Investment immigration to Greece life focus: Greece tourism attraction: Delphi is a small town located on Mount Parnassus, 190 kilometers northwest of Athens.
This town was listed as a "World Heritage Site" in 1987. It is famous because, in ancient Greece, it was the "Navel of the World," meaning the center of the world.
In Greek mythology, Zeus released two golden eagles in opposite directions to determine the "center of the world." Where the two eagles met, Zeus dropped an egg-shaped stone from the sky as a marker, and this stone landed in "Delphi." Therefore, "Delphi" became the "Navel of the World" and the "Center of the Earth," subsequently becoming one of the most important religious centers in Greece.
It seems that people from all times and places have enjoyed divination and fortune-telling to know the future.
Apollo is the son of Zeus, and people could only learn the thoughts of Zeus through him. Therefore, in the 8th century BC, people built the "Temple of Apollo" in Delphi to convey messages and issue oracles from Apollo through the priestess Pythia, in order to receive divine guidance and prophecies.
Delphi was the birthplace of the "Oracle" and became a pilgrimage destination. People traveled from all over to Delphi to divine their future, such as: whether a war would be won, whether a future marriage would be happy, whether a business would be prosperous, and so on. The Delphi prophecies had a profound and lasting influence on the politics and economy of the Mediterranean world at that time.
At that time, the 7th of each month was the day the oracle was issued. The priestess Pythia would bathe, enter the Temple of Apollo, drink from the spring, chew laurel leaves, and then enter a trance-like state. The answers given by the priestess were usually obscure and difficult to understand, often requiring interpretation by priests.
One of the most famous oracles occurred in 547 BC, when King Croesus of Lydia in Asia Minor asked if he should attack the Persian Empire. He was told that if he attacked, a great empire would be destroyed. Croesus was convinced he would win, so he sent troops to attack the Persian Empire. As it turned out, an empire was indeed destroyed—it was his own.
There were other places in Greece where oracles were issued, one of which was represented by an oak tree, where people interpreted the rustling of the leaves as the voice of the supreme god, Zeus.