Delphi, formerly also called Pytho (Πυθώ), is the ancient sanctuary that grew rich as the seat of Pythia, the oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient classical world. The ancient Greeks considered the centre of the world to be in Delphi, marked by the stone monument known as the omphalos (navel).
The Pythia was the name of the high priestess of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi who also served as the oracle, also known as the Oracle of Delphi.
The Pythian Games were one of the four Panhellenic Games of Ancient Greece. They were held in honour of Apollo following the quadrennial chronology of the Olympic Games, at his sanctuary at Delphi. They were held two years after each Olympic Games, and between each Nemean and Isthmian Games. The Pythian Games were founded sometime in the 6th century BC and featured competitions for art and dance. The art and dance competitions pre-dated the athletic portion of the games, and were said to have been started by Apollo after he killed Python and set up the oracle at Delphi.
In Greek mythology, Python was the serpent, sometimes represented as a medieval-style dragon, living at the center of the earth, believed by the ancient Greeks to be at Delphi.
In Archaic Greece, an amphictyony, a "league of neighbors", or Amphictyonic League was an ancient religious association of Greek tribes formed in the dim past, before the rise of the Greek poleis. The six Dorian cities of coastal southwest Anatolia, or the twelve Ionian cities to the north, the dodecapolis forming an Ionian League emerging in the aftermath of a faintly remembered "Meliac war" in the mid-7th century BC, were already of considerable antiquity when the first written records emerge.
The Delphic Hymns are two musical compositions from Ancient Greece, which survive in substantial fragments. They were long regarded as being dated circa 138 BCE and 128 BCE, respectively, but recent scholarship has shown it likely they were both written for performance at the Athenian Pythaides in 128 BCE. If indeed it dates from ten years before the second, the First Delphic Hymn is the earliest unambiguous surviving example of notated music from anywhere in the western world whose composer is known by name.
Angelos Sikelianos was a Greek lyric poet and playwright. His themes include Greek history, religious symbolism as well as universal harmony in poems such as The Moonstruck, Prologue to Life, Mother of God, and Delphic Utterance. His plays include Sibylla, Daedalus in Crete, Christ in Rome, The Death of Digenis, The Dithyramb of the Rose and Asklepius. Although occasionally his grandiloquence blunts the poetic effect of his work, some of Sikelianos finer lyrics are among the best in Western literature. From 1946 until 1951, he was nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature.
The adyton or adytum (Latin) was a restricted area within the cella of a Greek or Roman temple. The adyton was frequently a small area at the farthest end of the cella from the entrance: at Delphi it measured just 9 by 12 feet. The adyton often would house the cult image of the deity.
Delphi Archaeological museum is one of the principal museums of Greece and one of the most visited. It is operated by the Greek Ministry of Culture. Founded in 1903, it has been rearranged several times and houses the discoveries made at the Panhellenic sanctuary of Delphi, which date from the Late Helladic (Mycenean) period to the early Byzantine era.
Delphic Games of the modern era involve presentations, exhibitions, competitions and other activities in six different fields of art. They are inspired by the Delphic Games of ancient Greece.
Evelina "Eva" Palmer-Sikelianos was an American woman notable for her study and promotion of Classical Greek culture, weaving, theater, choral dance and music. Palmer's life and artistic endeavors intersected with numerous noteworthy artists throughout her life. She was both inspired by or inspired the likes of dancers Isadora Duncan and Ted Shawn, the French literary great Colette, the poet and author Natalie Barney and the actress Sarah Bernhardt. She would go on to marry Angelos Sikelianos, a Greek poet and playwright. Together they organized a revival of the Delphic Festival in Delphi, Greece. Embodied in these festivals of art, music and theater she hoped to promote a balanced sense of enlightenment that would further the goals of peace and harmony in Greece and beyond.
Takis Dimopoulos was a Greek essayist, novelist and philologist.
Delphic Festival can refer to a festival held by Angelos Sikelianos and Eva Palmer-Sikelianos as part of their general effort towards the revival of the Delphic Idea.
The Delphic Appeal is a text created by Angelos Sikelianos recited during the 2nd Delphic Festival in 1930.
The European Cultural Centre of Delphi (ECCD) was founded in 1977 upon the inspiration and initiative of Konstantinos Karamanlis with the view of setting up a European and intellectual centre in Delphi.
The Dithyramb of the Rose is the first tragedy by Angelos Sikelianos written and published in 1932. The first performance was held in Athens, in 1933. This play, is fermented through the beliefs of Sikelianos for Delphi, the Delphic Idea, and the two, already completed, Delphic Festivals. The play, was translated into English in 1939.
Athanasios Veloudios was a Greek military officer, actor and writer.
Vasileios E. Vekiarellis (1887–1944) was a Greek journalist and writer.
The Second Delphic Festival, organised by Angelos Sikelianos and his wife Eva Palmer-Sikelianos was held between May 1–13, 1930 and consisted of three long weekends : the programme was repeated three times.
The modern town of Delphi is situated immediately west of the archaeological site of the same name, and hence is a popular tourist destination. Delphi is also the name of the modern-day municipality in which the town of Delphi is situated. The city of Delphi was named after the Oracle of Delphi, who supposedly foretold the future.
