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Feature: The Story of Delphi
The Story of Delphi
By: RavensThorn
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Since I can remember the oracle of Delphi has called to me. I remember going to a psychic and she told me that I was an Oracle in Delphi in one of my Past Life Times. So from that time on, I was called to the oracle and all that she represented. So I began my research of the temple and how she came to be.
Delphi was an important ancient Greek religious sanctuary sacred to the God Apollo. It was located on Mt. Parnassus near the Gulf of Corinth. It was home to the famous Oracle of Apollo which gave cryptic predictions and guidance to both city and states and individuals. In addition , Delphi was also home to the panhellenic Pythian games. Delphi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
So lets begin with the Pythia. The name Pythia is derived from Pytho, which in mythology is the original name of Delphi. Etymologically: the Greeks derived this place from the verb {puthein} “to rot”, which refers to the sickly sweet smell of the decomposition of the body of the monstrous Python after she was slain by Apollo.
The Pythia was established at the latest in the 8th century BC though some estimates date the shrine to as early as 1400 BC. She was widely credited for her prophecies uttered under divine possession (enthusiasmos) by Apollo. The Pythian Priestess emerged preeminent by the end of the 7th century BC and continued to be consulted until the late 4th century AD.
During this period, the Delphic Oracle was the most prestigious and authoritative oracle among the Greeks, and she was among the most powerful women of the classical Greeks.
The ruins of the Temple of Delphi visible today date from the 4th century BC, and are of a peripteral Doric building . it was erected on the remains of an earlier temple, dated to the 6th century BC which itself was erected on the site of a 7th century BC construction attributed to the architects Trophonios and Agamedes. So when my sister and I Decided to start a coven it seemed only natural that Delphi came to be our name, we call ourselves the 13 Sisters of Delphi.
