Delphi & Meteora - Oracles & Monks

We left Athens behind and headed toward Delphi in our exploration of western Greece. To guide us along the way, we relied on an app that Alternative Athens provided to documented our reservations and additional advice re activities and restaurants on a day by day basis. We all agreed it was a pretty cool and functional technique. Continuing with how technology aided our travels, with one exception that I recall, all of our tolls were paid by tapping a credit card on the hand-held device. 

Our itinerary included a stop at a water park in the middle of Livadeia & Piges Kryas. Not the amusement park variety but some nice peaceful waterfalls and ponds. 

Next was a brief stop at the Distomo monument, in remembrance of the villagers massacred by the German SS Police in 1944 in retaliation for an attack on their occupying forces.

Arachova is a mountainous village nestling picturesquely at the foot of Mt. Parnassus. It seems to be the most cosmopolitan winter destination in Greece. Arachova is also noted for its bustling nightlife and as the favorite mountain resort of Athenians. We were only there for lunch but being in off-season and given lack of crowds, we suspect the nightlife was insignificant. We found a delightful little place place called Roots Grill Restaurant. As you might expect, it had the feel of a ski lodge. 

Delphi is a renowned ancient religious sanctuary dedicated to worshipping Apollo. Developed in the 8th century BC, the sanctuary was home to the Oracle of Delphi and the priestess Pythia, who was famed throughout the ancient world for divining the future and presenting it in an enigmatic form to be interpreted. The oracle was consulted before all major undertakings. Some notable visitors include Socrates, Plutarch, Emperor Nero and Alexander the Great.

Delphi is roughly a 2.5 hour drive from Athens. The expansive mountainside archaeological complex contains the remains of the sanctuaries of Apollo and Athena, a fairly intact Treasury Building (looks like a small temple), as well as an ancient stadium and theater. It was also home of the Pythian Games, the second most important games in Greece after the Olympics. Delphi was believed to be the center of the world and was marked by cone shaped monuments called "ompholes" Greek for navel.    

There are various theories of the source of the prophecies including one that assumes the gases from a fissure had an hallucinogenic effect. Another suggests the Oracle ingested (or inhaled smoke from) roasted laurel leaves. More recent investigations suggest the petrochemical emissions from the rocks below were the most likely source of the trances. Similarly theories of the decline of Delphi include one that the thermal fissure closed (likely due to seismic action). In any event, Delphi declined with the rise of Christianity and was ultimately buried under the site of a new village until the late 1800s.

The Delphi Archaeological Museum displays artifacts found among the ruins. A few that caught our eyes:

• A photo, probably from the1800's, showing a statue of Socrates with the site in the background.
• Two portions of friezes from the Athens Treasury
• A model of the site at its peak.
• The "twins" of Argos. These two identical, over life-size statues, are the oldest monumental votive offerings at Delphi
• The Charioteer, preserved by an earthquake in 373 BC. Remains of the reins were found beside the statue.
• The Sphinx of Naxos (570 - 560 BC) was originally brightly painted.

Some shots of the site today:

• The Treasury of the Athenians commemorates the victory over the Persians in 490 BC.
• The stele of Prusias constructed in honor of King Prusias II
• Probably a pedestal. Whatever it held is gone.
• The remaining few columns from the Temple to Apollo
• The 4C BC theater where musical contests were held every four years...this later evolved into the Pythian Games.

We returned to the modern town for dinner and our overnight stay. The town feature 3 streets along a hillside. Our hotel is on the lowest so it was all uphill to dinner.  We chose Vakhos Traditional Home Cooking. The wine list was quite impressive, with an amazing amount of detail about the wines.

The next day we headed north to Meteora. Along the way we checked out Harmena Village (on the outskirts of Amfissa Village) noted for being "eerily" abandoned when for some reason their tannery business died.

Meteora features impressive rock formations that are all the more impressive due to the large, precipitously located complexes of Eastern Orthodox monasteries built on top. Between the 13th and 14th century, as many as twenty-four monasteries were established here. 

At the end of the fourteenth century, the Byzantine Empire's reign over northern Greece was being increasingly threatened by Turkish raiders. Hermit monks, seeking a retreat from the expanding Turkish occupation, found the inaccessible rock pillars of Meteora to be an ideal refuge.

It is amazing to imagine how the early monks managed to get the building supplies up and how they managed stocking the monasteries after they were inhabited. Until the seventeenth century, the primary means of conveying goods and people from these eyries was by means of baskets and ropes. In the 1920s steps were cut into the rock, making the complexes accessible via bridges from the nearby plateau. Today you can drive within easy walking distance, although the number of stairs (more than 300 in some cases) may be a deterrent for some.

You can also hike around the area and visit the monasteries. Our guided (hiking) tour enlightened us about the history of the area and monastery life. We also got good views of the monasteries and encountered two turtles, the male shown below.

The extra walking did not deter us from those 300 steps to visit The Great Meteoron, the largest of the monasteries. Note top left photo below taken as we descended before later going back up to visit the monastery. The niches, gardens and interior decorations made it worth the effort. Do note that proper dress is required, skirts for ladies (even long pants are too revealing), covered shoulders, and no shorts.

We had lunch in Kalabaka at a nice restaurant in the tree shaded plaza near the tour agency office while we waited for our sunset tour. 

We suggest the sunset tour would be best on the first night of a visit, in any event, a sunset visit is a must. The monasteries and rocks take on a glow under the setting sun.

Even the views from our hotel were picturesque. The rainbow is not guaranteed.