ANCIENT GREEK ARCHITECTURE | FIELD GUIDE
HISTORICAL SERIES ©2020 MYTHICAL ROUTES
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HISTORICAL SERIES ©2020 MYTHICAL ROUTES
MYTHICAL ROUTES HISTORICAL SERIES
ANCIENT DELPHI ANCIENT GREEK ARCHITECTURE
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Table of Contents Table of Contents
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Historical Series
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Copyright Notice
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Cradle of Western civilization
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Delphi
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About the Author
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Books by G. Baltoyannis
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Historical Series collection
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Photography Series
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Adventure Travel Greece
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Historical Series Mythical Routes Historical Series is a location-based series of architectonical / historical guides based on the best seller books by architect and author G. Baltoyannis. For more information visit Mythical Routes | Books.
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HISTORICAL SERIES ©2020 MYTHICAL ROUTES
ANCIENT GREEK ARCHITECTURE CHTHONIC AND CELESTIAL ❖
Editor in chief: Angelo Baltoyannis
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Author: George Baltoyannis
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Translation: Chris Loutroutzis
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Text editing: Lorraine Adams
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Graphic design: Angelo Baltoyannis
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Design Layout & Pagination: Mythical Routes IKE
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ISBN: 978-618-84479-0-5
“Mythical Routes inaugural mission is to help spread the ideas and facts of Ancient Hellenic World with the broader geographical meaning throughout the international adventure community”
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Copyright Notice All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, send us an email or write at the address:
Mythical Routes Nymfon Sqr. 1, Glyfada 16674, Greece Disclaimer : All materials are protected under the United States and international copyright laws and treaties which provide substantial penalties for infringement. The use of any images or other materials, in whole or part, for any purpose, including, but not limited to, reproduction, storage, manipulation, digital or otherwise, is expressly prohibited without the written permission of Mythical Routes. Governing Law : Any claim relating to Mythical Routes's web site shall be governed by the laws of the State of Greece without regard to its conflict of law provisions. General Terms and Conditions applicable to Use of a Web Site.
Copyright © 2020 MYTHICAL ROUTES | All Rights Reserved For more information, visit Terms of Use
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Cradle of Western civilization Greece is considered the cradle of Western civilization, being the birthplace of democracy, Western philosophy, Western literature, historiography, political science, major scientific and mathematical principles, Western drama and the Olympic Games.
! Ancient Messini, Peloponnese © 2019 A. Baltoyannis
From the eighth century B.C., the Greeks were organized into various independent city-states (polis), which spanned the entire Mediterranean region and the Black Sea. Philip of Macedon united most of the Greek mainland in the fourth century B.C., with his son Alexander the Great rapidly conquering much of the ancient world, from the eastern Mediterranean to India. Greece was annexed by Rome in the second century B.C., becoming an integral part of the Roman Empire and its successor, the Byzantine Empire, which adopted the Greek language and culture.
The country's rich historical legacy is reflected in part by its 18 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. 7 of 20
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Delphi Administrative and Religious Center of Greece Delphi, the "Navel of the Earth", the "Common Hearth of all the Greeks", was the most sacred site of Ancient Greece. The Antiquities curator B. Pentzatos and Supervisor M. Sarla describe the site of Delphi using these words. Apollo came to Delphi together with the Doric tribes and as a patriarchal god, he pushed aside the matriarchal deities worshiped there. From the archaeological digs, we conclude that the Myceneans had settled in this very place and that the Oracle of Gaia flourished up until 1100B.C. It is from there that the "Descend of the Dorians" begins which shakes Greece, and finalizes the conquest of Delphi by Apollo. The myth which concerns Apollo and is in accordance with the archaeological findings is in summary as follows: Apollo, who is the son of Zeus and Leto, a celestial god, kills Python, who, as a child of Gaia is a chthonic god. But, because of the blood relation of Apollo with Zeus and of Zeus with Gaia, Apollo does not celebrate his victory, but in order to be purified, he leaves the Oracle, going to Thessaly as a slave for 7 years and he returns to Delphi as a dominant god. But yet again, every year for three months he goes to the Hyperborean countries for purification, leaving Dionysus in his place. The constellation of Crater (Dionysus) was linked to the constellation of the Corvus (Apollo), through the constellation of Hydra (image 5); all three constellations are visible from Greece. Part of Hydra is visible in the picture and it extends behind the Parthenon, towards the zodiac of Cancer. This way Hydra has a length and starts from the zodiac of Cancer, crosses through the zodiac of Leo and reaches the zodiac of Virgo. Namely, it remains in the sky during the months July - August - September, therefore during the whole summer. The Corvus (crow), which was a bird dedicated to the worship of Apollo, was sent by the god to spy on the nymph Aegle, who, because of her beauty, was called Koronida (crow) and was unfaithful, because she was afraid that Apollo, with whom she had given birth to Asclepius, would abandon her. Therefore the clergy at some point created the relationship of the constellations of Hydra and Raven. Later on, with the emergence of Dionysus, they created the relation of 8 of 20
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the constellations of the Hydra, Corvus, and Crater, and Aegle became one of the Nymphs of Dionysus.
! Constellation of Ophiuchus (Image 5) Š 2002 A. Baltoyannis
All that we have described, proves the connection of the celestial dome with the archaeological site of Delphi through astrological and astronomical processes, which also indicate the intellectual level of the clergy. Dionysus was the link who connected the chthonic gods with Apollo, who was the interpreter of the orders sent by the celestial gods using Hermes as a messenger. This relationship between Apollo and Dionysus essentially represents "man" as thought (Apollo) and as passion (Dionysus), which 9 of 20
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converge or diverge depending on the social choice of men. Thus, the form of Dionysus will change respectively from good looking to repulsive.
Temple of Apollo
! Image III Š 2002 A. Baltoyannis
The relationship between Dionysus and Apollo is reflected on the pediments of the 4th century B.C. temple, which was completed in 330 B.C. and is the sixth consecutive one that replaced the previous archaic one which was destroyed by earthquakes (373 B.C.). Pausanias mentions that in the eastern pediment the arrival ("Epiphany") of Apollo in Delphi was depicted, as it was also the case in the previous one which was destroyed. On the western pediment, Dionysus was depicted together with the Maenads. Architects of the temple were Spintharus of Corinth and later on Xenodorus (restorations). The sculptures were created by Praxias and Androsthenes. The temple possesses a technically illogical deviation to the North, which however can be explained by the eastern pediment of the temple, which shows the region of the Hyperborean people where Apollo comes from to the temple, namely the Cimmerian people (Ukraine). The deviation from the original positioning of the temple was assumed between 545 and 500 B.C. when the fifth consecutive temple of the Alcmaeonidae (above image III) was built with the archaic dimensions, identical to the previous one (6x15), with the code K. (6) (1) (5) (6) (3), namely according to the Pythagorean interpretation:
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(6) = HARMONIOUS TEMPLE (1) = GOD - APOLLO - AXIS - SUN (5) = LIGHT (6) = TRIODITIS - HECATEBELETES (3) = LOXEAS
! ImageXVIII © 2002 A. Baltoyannis
In the same site of Delphi, there is also the temple of another apocalyptic god, Asclepius, a short distance down from the temple of Apollo. This god restores man to a healthy condition and has the ability to raise the dead. Therefore, only the apocalyptic gods were gathered in Delphi (Apollo, Dionysus, and Asclepius), who replaced the chthonic matriarchal deities; besides, Delphi is mentioned in the Iliad as the oracle of Peitho. These three gods will also constitute the logical basis for the Christian worship, because Jesus covers their basic properties; namely he is born, dies and is reborn, like Apollo (Sun) and 11 of 20
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Dionysus, he has connections to the celestial space like Apollo and with the chthonic space like Dionysus, he even resurrects the dead like Asclepius. These new gods upgraded logically since 1100 B.C. the Greek worship, extending human life with the concept of future rebirth through reincarnation. This also indicates the logic of the prevalence of the new worship, without religious wars. Thus the deceased, while in older times had his head turned to the north and his face to the west (Necromanteion), now the face turns to the east (Delos) waiting for rebirths like the Sun with the help of Apollo, Dionysus, and Asclepius.
! Temple of Apollo Š 2014 A. Baltoyannis
On the upper part of the above picture (Route of the Soul), we observe the relationship between Apollo and Dionysus, where the commands of the celestial gods are transmitted to Apollo, who in turn transmits them to Dionysus and he passes them to the chthonic gods. The soul, with the aid of Hermes, is headed west to the Necromanteion in order to be judged. This logic of man, namely the desire to extend his life or to be reborn, is valid even to this day. Modern-day society tries with the technological means at its disposal to defeat old age and death. This logic, however, has its infrastructure 12 of 20
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deeply rooted in ancient civilization. So from reincarnation, it transitioned to resurrection during the Christian period. Otherwise, it is very doubtful if modern-day society would experiment for the extension (Rebirth) of human life. So then, issues that for us nowadays are self-explanatory, have undergone a time-spanning process. With the upgrade of the cult, although Delphi replaces the chthonic gods with the apocalyptic ones, it does not abolish them; thus the oracle becomes a GeoSolar center. Later on during the reign of Emperor Augustus and his Apollonian religious policy, the oracle of Delphi will become a Solar center. We observe then, that the religious reforms are localized in Delphi, the other religious centers are either funded or abolished. Therefore it is Delphi and the clergy that process the worship.
Moreover, it is from this oracle that everyone both within and outside of Greece seeks guidance for social and political issues. It is the source of information for the city-states concerning colonization, with an "Ambiguous Oracle" when the interests of the city-states were clashing. 
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About the Author George Baltoyannis was born in Athens, Greece in 1941. His father was from Epirus and his mother from Andros. He studied architecture in Rome and took part in art exhibitions (Margutta – San Luca – Artecom – Palazzo Delle Esposizioni etc.). He returned to Athens in 1970 and worked as a freelance architect and at the same time was an employee, successively at the Greek Ministry of National Defence (Pentagon), the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) and the Autonomous Building Organization for Officers (AOOA). Today, alongside the above activities he also researches and lectures on history of art.
His books and theories have been embraced by the Università degli Studi dell'Aquila in Italy, where he was invited several times to give lectures, and the theories of his book “Sacred Architecture” have been integrated into the curriculum of lesson "Elements of Geometry" of the University of Ioannina in Greece.
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Books by G. Baltoyannis With more than 30 years of Historical research on the relation between ancient Greek architecture and ancient religion, George Baltoyannis is the author of five best seller Greek books. Most books are available in English language and eBook reflow format. For more information, visit our Shop.
Sacred Architecture
Sacred Journey to Mystical Greece
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Sacred Astronomy
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Historical Series collection To view the full Historical Series collection eBooks and get all available Mythical Guides, in mobile-friendly layout, visit our Shop.
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Photography Series Mythical Routes Photography Series is dedicated to understanding photography, learning about the history of travel photography and adventure photography specific techniques, mastering equipment and much more.
Angelo Baltoyannis | architect
Angelo Baltoyannis is an Architect and Urban Planner with postgraduate studies in Art and Photography. He was a project partner with Nikon Greece in 2017, contributor in many photographic magazines like iFocus, Overland Times and editor in chief in Mythical Routes Publishing. Angelo has been involved in Travel Photography for over twenty years and focused mainly on Adventure Photography. He has closely worked with the American motorcycle clothing company KLiM, the Swiss motorcycle luggage company Enduristan and the Greek motorcycle gear company Aurora Rally Equipment. His has been marketing and art director for the Greek adventure gear shop Most Wanted Warehouse since 2014 and his work has been featured in the
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German overland magazine Overland Journal, the social accounts of Nikon Greece, and the Austrian Brand Management company Seven MMD GmbH, manager of companies like KTM, Motorex, FMF and more.
Memories from the East
Adventure Travel Photography
“ Live with no excuses and travel with no regrets ” ~ Oscar Wilde
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Adventure Travel Greece Our travels and expeditions showcase the beauty and the hidden historical facts of the Ancient Hellenic World with the broader geographical meaning of the term while riding through the breathtaking scenery of long mountain ridges, forest national reserves, remote dragon lakes and isolated hi-planes.
We organize Off-road Adventure Motorcycle Tours and On-road Cultural and Gastronomy Tours with a Historical approach, that can be ridden with your own motorcycle or with one provided from us. You ride at your own pace, always 19 of 20
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accompanied by a tour leader who will take care of everything for you. Our routes are ideal for dual-sport and adventure motorcycles and are based on the tracks that unfold along with the plot of the best-selling history books of architect and researcher George Baltoyannis (self-guided, SUV, VAN services available). Follow our travels with the #mythicalroutes hashtag, or visit the Mythical Routes social media accounts
Our Expertise. Your Adventure.
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