Delphi

April 24, 2015

Delphi Greece, the home of Apollo

I've decided to stay reasonably current with the outings and will circle back to earlier adventures when I return...

We left Olympia at 8 am and we had a delightful stop a couple of hours later in the small harbor town of Nafpaktos.

A bit of coffee and a stroll around the harbor was just what I needed to remember that Greece isn't all just about ruins. 

Two more hours on our bus and we reached the ancient ruins of Delphi, the center of the world for the ancient Greeks.   I wish I had more Greek history and mythology between my ears, but I am getting a good dose this week.  Early on in these ramblings, I promised to not turn this into a monologue of our itinerary. I should have also promised not to become a history lesson. There is SO much ancient history, so many gods and goddesses, so many stories and ruins, I'm having an astounding class. Many of the tourists we meet at the ruins of Greece are Greek, other European and lots of students. What a great way to bring history alive. Perhaps I would have stayed more interested in high school if I have an opportunity like this. 

Delphi...the museum holds artifacts dating back to 7th century BC that were here and is a great example the influence surrounding cultures had on each other. The Temple of Apollo held a huge marble statue of him there are treasuries, that I understand were also temples of a sort, the Oracle and we walked up to the stadium. Greeks were big on stadiums and theaters. Some of our pictures...

The twins, who died while sleeping after performing heroic feats, are an excellent example of the best of the best in Delphi. 

We hiked to the top of the mountain to see the stadium. We could see the starting blocks for the athletes. All of this during the 5th to 1st century BC.  It is impressive and I can occasionally imagine myself in that era. Or perhaps not, as women were not allowed in the stadiums for contests, nor in the temples, theaters or centers of debate. 

My brutely honest thoughts here...there are a lot of ancient rocks in Greece. Without our fabulous tour guide, we would have been lost. But I can only hold so much antiquity at a time. I'm overwhelmed by the magnitude and greatness of these ruins but something is being lost on me in the translation. This is a culture SO ancient, I have a hard time relating. 

I certainly accept the importance of the great scientists, astronomers, economist and philosophers of the time. Democratic government got its beginnings in Greece. But I believe I've had enough of looking at rocks and ruins.  For me it becomes more alive when I interact with the people of the culture. To learn about their lives, beliefs, customs and loves.  That is what makes me want to travel. 

The end of our trip is drawing near. I question how long will compare my travels to my experience on the El Camino last year.  Walking across a country seems to be a great way to learn the culture, meet the people and really get a feel of things.  A whirlwind tour leaves me tired, physically and mentally. It's time to figure out what means of travel learning we want have on our next adventure. Any ideas???