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Published: April 26th 2007
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James Emerson I had to do it. How can you come to greece and not see delphi, the center of the ancient world. The place where thosands, probalby millions went to get advice form the oracle of apolpo before making anykind of major descion. this one site has probably influenced the world more than anyone is aware of. How could I not go.
All through university I hads heard that the place was amazing. I remember one of my proffesors saying that when you go there and see the sight, you know why people kept rebuilding the place time after time when it was destroyed by earthquaks. I prayeyed that it lived up to the hype.
And still I recived further premenitions of the sights greatness while on the three hour bus ride there. I met a man who was a retired proffesser of english at the univerity of victoria, where I recived my degree. ( dont blame them for my bad spelling ) He told me that he and his wife had done extensive travelling in Greece, and this was his twelth time in the country. This time he was alone. His wife was with him in a way.
He told me that he was comming here so he could spread her ashes across the site, so that they would lie amung the ruins.
On the long bus ride there we passed through a small town. I felt a tap on my shoulder, it was my new friend the retired proffesor. He told me that this town was the place where, according to ledgend, Oidepus met a man at a cross roads, and when the man refused to give tell him plainly which road lead where Oidepus killed him, not knowing taht this man was really his true father and that in doing so he was fullfilling the prophacy that he would kill his father and merry his mother. Af few minnutes later we passed an three way intersection and I wondered if this was the palce where it went down.
When I got to Delphi, it lived up to the hype. delfpi is sanwhiched inbetween two mountin ranges, on the hills of one, over looking the other and the vally inbetween the two. From up above I could see the carpet of green, trees of which species I could not determin from so high above, with
sporadic pine trees shooting up like spears all throught the vally. When I got to the actual sight I thanked the gods for the relaxed attude of the greeks in giving me the 50% student discout enven though im not a student and all I had was an expired student card and youth travel card. I made my way up the sacrad way, looking at all the sights where differnt citys would have had there trasuries, an offering of dedication and thanks to this sacred sight.
One of the best things i saw was the stone. I dont know what its name is but in mythology it was the stone that kronose, king of the titans swollwed instead of zeus after hearing that one of his childrend would overthrow him. I saw that stone, the stone swolled by the father of the king of the gods.
Delphi sturred in me the wonder and excitment that had lost its luster from being bombarded with so much ancient ruins that I have seen over the last 2 months. It reawakend my love of the deep and long mythology of greece. As I wondered throuh this place that had a History
dating back close to 3000 years things lopng forgotten come to the surface all on there own. I remembered that this was the sight where Opollo came and killed the great snake Pythos, a and put an end to a cult religion even older than the polythiestic one of anient greece, One that was a female sentered religion (snakes were associated with Women... I'll spare you the rant about paralles between this and the gourden of eden story...but its there) and established a new male centernd religion. Of course only bits and peices have come back and now I have a strong urge to go through all of my old textbooks. Im so glad that i didnt sell them.
I do see why the place was so special to the greeks. Even now, that is all crubling rubble, there is still something magical about the place.
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