Day 18 - Itea, Greece and Delphi

---

We were expecting sunny skies this morning but awoke to crazy dark clouds. All the weather apps called for sunshine so Dave packed the rain ponchos, just to ward off the rain, and we followed the crowds down the pier to our waiting buses. The only excursion we booked through the ship was this one, to see Delphi.

Not one to be very good about learning my Greek and Roman gods and the mythology of the day, I didn’t really have a good appreciation for what Delphi really was. As an ancient city, contemporaneous with Efes and the others we have seen, the construction methods and remaining walls, columns and temple mounts looked very family. Delphi is built on the side of a very steep mountain and requires lot of climbing up big, uneven steps.

We saw the remains of homes, the treasuries, the agora, the temple of Apollo and the theater. Dave and Sharon went further on up to see the stadium. The gymnasium was visible down the hill, but we didn’t visit. All of this seemed rather familiar. What was entirely different from the others was the Oracle. Housed in the Temple of Apollo, the Oracle would be visited to seek her sage advice about important matters. It might be whom to marry, or whether a planned invasion of some other territory should take place. The Oracle was a virgin female, selected by the priests to “receive and communicate” the desires of the gods. To ask a question (and only one) of the Oracle, one must first get on the waiting list. Yes, they had reservations for the Oracle even in those days. The priority of order was the priests and prominent citizens of Delphi first, other citizens and slaves of Delphi, all Greeks, then the Barbarians (the generic name given to any foreigner). The Oracle only received questions one day a month and only 9 months of the year. I imagine she was really busy on that one day!

When your time for a visit came up, you first had to cleanse and purify before visiting the temple. You also had to acquire and bring an offering. Most often this was a goat, but could be any live animal, goods of value, jewelry or coins. Animals were sacrificed on the altar directly outside the temple, they could not enter the temple area. The flesh was divided among the community and the skin and bones were tied up to make the offering. Our guide said that before sacrificing the animal, one had to splash water in its face. If it shook its head, that indicated approval to be sacrificed. It it did not, it was unacceptable and you had to go find a new animal.

Once the gift was prepared, it was given to the priests outside the temple along with the question for the Oracle. Only the priests could enter the temple and speak to the Oracle directly. She would be in another chamber further inside the temple where they would shout the question to her. Archeologists have recently discovered in the soil below the Oracle’s chamber remnants of three gases, methane, ethane and ethylene. The effects of inhaling ethylene are similar to modern anesthetics. She would also chew laurel leaves. When she entered her trance-like state, she was ready to provide wisdom from the gods. Her words were often unclear, thus requiring the priests to “interpret” for her and translate to the petitioner outside.

I can see so many ways this might go the wrong way for a poor chap trying to find out if he should marry his intended, or embark on a long journey. But the whole operation was much bigger, more stealthy and political than simply giving marital advice. Since many traveled from far regions, other countries even, to visit the Oracle, they had to stay somewhere while waiting their turn with the Oracle. Since the queue was very long for her one day of visits, one might also have to wait a month or two before getting his chance. This was good business for the city of Delphi. These travelers brought money with them and spent it for lodging and meals while waiting.

Not only did they bring a booming economy, they also brought information. The intel the locals gathered from the visitors helped inform their leaders and the priests (and maybe the Oracle too????) about the state of affairs in other cities and countries. “How is your new king?” “What is the emperor doing these days?” “What is going on across your borders?”. All this knowledge helped the city develop a strong political plan that sustained the city for centuries. It helped the Oracle too, in obvious ways.

Unlike other cities we have seen, Delphi was continuously occupied until the 1950s. A governmental decision to begin the excavations to uncover the ancient city remains below the contemporary city was controversial. The residents had to leave and the police moved in, becoming the first to occupy the space as they guarded the archeologists who dismantled the city to unearth the ancient remains below.

A new, modern Delphi has been established very nearby. No doubt they continue to benefit from their brave decisions to leave and let the rest of the world continue to visit Delphi. The main industry of the region is tourism (any doubt?) and agriculture. The entire valley floors contains thousands on olive trees. The olives in this region strictly provide olive oil. They are approaching harvest time now, during October into late November. Other types of olives, grown for eating whole, are grown in other regions, but the soil and arid climate in this region is suited to the olive oil process. A concrete water canal that brings water and snowmelt down from high in the mountains (almost 7,000 ft) provides the minimal irrigation needed for the trees but runs all the way to Athens to supply a fresh water reservoir. The single source of water for the city of Athens. It’s a modern aqueduct. I had no idea they were still in use today!

Back to the ship after this outing, we ate a quick lunch and packed for disembarkation tomorrow morning. But first we have one more highlight on the trip, a transit through the Corinth Canal. I have been looking forward to this particular part of the trip. It was on our original itinerary, then canceled due to a wall collapse. But days before we sailed, they added back on. I was thrilled!

The Corinth Canal is a very narrow manmade canal that cuts through the isthmus of Corinth Greece. It was considered impossible to do at the time and a philosopher of the time, Apollonius of Tyrea prophesied that anyone who attempted the project would die an early death. It was originally envisioned 2500 years ago by Julius Caesar. He started making plans for it, then was murdered. A second ruler, Plutarch, did the same and was also murdered. The third Roman Emperor, Caligula, commissioned the Egyptians to build the canal but, he too, was assassinated. So the philosopher was hailed a hero and no further attempts were made until Nero in 67 AD. He brought 6000 Jewish prisoners of war to start the dig, dividing them to dig from each side and meet in the middle. A third group was perched at the top to drill deep ridges for the walls. The effort did not survive Nero and after his death, no further attempts were made. There it say for 2000 years.

In 1830, the Greek government decided it once again had value and commissioned the French to finish it. They went bankrupt so the Greeks hired a Turk and Greek to finish the job. It opened in 1869. It remains today exactly as it was then and has really not delivered its value. It is so narrow and shallow that only very small vessels can transit the canal. They can be no wider than 58 feet and cannot have a draught of more than 24ft. It can accommodate only one-way traffic and ships must be towed through slowly by tug and an expert canal pilot boards the vessel to steer.

We were all on deck for this exciting moment. It is possible at points to reach out and touch the walls as you pass and the trees which grow from the walls. There are three bridges that cross the top of the canal. One is for rail traffic, one is for vehicular traffic and one is for pedestrians and bungee jumpers. Apparently, it is a very popular sport above the canal. There were no jumpers as we passed by but there were about 60 people on the bridge waving and cheering as we went through. The canal sees about 11,000 ships pass through each year but most of those are cruise ships. It was every bit as exciting as I imagined! We are lucky to have gotten to do it. As I said earlier the canal was just reopened after a landslide, but the decision was made to close it again November 1st (in ten days!) for three years to reinforce its walls and deepen the canal. We literally squeaked through! Thank you Windstar for making it happen for us!

We will have an early bedtime tonight. We leave the ship tomorrow for four days in Athens. We have been following the news from the US and continue to get daily email updates from the American Embassies in Turkey and Greece. We left Turkey not a moment too soon, and we will be keeping a low profile in Athens as well. Just a few more days of soaking up the wonders of the ancient world.

---