The Portico of the Aetolians, known also as the Western Portico, is one of the largest buildings of Delphi, situated outside of the sacred precinct of the sanctuary of Apollo.
The Portico of the Aetolians, known also as the Western Portico, is one of the largest buildings of Delphi, situated outside of the sacred precinct of the sanctuary of Apollo.
The Portico of the Aetolians is a large portico situated to the west of the sacred precinct of Apollo in Delphi. It measures 72.60 metres (238.2 ft) in length and 11.60 metres (38.1 ft) in width. It was provided with a double colonnade: the exterior one comprised 29 columns and the interior one 15. It was probably constructed initially in the 4th century BC. However, it has been associated with the Aetolian League and its increased power and influence over Delphi in the 3rd century BC. The reason for this might be that it sheltered arms dedicated by the Aetolians as part of their booty after their victory over the Galatians. [1]
Several interpretations of the monument have seen the light. A detailed study of the remains offered a fascinating glimpse over the way in which the arms and armours were fastened to the monument in order to be displayed. Some scholars think that it might have been used as an arsenal from the beginning, whereas others conclude that it acquired this use only after the Galatian invasions. [2] There is a general consensus that the building was associated with the deliberate effort of the Aetolian League to be commemorated within the sanctuary through a series of ex-votos and minor monuments established in the site at their instigation. [3]
Delphi, in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), was an ancient sacred precinct and the seat of Pythia, the major 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 Stoa of the Athenians is an ancient portico in the Delphic Sanctuary, Greece, located south of the Temple of Apollo. The southern side of the polygonal wall of the platform forms the north wall of the stoa. It was constructed c. 478 BC-470 BC during the early Classical period. The one-aisled stoa with Ionic colonnade opens toward the southeast. It was dedicated by the Athenians after the Persian Wars.
The Dancers of Delphi, also known as the Acanthus Column, are three figures in high relief on top of an acanthus column found near the sanctuary of Pythian Apollo at Delphi. They are on display in the Delphi Archaeological Museum and were the inspiration for the first of Claude Debussy's Préludes.
Pierre Amandry was a French hellenist, especially interested in ancient Greece and its relationships with south-west Asia. He was born at Troyes on December 31, 1912, and died in Paris on February 21, 2006. A large part of his work was on the site of Delphi, excavated by the French School at Athens, of which he was secretary general from 1941 to 1948 and director from 1969 to 1981.
The Lesche of the Knidians was a lesche, i.e. a club or meeting place, at the sanctuary of Apollo in Delphi. Today, it has been mostly destroyed; the only surviving parts are some architectural relics. It hosted two famous paintings by the famous painter Polygnotus the Thasian, namely the Capture of Troy and the Nekyia. It was built in the second quarter of the 5th century BC. Apparently it was a rectangular building, bearing a clerestory along its western side, and perhaps with a tripartite interior arrangement. In the 4th century, a wall was added along its southern side for placing ex votos.
The Gymnasium at Delphi is a building complex of the 4th century BC at Delphi, Greece, which comprised the xystus and the palaestra, along with its auxiliary buildings such as the changing rooms and baths. It was situated between the Sanctuary of Athena Pronaia and the fountain Castalia. Some remains of archaic buildings, discovered under the xystus, were possibly related to a sanctuary dedicated to Demeter and indicate the sanctity of the area from earlier times.
The Altar of the Chians was the altar of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, dedicated by the people of Chios.
The Stadium of Delphi lies on the highest spot of the Archaeological Site of Delphi. It overlooks the sanctuary of Apollo and has a view to the Delphic landscape. It was built either within the second half of the 4th century B.C. or even after the Galatian attacks. Its measured 178 meters in length and knew several refurbishment phases. The Stadium of Delphi is the best preserved ancient stadium in Greece.
The stele of Prusias is one of the ex votos at the sanctuary of Apollo in Delphi, constructed in honour of king Prusias II of Bithynia.
The Treasury of Cyrene was a building in the sanctuary of Apollo in Delphi. The treasury was possibly built as a token of gratitude for a large endowment of wheat offered to Delphi's inhabitants during a lean period.
The Treasury of the Sicyonians is one of the buildings within the sanctuary of Apollo in Delphi. It has a long and complicated history. The treasury itself replaced two former buildings, namely the tholos and the monopteros, built by the same city at an earlier stage within the 6th century. The earlier buildings were related to the Orthagorids of Sicyon and particularly to the victories of the tyrant Cleisthenes of Sicyon in the course of the First Sacred War and their replacement probably marks the change in tide in Sicyonian politics.
The Treasury of the Boeotians was dedicated in the late Archaic period within the sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi. It is identified due to some epigraphic material.
Archaeological investigation in Delphi started in the second half of the 19th century, but it was not until 1892 when a systematic excavation began under the direction of Théophile Homolle and the French Archaeological School of Athens. The "Great Excavation" lasted 10 years and was concluded by the creation of the first museum on-site. In the years to follow, the site never ceased to be excavated and investigated. Several of the monuments were restored and new interpretations continue to see the light in the academic field.
The Halos was a round open space close to the temple of Apollo in Delphi, where ancient rituals were being performed.
Several Hellenistic kings dedicated monuments in the sanctuary of Apollo in Delphi, in an effort to emphasize their prestige. Among those kings were the Attalids of Pergamon, who occupied a prominent position at the highest point of the Sacred Way, close to the temple of Apollo where they erected their ex votos.
Behind the column with the Dancers of Delphi was situated the Athenian Treasury, where was located the famous ex voto of Daochos, a long marble base where stood nine statues, eight of which represented members of Daochos' family and one a god, probably Apollo. Daochos II, son of Agias, a politician from Pharsalus and supporter of Macedonia, was a hieromnemon at the delphic sanctuary from 336 to 332 B.C. He dedicated the ex voto as a sign of honour to his prominent family.
The Treasury of the Thebans at Delphi was built in the Doric order and made entirely out of local limestone from the quarries of St. Elias close to the town of Chrisso. It was situated a few meters below the first turn of the Sacred Way, the processional route in the sanctuary of Apollo. It had been dedicated by the Thebans for their victory against the Lacedaemonians at Leuctra.
Fernand Henri Fabien Courby was a French archaeologist and Hellenist, a specialist of ancient Greece, a member of the French School at Athens, and professor at the Faculté des lettres of the University of Lyon.
Roland Étienne is a French archaeologist and historian specialising in the history of Greek archaeology, ancient architecture and Hellenistic history.
Simone Follet was a French epigrapher and philologist, specialising in Roman Greece, especially Athens.