo visit and the museum as well as lunch the tour was well worth it, even though I'm very much not a fan of the structure of nature of going with a guide.  

A long beautiful drive through the fields of Boeotia past the ancient city state of Thebes and then up into the mountains of Paranases where Delphi is set.  Delphi is quite the site, where you can make the same walk pilgrims would have, past the agora market where sacrifices could be purchased, up through monuments bought by the powerful city states to brag about victories.  Treasuries holding donations and up the the alter where a massive tripod of gold sat known to be sacred to Apollo.  In front laid the massive temple of Apollo, where pilgrims could make requests of the Pythia for advice and predictions.  The Pythia was a young woman who would get high off the natural gas escaping from a fissure in the rock under the temple, where she would go into an exstatic trance and give prophecies from the gods.  

Massive pillars still stand, and the views of the valley behind are spectacular.  You can continue, climbing up the mountain to see a theater dedicated to Apollo and a stadium even higher up that was the site of the Pythian games, one of the 4 annual sporting contests between Hellenic states, winners of which received the famous laurel wreaths of victory.  

After hiking around we spend time at the museum, and excellent display of the statues found at the site.  Another example of an excellent focused museum, with nothing not related directly to the temple area.  Stand outs include a wonder bull figure, a huge spinx.  A gorgeous statue of the Roman emperor Hadrian's young lover, who he must have been obsessed with as statues of him were built everywhere during his life.  And last but certainly not least a magnificent bronze statue of a chariot winner.  

A solid full day, and yet now I head into my very last day.  The ancient agora and the museum of archeology await back in Athens.