Delphi
The most important oracle in ancient Greece, where the Pythia delivered Apollo's prophecies. The Greeks considered Delphi the center — the navel — of the world.
The Story of Delphi
According to myth, Zeus released two eagles from opposite ends of the world to find its center. They met at Delphi, which the Greeks thereafter called the omphalos — the navel of the world. A sacred stone marked the exact spot.
Apollo established his oracle at Delphi after slaying the great serpent Python. The Pythia, a priestess seated over a chasm from which intoxicating vapors rose, delivered prophecies in a trance state. Her utterances, often cryptic and ambiguous, were interpreted by priests and influenced decisions throughout the Greek world.
Kings, generals, and ordinary citizens traveled from across the Mediterranean to consult the Oracle. "Know thyself" and "Nothing in excess" — two of the most famous maxims of Greek philosophy — were inscribed on the temple walls at Delphi. The site remained active for over a thousand years, from the 8th century BCE until the 4th century CE.
Symbols
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
Claros
🏛 placeSacred geography
An ancient oracle site of Apollo in Ionia, second in prestige only to Delphi
Clarian Oracle
🏛 placegeography
The sanctuary of Apollo at Claros near Colophon in Ionia, one of the three great oracles of the Greek world.
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The oldest Greek oracle, where Zeus spoke through the rustling leaves of a sacred oak tended by barefoot priests called Selloi who slept on the ground.
Dodona
🏛 placeOracle of Zeus in the rustling oaks
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Dodona Oracle
🏛 placeprophecy, Zeus
The oldest oracle in Greece, where priests interpreted the rustling of Zeus's sacred oak.
Phocis
🏛 placeregion, central Greece
A region of central Greece whose chief distinction was containing Delphi, the most important oracle and religious centre in the Greek world.
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🏛 placeSite of the Mysteries
Eleusis was a sacred city near Athens, home to the Eleusinian Mysteries — the most important secret religious rites in the ancient Greek world.
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🏛 placeIsland of the Minotaur and Minoan civilisation
Crete was the largest Greek island and the seat of the Minoan civilisation, home to King Minos, the labyrinth, and the bull-cult that produced some of mythology's most famous stories.
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🏛 placegeography
A grand oracular sanctuary of Apollo near Miletus, home to one of the largest temples ever built in the ancient world.
Omphalos
💭 conceptsacred, cosmology
The navel stone at Delphi believed to mark the centre of the world, placed where two eagles sent by Zeus from the ends of the earth met.
Paphos
🏛 placeSacred geography
The chief sanctuary of Aphrodite on Cyprus, where the goddess was said to have first come ashore from the sea
Elysium
🏛 placeParadise for the blessed dead
The paradise at the edge of the world where heroes and the virtuous spent eternity in perfect happiness. Also called the Elysian Fields or the Isles of the Blessed.