Delphi

Extract

(See also Delphic oracle; Pythian Games). Delphi, one of the four great *panhellenic*sanctuaries (the others are *Isthmia, *Olympia, *Nemea), is on the lower southern slopes of *Parnassus, c.610 m. (2,000 ft.) above the gulf of *Corinth.There was an extensive Mycenaean village in the *Apollo sanctuary at the end of the bronze age; the area was resettled probably during the 10th cent., and the first dedications (tripods and figurines) appear c.800. The settlement was probably relocated after the first temple was built (late 7th cent.). The first archaeological links are with Corinth and Thessaly. The 6th cent. Homeric *hymn to Apollo says Apollo chose *Cretans for his Delphic priests, and early Cretan metal dedications have been found, but Cretan material could have come via Corinth, and Cretan priests may have been invented because Crete was distant i.e. this is a way of stressing the end of local domination. The first .