Talk:Delphi

message: "This spring flowed toward the temple but disappeared beneath, creating a cleft which emitted chemical vapors that caused the Oracle at Delphi to reveal her prophecies."
The Castalian Spring last week was - and so far as I am aware, has always been - several hundred metres to the east of the temple and some tens of metres below it, so how is this possible? --Hugh7 (talk) 08:52, 20 October 2013 (UTC)
thread_title: Direction of Castalian Spring?

message: This is just a note, but there have been convincing theories that the vapors the oracles inhaled consisted mainly of ethylene, a common hydrocarbon gas that was  found in the petro-chemical rich layers of sediment surrounding Delphi. Ethylene, more potent and flammable than nitrous oxide (laughing gas), when inhaled in moderation can produce a trancelike state. the gas could have risen through fissures created by the many intersecting fault lines that run through the site.
Also, during the last years of Delphi's significance there were reports of a major earthquake that shook the region, which may have played a factor in the vapor being suddenly closed off or redirected somewhere else. That would explain why a short while later the oracle pronounced that Delphi was no longer a medium for prophecies. The general mindset is that the oracle was bribed to discredit the site, mainly because of the rise of Christianity.
from jordan schuetz
:Interesting - if you have some journal papers to cite, they would be great additions. Stan 05:57, 18 Aug 2004 (UTC)
replies: text: The ethylene research is now covered in detail at Pythia. --Akhilleus (talk) 18:22, 30 May 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Ethylene?

message: I used to have a couple of books on Delphi but unfortunately, I gave them away a couple of months ago.  From what I remember, there was a modern town (name escapes me) built directly over the archaeological site.  When it was discovered that ancient Delphi was under there, the archaeologists wanted to excavate but the people of the town weren't keen to move - until an earthquake caused major damage.  At that point, the town was relocated to where Delphi is today and excavations began.  Anyway, a bit of information about the excavations might be nice.
Other info it might be good to add:
*The restoration of the Treasury of the Athenians was funded by modern Athens.
*The Sphinx of Naxos.
*What's the population of the modern town of Delphi?  From what I remember, it was under 1000 in the Classical period and is still about the same size.
I'm just brainstorming from memory here. - AdelaMae 14:43, 10 November 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: this is from a visitor to Delphi, there is now no town and no sign of any town at any time
at Delphi... so all the above is pure you know what /x/ apollo 75.60.111.189 (talk) 08:37, 3 June 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Earthquakes, Archaeology and Modern Delphi 

message: What is/are the correct pronunciation(s) of this word?  My dictionary says that it ends with a long I sound, but I've also heard it as ending with a long E sound.  Is one the English version and the other the Greek version?  In any event, this should be addressed on the page.
Suburban 16:59, 13 March 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Pronunciation 

message: Currently, in section "Famous Oracular Statements from Delphi", there is a linked to "Ionian", which is a redirect to "Ionic". Presumably, this should link to one of "Ionian Islands", "Ionians", or "Ionia", but I am not sure which would be most appropriate. -- Centrx 01:43, 30 May 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: This section was moved to Famous Oracular Statements from Delphi, where I have simply unlinked the word in question, "Ionian". -- Centrx 19:19, 10 June 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Redirect link 

message: I removed the following sentences from Pythia, since they belong here:
:The fame and wealth of the Oracle were enormous, and as grateful states and kingdoms came to establish treasuries in the vicinity, the temple came to function as a kind of central bank of ancient Greece, making loans for special projects.  The site was also justly famous for its many works of art gathered over centuries, presented by grateful supplicants.
This doesn't fit in Pythia because these dedications and treasuries belonged to the sanctuary as a whole, not specifically to the oracle. However, at the moment there's no natural place to put them. I think a reorganization is in order; there needs to be a section that covers the entire temenos of Apollo; then the temple, altar, treasuries, and statuary can be subsections of that section. There can be another section on the temenos of Athena Pronaia (where the Tholos is), and other sections on the gymnasium and houses, if someone wants to put them in.  --Akhilleus (talk) 07:16, 16 June 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Removed material from [[Pythia]] 

message: I would appeciate some discussion in the article of the actual source of the oracle's wisdom.  Herodotus reports of people going off to found colonies based on an oracle.  This is a huge commitment to make.
Are there any clues in the literature that would indicate where the oracle got her preferences regarding national politics and immigration?
My inclination is to suspect some person behind the oracle...some person that thinks there *ought* to be a Greek colony on the coast of Libya...which leads to a prophecy telling so-and-so to go found a colony.  But as I read Heodotus, there is not the first hint of cynicism around the veracity of the oracle.
Bob Goethe
68.148.176.63 01:05, 18 December 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Source of Oracle Authority

message: In this article, under the treasuries subheading, there is this paragraph: "The most impressive is the now-restored Treasury of Athens, built to commemorate the Athenians' victory at the Battle of Marathon. The Athenians had previously been given the advice by the oracle to put their faith in their "wooden walls" — taking this advice to mean their navy, they won a famous battle at Salamis."
I understand that the treasury of Athens commemorates the Battle of Marathon, but what does the treasury have to do with the battle of Salamis which occured 10 years later? My knowledge of greek history is not great, so if I've missed something, could someone please explain it to me. 138.38.32.84 17:12, 9 January 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Confusing paragraph

message: How was the city governed? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 71.112.140.20 (talk) 02:06, 12 January 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: City/State Government

message: Why does the link for Pythian in the wiki entry for "List of technology companies in Ottawa, Canada" redirect here?  The two topics are unrelated, as Pythian is a technology solutions provider, not an archaeological site. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Keenada (talk • contribs) 18:44, 27 February 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Pythian redirect 

message: Someone has changed all dates from BCE to BC.  BC stands for "Before Christ" and implies all readers are Christian.  Non Christian; Jewish, Muslim and Buddhist, readers do not accept Christ, but they will accept that BCE standing for "Before Common Era" can be used as a daing system.  Wikipedia has a policy of accepting either dating system, but suggests people remain by the convention in which the article was originally written.  Whoever it was please revert to the original system immediately.  Thanks John D. Croft 16:20, 29 March 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: BC/AD was the first system used in this article; see  (from September 2002) and  (from May 2005). --Akhilleus (talk) 16:48, 29 March 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Dates

message: I think that a small section pointing out that Delphi was the site of the traditional Greek omphalos, which I believe they considered the centre of the universe or something akin to it, would be helpful. I came to this article looking for info on the omphalos, and couldn't find it by using this page.
Thanks. Dissimul 01:34, 16 June 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: the oracle of delphi is in the back of the temple of Apollo at Delphi and that was / is the 
location of the omphalos but drilling down deeper, that means via Apollo, there was a connection
to the center of the universe, as Greek seerers saw that, with Apollo being a son of God; drilling deeper still, Apollo is the same son of God many are familiar with that will be on earth in the 2nd coming AND did visit the temple of Apollo Jan 1971 so consummating their seerers correct view point of the center of the universe, omphalos connection via Apollos / Christ now in the 2nd Coming .../s/ lil ompha jr IV 75.60.111.189 (talk) 08:32, 3 June 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: see note 8 to the main article and its discussion of Omphalos as follows:
<<"Another very archaic feature at Delphi also confirms the ancient associations of the place with the Earth goddess. This was the Omphalos, an egg-shaped stone which was situated in the innermost sanctuary of the temple in historic times. Classical legend asserted that it marked the 'navel' (Omphalos) or centre of the Earth and explained that this spot was determined by Zeus who had released two eagles to fly from opposite sides of the earth and that they had met exactly over this place". On p.7 he writes further, "So Delphi was originally devoted to the worship of the Earth goddess whom the Greeks called Ge, or Gaia (mythology). Themis, who is associated with her in tradition as her daughter and partner or successor, is really another manifestation of the same deity: an identity which Aeschylus himself recognized in another context. The worship of these two, as one or distinguished, was displaced by the introduction of Apollo. His origin has been the subject of much learned controversy: it is sufficient for our purpose to take him as the Homeric Hymn represents him -- a northern intruder -- and his arrival must have occurred in the dark interval between Mycenaean and Hellenic times. His conflict with Ge for the possession of the cult site was represented under the legend of his slaying the serpent.">>  ...
what these old myths are attempting to convey to those "seekers" are stories that are steps in the pathway to not only enlightenment but also deificiation as above mention of "Apollo ... slaying the serpent." - A FINAL step in deification, whereby the earthly applicant is permanently hooked to all creation and so God... /s/ hic haec hokie, ompha ompha diddlely do , i saw some archeo's coming fa yu ! 75.60.111.189 (talk) 08:58, 3 June 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Omphalos 

message: :GA review (see here for criteria)
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*Can a picture of modern Delphi be added to the article?  
*Is the video tour of Delphi not protected under copyright law?SriMesh | talk 05:16, 3 December 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: GAN

message: My HUP edition of Plutarch's Moralia reads μηδὲν ἄγαν as "avoid extremes" and not "nothing in excess". I think the case might be the same in my edition of Nicomachean Ethics.
:It literally means "nothing in excess", but "avoid extremes" is a reasonable way of capturing the meaning. --Akhilleus (talk) 14:10, 18 July 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Dedication to Apollo 

message: BBC Radio 4's In Our Time is a 45 minute discussion programme about the history of ideas, with three eminent academics in their field, hosted by Melvyn Bragg. Each edition deals with one subject from one of the following fields: philosophy, science, religion, culture and historical events. It is akin to a seminar. The entire archive going back to 1998 is now available online in perpetuity.
An edition about Delphi was broadcast with Paul Cartledge, A G Leventis Professor of Greek Culture at Cambridge University; Edith Hall, Professor of Classics and Drama at Royal Holloway, University of London; Nick Lowe, Reader in Classical Literature at Royal Holloway, University of London.
You can listen to the programme on this link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00txj8d. Would you be able to include this as an external link?--Herk1955 (talk) 10:27, 30 September 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Edit Request - BBC Radio 4's In Our Time broadcast  

message: There is currently no History section whatsoever.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.10.172.101 (talk) 05:31, 25 June 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  History Section 

message: The article currently provides a lot of valuable information on history and architecture. It is easy to read and complete. While I understand that some leads can be rephrased, it would be a disservice if valuable information was removed from this article. I appreciate those who want to plunge forward and add more content on a specialized Ancient Delphi entry, but please do not unnecessarily trim down this article. It is really uncalled for, in my opinion. 87.9.140.146 (talk) 10:15, 18 April 2016 (UTC)
thread_title:  Proposed split into [[Ancient Delphi]] 

message: Substituted at 13:10, 29 April 2016 (UTC)
thread_title: Assessment comment

message: I propose to reorganise these sections into firstly a History section to make them more logical, time sequential, and to remove repetitions.  Rjdeadly (talk) 19:47, 29 July 2016 (UTC)
thread_title:  Reorganisation of Origins/Dedication/Oracle/History sections 

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thread_title:  External links modified 

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thread_title:  External links modified 

message: The section on this temple is a little unclear because it's called different names at the beginning but then there's a brief description of the of the myth surrounding the first temple of Apollo at the end. Maybe it would be helpful to start out with the background and then continue with the descriptions of the architecture of the temple. The article does a really good job focusing on the architectural designs and reconstructions of the temple, and the links are helpful since I don't know what many of the styles used in the temple are called. Overall I think it does a good job describing the temple and it gives insight into the language of the time by the carvings that say "Know Thyself". The article also mentions how the temple was destroyed in the name of Christianity to remove all paganism, so it goes further than descriptions and comments on reasons for destruction.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Clarafrost (talk • contribs) 16:07, 14 September 2017 (UTC)
thread_title:  Temple of Apollo 

message: I'm giving it. Earlier it seemed to distort the layout but with lengthening of the box, which will get longer, and changes to the outline, it seems to fit fine, as long as nothing else goes below it. There are a lot of changes to go on the article. The bottom is still totally out of control but I can't get to that yet. More to go on the geology and topography, and the archaeology too for that matter. Whew. Big article but important I guess.Botteville (talk) 16:02, 8 November 2020 (UTC)
thread_title: Consensus on the pic size

message: I came back to this article to check something and discovered that it had https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Delphi&type=revision&diff=1011433384&oldid=979839299 changed in a weird way.] It reads awkward and its full of geology, which must surely be of limited interest to those interested in the ancient site. --Pete (talk) 23:35, 10 March 2021 (UTC)
replies: text: Yes, indeed. User:Botteville seems to have gone overboard on this, but there's no way it should be at the top of the article at this vast length (especially when the lead is rather short and poor). For now I've moved it to the bottom, but really I think it should be split off to Geography and geology of Delphi or something. Thoughts?  Johnbod (talk) 02:57, 11 March 2021 (UTC)
replies: text: I wouldn't say it was the ODDEST article, would you really? There is plenty of odd stuff on here. I found the article in a total state of disarray. No basic organization. Material repeated. I got into it through the pictures, which were even worse. A shame, because there are a lot of fine pictures. I did what I could on the pictures, and reorganized this one somewhat. I don't agree that this is an especially long article. There are lots a lot longer. I presume you are using hyperbole to say you would like to see it shorter. Go ahead, make it shorter. What, exactly, are you waiting for? I'm not taking responsibility for the perfection of the article, only making it better. Naturally, there is plenty of room for other opinions. Now, for the geology, that is an interesting question. SOME geology is relevant, especially in the natural configuration and stability of the site, and the reasons why it became the seat of the oracle. I started in on that. Then I found there was not much anywhere on those topics even though stub articles have been set up. A lot of what you might say should be in those other articles. So, I didn't know how much to say here. What I did was switch over to the geology articles for a while. I'm not done with Delphi. I will be back at some point, when I understand the geology of the region much better. It doesn't bother me that you moved the geology. Fine. Or that you think it is odd. It was always odd. The problem is to unodd it, and name-calling isn't too useful. I note your suggestion to move the geology to a different article. I suppoe it depends on how much is going to be in there. You wouldn't want to say NOTHING - Delphi is inherently geologic. I do not have an opinion right now because I am looking at the geology of other articles. But, more importantly, the rest of it needs a lot of work still. The main cause of the length is that the previous author(s) - whoever - wanted to list the architectural features of the site in separate sections. I don't disagree with that but once you do it the article becomes longer. I have not found a way around that. Even it you have only introductions and see mains in there, it is still long. Let's face it, Delphi is a complicated place, and maybe needs a longer article. I know this reply is a bit long. I just wanted you to know some of the problems. Whatever you do here I'm probably not going to oppose, although I may do supplementation or minor corrction. One of you said you went back to check something - I can't imagine what. Wasn't it where you put it, or what? So what is your conclusion, you want to revert everythiong I did and go back to an accumulated array of disorganized material? This article needs a lot of work. Have you got the stomach for it or do you only do mainly name-calling? Such an approach would NOT be odd around here.09:58, 13 March 2021 (UTC)
replies: text: What I was proposing was moving the relevant sections off to Geography and geology of Delphi, leaving short summary sections here in the usual way. I certainly agree other parts of the article need expansion, & the overall length is not a problem yet, still less after that proposed move.  Buut as it was the G&G section, right at the top, gave an unbalanced read.  Johnbod (talk) 15:25, 13 March 2021 (UTC)
replies: text: I've been to Delphi - and I think my picture of the columns is pretty good - and yes there are some geological aspects that need addressing. The spring, the gases, the landslides that affected the site and helped preserve it. but goodness, do we really need to know the details of the valleys around Itea? A brief mention, and a link to Geology of Delphi where someone who knows this stuff can spread themselves. The historic site is about the buildings, the cultural practices, the location in context to the Greek city-states. --Pete (talk) 17:51, 13 March 2021 (UTC)
thread_title:  The oddest article on Wikipedia 

message: The article generally reads well, but style of the section "end of Delphi" jars.  It seems overly casual in the way it talks about its subject. Paul Koning (talk) 00:48, 20 January 2022 (UTC)
replies: text: @Paul Koning I completely agree! It's extremely odd. 2601:445:601:37D0:F442:1C47:EBD6:9A55 (talk) 02:21, 12 December 2022 (UTC)
thread_title:  "End of Delphi"