When I was a junior in high school, Ms Bishop, an English teacher, decided to start a new class. Mythology. I still remember the short video she recorded describing the class in 15 seconds. I was very excited about this new class. Ms. Bishop’s intention was for us to comprehend the stories behind the many mythology references in literature. I joined the class of no more than 20 students.
Apollo – My Mythology Crush
We learned about the Greek gods, the Titans, and the Trojan War. We learned the stories of the heroes like Hercules and Achilles. Ms. Bishop also taught us what each god was responsible for. I remember that Apollo was one of my favorites… in fact, I had a bit of a crush on him (nerd!) Son of Zeus, twin to Artemis, Apollo was the god of music, the sun, and victories. He represented order. One of my favorite stories about Apollo is that in antiquity, crows used to be white. But once, a crow gave Apollo bad news and the god was so angry that he turned the crow black. And that is why crows are black and no longer pure white. Because they had offended the god. But most important, Apollo was the god of prophesy and he had his oracle in Delphi.
The Temple of Apollo
Many stories, both in myth and in reality, tell about kings and everyday people who made a pilgrimage to Delphi in order to visit the oracle. It felt like a place of fiction, but Delphi was real. High in the mountains, the temple of Apollo housed maiden priestesses who were able to channel the god and tell the future. Sounds like something out of a fantasy novel, but Delphi is real! And today, I visited the remnants of the temple of Apollo.
I joined about 30 other tourists in a tour of Delphi this morning. Turns out the meeting point was right next to my hotel, so at eight in the morning, I boarded the bus and commenced the three hour drive to Delphi. Our tour guide was a young, Greek PhD student in archeology. He was extremely pleasant and extremely knowledgeable. Probably the best and most passionate tour guide I’ve ever had. And I’ve done tons of tours over my lifetime.
The bus traveled up the mountain of Parnassos about 78 miles away from the Greek capital. The views were spectacular, but I couldn’t stop thinking of the incredible effort it must have been to travel to the temple during antiquity. The trip must have been hard.
Crazy Vapors
When we arrived at the site, our tour guide explained the story of how the oracle founds its place in the mountains. The story says that shepherds herding their goats through the mountain noticed that their goats would act funny whenever they approached a whole in the Earth. Vapors were escaping from the hole and so the site became a place of worship for the goddess Gaia, the Earth. Milenia later, Apollo wanted to build his oracle on this site and took over the site by defeating Pythos, the guardian snake.
The Temple of Apollo was built over the hole where the vapors escaped the Earth. When it came time to deliver the oracle, the main priestess would inhale the vapors and go into a trance where she could speak directly with Apollo and receive his prophesy. Recent evidence has shown that a large hole was indeed present at the site of the temple, and many archeologists believe that the vapors could have been methane escaping the Earth after an earthquake.
Ruins and Loot
The only thing that remains from the temple are about five stone columns and a very large slab. The Theatre of Apollo high on the hill is much better preserved as are the old vaults that used to house the treasure paid by the pilgrims seeking the god’s prophesy. Various rich merchants and Greek city states like Athens and Sparta built bronze and marble statues to adorn the temple and gain the favor of the god. However, almost all of the remaining statues were pilfered away from Greece by kings, rich people, or entire governments. One example is King Ludwig I of Bavaria who took some statues to adorn his court. The British Museum still houses many of these statues. The Greeks have asked to have many of their treasures sent back, but many governments refuse to hand them over citing that the Greeks lack the technology to preserve and house many of these artifacts. This is partly true. In fact, the new Acropolis Museum was created as a way to house and preserve the original art of the Athenian Acropolis. Perhaps one day, these treasures will find their way back home.
Arachova
After a tour of the new Delphi museum, we went back in the bus and went to a nearby mountain town called Arachova. This is a ski resort town in the Parnassos mountains. The town is small but extremely picturesque. Reminded me of the Alps during the summer, except with Greek elements like tavernas and orthodox churches. We had a delicious lunch at one of the local tavernas where I had time to interact with many of the other tourists.
Athens
We arrived back in Athens at about seven at night. Although it had been a very long day, I was energized from everything I had heard and seen. I walked down around the Acropolis and picked a taverna with a good view and ordered a glass of Greek wine. As I swiped through the pictures of the trip, I couldn’t help but think of Ms. Bishop. If only she knew that one of her students had made it to Delphi, all because of what I learned in her class. Unfortunately, the Mythology class was a one and done; our high school never gave it again. What a waste. Looking back, the Mythology class was one of the subjects that has stayed with me for my entire life. I wish I could thank Ms. Bishop. I would tell her, “Thank you. Your class changed my life.”
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