Delphi. A UNESCO World Heritage Site. Δελφοί. Μνημείο Παγκόσμιας Πολιτιστικής Κληρονομιάς της UNESCO.

Ancient Greeks were choosing their sacred places of worship with great care. Places with exceptional natural beauty were chosen and dedicated to their deities. One of the most important places of worship of ancient Greece is Delphi. There is a lot going on about this place.It is said that Zeus, the king of all Gods and creatures released two eagles, one from each end of the earth and they met here. So this place is the center of the earth. The "ομφαλός" or navel of the earth. At the early stages the site was dedicated to "Γαία", the Goddess mother Earth. A large, monster serpent "Πύθων", Python, was guarding the place, but later, Apollo killed the snake and claimed the place for himself. The name of the place is also related to Dolphin as, according to another myth, Apollo came here riding a dolphin. If one tries to relate all names and etymology of the words related to Delphi, one could get lost. But it seems there is also another relation. The ancient Greek word/root δελφ- (delph-) means the "belly" (woman's womb) and α-δελφ-ός (adelphos) means the one who comes from the same belly, the brother or α-δελφ-ή (adelphi) means the sister. Artemis (Diana) was also worshiped here. She was the sister of Apollo. Zeus was their father and they had both come out of the belly of Λητώ (Lato), their mother. The same words are used in modern Greek to signify brother and sister.

It is worth reading more about the place, its importance to the ancient Greeks, the oracle and all the related myths in Wikipedia. I will only add that this place is so intriguing to me that every time i visit it i feel the awe and admire its unique beauty. So when I had the chance to take my friends from France there and see the place again myself once more, I did not miss the chance.

The first photograph shows the remaining columns of the Temple of Apollo.

 Λίγα μέρη στην Ελλάδα μπορούν να προκαλέσουν τα συναισθήματα και το δέος που νιώθει κανείς όταν επισκέπτεται τους Δελφούς. Από τη μια μεριά η ομορφιά του τοπίου που σου κόβει την ανάσα, και από την άλλη, η ιστορία, η ιερότητα και οι μύθοι που συνδέονται με τον χώρο από τους πανάρχαιους χρόνους ως τις μέρες μας. Λίγο - πολύ, όλοι την ξέρουμε την ιστορία και τους μύθους αλλά δεν χάνει όποιος τα ξαναθυμηθεί διαβάζοντας την Wikipedia. Εγώ είχα πρόσφατα την τύχη να τους ξαναεπισκεφθώ συνοδεύοντας τους Γάλλους φίλους μου πριν από μερικές μέρες και σας παίρνω μαζύ μου στην ξενάγηση.