Day 6 - Visiting the Oracle, an Apiary, and Be My Guest

Tuesday we were up and out early to go just down the road from the village to go see if we could get our prophecies told. 

Delphi is a very small town in Greece where 2600 years ago important people came to be heard by the Delphic oracle, also called Pythia, Pytho, and Oracle of Delphi. The oracle was believed to deliver prophecies from the Greek god Apollo. She was based in his temple at Delphi, located on the slopes of Mt. Parnassus above the Corinthian Gulf.

We met our local specialist, Georgia, at the base of Mt. Parnassus and started our ascent. From the bottom of the mountain, it really does not look like much. Over time earth quakes and land slides completely covered the Delphi Markets, Treasury  Houses, Apollo's temple, the Amphitheater and Stadium. In fact, for 100s of years the town of Delphi built their homes on the ruins that had been covered by earth. In the late 19th century the Greek government moved the town a few miles away and began excavation. What they found were some the oldest and most well preserved artifacts, 2600 years old. The structures were older than the Parthenon by a few hundred years. 

The ruins of Delphi included many blocks of stone with inscriptions using the Greek alphabet, which provided historians a written record of what took place here over 2 and half thousand years ago. It is quite remarkable. 

In addition to the Oracle, Delphi is also considered by the Greeks to be the center of the world or 'The Navel of the World'. A stone, the Omphalos, marks the spot that the ancients considered to be the navel of the world. The one that stands in this spot today is a replica, the original being on display in the museum of Delphi. 

As you continue the climb there are many foundations in the area. To be heard by the Oracle one had to basically purchase an audience with gifts or money. There were treasury houses that held the accumulation of precious items. This particular one was reconstructed since they were able to find 60% of the original blocks. 

There is little left of the Temple of Apollo where the Oracle would give her prophecies, but the inscriptions tell the story. The Delphic oracle sat on a tripod over a chasm, inhaling fumes that were emitted from the earth. Intoxicated by the vapors, the oracle would enter into a trance-like state allowing Apollo to possess her spirit. In this state, she would mutter incomprehensible answers to advice seekers, which were then translated by a priest. Although her visions were often cryptic and ambiguous, the high priest was wise enough to interpret the Oracles prophecy into something that the paying customer wanted to hear. 

The views as you go higher and higher just get more stunning.  They even had an amphitheater on the side of the mountain.  Imagine watching a performance here with the vista behind it.

We kept climbing and eventually we reached the Stadium. It seems crazy that ancient Greeks built all this on the side of a mountain but it is undeniably here. 

It was a beautiful day for a hike and we enjoyed the opportunity to get some exercise. 

After touring the ruins, we met Georgia at the Delphi museum. The museum contains many of the artifacts that were uncovered in the late 1800s. Since these artifacts predate the Parthenon it is believed to be the first representation of 3D art. 

Although there were many bronze statues, most were pilfered and melted down for the precious metals. This is the only full size bronze statue recovered and is considered the pride of the museum.  The sculpture depicts the driver of the chariot race and is called the "Charioteer of Delphi".

The eyes of the statue are made of onyx and are very realistic.

One of the unique things in the museum is that they included in some of the displays pictures of how they found the statues and other artifacts. It is hard to imagine the excitement when they found huge statues buried in the ground basically fully intact.

After we left the museum we said goodbye to Georgia, she did a great job helping us understand and appreciate what we were seeing. 

We boarded our coach and headed down to the low lands for another Trafalgar special treat that was not on our Agenda, a visit to the MoKo Apiary. This was a unique educational experience that was more than just interesting. The presentation was intended to educate people on the global urgency of the world declining bee population. 

We looked pretty funny all suited up for the tour. 

It turned out to be a very worth while stop, we got an education on bee keeping up close, closer than June was looking for, and a new appreciation for honey. One of the owners of the business, John, did the presentation with only a hood and bare hands. When asked how many times he has been stung, he said zero today so far.  

We were able to see the worker bees, the drones and the queen as well as all the stages in the life of a Bee. As usual, the female (worker bees) controls everything about the hive and even kicks out the males (drones) in the fall because they don't want to feed them all winter. 

It was a fun time and we learned never to buy Honey in a Super Market, always buy it from a bee keeper. What is sold in a Super Market has been processed and ruined according to John. 

After the Apiary we drove a short distance to the Bay of Corinth for Lunch.

 It was a great stop and we were seated with a spectacular view of the Ionian Sea. The food was good and we were on our way to Olympia around 14:00. 

The drive from Delphi to Olympia is along the coast of the Ionian Sea and is very picturesque. 

We crossed over to Peloponnese via the The Rio-Antirrio Bridge which was opened on August 7, 2004 one week before the opening of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. It is almost 2 miles long and very aesthetically pleasing.

We arrived in Olympia around 18:00, checked into our rooms and were back on the coach by 18:45 to go to our 'Be My Guest' Trafalgar experience.  We were treated to a tour and dinner at a local Olive farm, Agriturismo Magna Grecia, which is a 4th generation family run business.  https://magnagrecia.gr/

Our tour guide was the owner of the business, Franca, who is clearly the Matriarch and runs the business with her sons. 

The business appears to be extremely well run, the property is beautiful and everything is very well organized and clean.  They have diversified their products beyond olive oil to soaps, creams, jewelry and more. Of course the girls purchased some olive oil to bring home. 

The tour was very educational which included sampling of their various olive oils and was followed by a very nice meal in their restaurant. 

There was even entertainment and dancing. Some of our group even jumped in and danced.

It was a long but fun day, but before retiring to our rooms, we took the time to take a group photo.

Wednesday we will explore the Olympia and move onto Nafplion.