Delphi

by Michael Scott

  In the Apollo sanctuary as well, many dedicators seem to have taken the opportunity of the concentration of workmen, materials, and the remnants of the now-discarded old boundary wall to offer treasury structures that would gain height (and thus visibility) by using the out-grown boundary wall as their foundation. And in the last quarter of the century, as the building of the new perimeter walls and the new temple really got under way, two dedicators seem to have bitten the bullet and moved into the newly acquired, expanded space of the Apollo sanctuary. The first were longtime users of Delphi: the Sicyonians. The tyrant of Sicyon, fully involved in the First Sacred War, and responsible for the unique tholos and monopteros dedications in the sanctuary in the first half of the sixth century BC, was gone. As the new temple terrace expanded, his old dedications faced destruction, and so an extraordinary decision seems to have been made. Once dedicated in a sanctuary, each offering belonged to the god; it could not, thus, simply be removed. But it could be used for a different purpose. The Sicyonian people, surely in conjunction with those masterminding the rebuilding at Delphi, thus decided to take down both of its former tyrant’s buildings piece by piece and pack every bit of both structures into the foundations of a new treasury structure, which was placed up against the sanctuary’s new perimeter walls (see plate 2) and faced the new sanctuary entrance in the southeast corner31

  Just to the west, in line with the new Sicyonian treasury up against the sanctuary’s new perimeter walls, was the offering of a dedicator new to Delphi. The tiny island of Siphnos in the Aegean, with a population of perhaps two to three thousand people, had, according to Herodotus, recently discovered silver-and gold mines on their island. To begin with, they divided the revenues among themselves. But by 525 BC, they had created a community fund. With a percentage of the profits, this get-rich-quick, nouveau riche island community that had never had any impact on the Greek world stage, launched a program to build the most lavish treasury structure Delphi had ever seen (see plate 2, fig. 5.2). It shipped marble from Siphnos to construct the treasury walls. The Siphnians used the Greek world’s finest Parian and Naxian marble for the treasury’s frieze and pedimental sculpture (because Siphnian marble was too brittle to carve in small detail). They used caryatid (female-figured) columns for their entrance. In the frieze, at the north of the building alongside which visitors would most often pass, they copied the new temple’s pedimental sculpture and carved a Gigantomachy scene in exquisite relief (fig. 5.3). We know they had an eye for showing off to the visitor because the frieze on the other side of the building, which could only be seen from farther away, was not finished in anything like such detail as was the Gigantomachy. The sculpture was also painted, and particular details worked in bronze and other precious metals. This monumental and lavish offering was the most extraordinary confirmation of Delphi’s newfound fame and importance in the Greek world. But it was also an important example of the lengths a dedicator would go in order to shape their “message” for Delphic space. The Siphnians were likely in lengthy discussions with those responsible for masterminding the sanctuary’s rebuilding and expansion over the position of their treasury; they seem to have carefully ensured their sculpture reflected the new themes of the Delphic sanctuary (in their pedimental sculpture they also had a scene of Heracles stealing the tripod, which was, at this time, a popular Delphic motif); and they had even made sure that the offering presented its best side to visitors seeing it up close.32

  Figure 5.2. A reconstruction of the front of the Siphnian treasury, dedicated in the Apollo sanctuary at Delphi (© EFA/E. Hansen [G. Daux & E. Hansen FD II Le tresor de Siphnos 1987 fig. 133])

  Figure 5.3. A close-up of the north frieze of the Siphnian treasury with detail of the Gigantomachy (Gods versus Giants) scene (Museum at Delphi)

  The Siphinian treasury marked the beginning of an upsurge in elaborate Delphic dedications, ushering in an era of building über-rich treasury structures as cities attempted to outdo one another. In the last quarter of the sixth century BC, Croton (a regular consulter of the oracle in this period) likely offered a treasury, as did the Megarians, the Clazomenians, the Etruscans, and possibly the Potidanians. Having a permanent presence at Delphi now mattered, and keeping that presence up to date, it seems, mattered just as much. The Corinthians, who had, by the second half of the sixth century ejected their tyrant rulers (the line of Cypselus and Periander whom we met in the last chapters), were desperate to update the prominent dedications of those tyrants at Delphi and Olympia to reflect their newfound political freedom. We know from inscriptional and literary evidence that they officially petitioned the authorities at Delphi and Olympia to change the name of Cypselus’s treasury to the “Corinthian” treasury, and, while Delphi allowed the name change, Olympia did not.33

  The Siphnians, not long after completing their splendid treasury, asked the oracle if their good fortune would continue for long. The oracle’s response is uncertain but both Herodotus and Pausanias offer us a story of what happened next. In Herodotus, the newly acquired riches of Siphnos inspired envy, and some islanders were held hostage for an enormous ransom by the Samians (for one hundred talents—a third of the total cost of rebuilding Delphi). In the writings of Pausanias, the story is darker. Apollo demanded a percentage of Siphnian wealth, but the Siphnians became lax in their payments thanks to their own greed, and so Apollo saw to it that their mines were flooded and their revenue stream lost forever.34

  But the oracle was not occupied at this time with only nouveau-riche upstarts. The struggle for power in Athens continued, with the result that the oracle was sucked deeper into Athenian and Spartan politics. Sparta, after four attempts, had successfully removed the tyrant Hippias from power in Athens, on the prompting of the Delphic oracle (in turn probably thanks to the persuasion of the Alcmaeonids). In the political vacuum that followed, Cleisthenes the Alcmaeonid (grandson of Cleisthenes the tyrant of Sicyon), returned to Athens and, among other elite members of Athenian society (such as Isagoras) began to canvas for political support. In the race for political leverage in the last decade of the sixth century, Cleisthenes added “the mass of the people” to his “faction,” promising sweeping constitutional reform.35 But Isagoras seems to have still had the upper hand, leading to Cleisthenes’ exile once again from Athens (on account of the age-old Alcmaeonid curse). In the meantime, however, the Spartan king Cleomenes (who, along with his co-king Demaratus, had been responsible for the ousting of Hippias on Delphic prompting) sought to intervene in Athenian politics still further by invading Athens to bolster support for Isagoras. By 508 BC, following a defeat of Cleomenes’ force by Cleisthenes’ supporters (even though Cleisthenes was in exile), something akin to a riot unfolded in Athens as all sides grappled for power. Because the Athenians felt so threatened by Sparta, Cleisthenes was allowed to return from exile (and the city even asked for Persian support). Cleisthenes’ support was further strengthened by subsequent attempts of Cleomenes of Sparta to intervene in Athenian affairs, first to support Isagoras again, and eventually to reinstate Hippias, whom he had removed in the first place. This melee gave birth to democracy, as Cleisthenes eventually took control and set about a thorough re-formation of Athens, its political constitution and civic system.36

  What role did Delphi play in this complex and fast-paced civic change? One of Cleisthenes’ reforms was to organize the Athenians into ten tribes, each named after an Athenian hero. In 508/7 BC, Cleisthenes submitted the names of one hundred Athenian heroes to the oracle at Delphi, and the Pythia picked ten. The oracle of Apollo thus lent its authority to Cleisthenes’ civic reforms. But scholars have also argued for the importance of these reforms in relation to military events. Athens was under threat from Sparta but, in 506/7 BC, was also called onto the battlefield to defend itself against the Boeotians and Chalcidians. The new Athenian tribes were not just civic units, but also served as military units. In turning to Delphi, Cleisthenes thus ensured the Pythia had personally chosen the heroic figureheads for Athen
s’s new fighting force.37

  Thus, when the new temple was completed in 506 BC by the Alcmaeonid family of Athens, the Pythia had already been heavily implicated not only in securing Spartan support for an Alcmaeonid return, but also for implementing the new constitutional system spearheaded by Cleisthenes the Alcmaeonid. In addition, the Pythia was said to have discouraged Athens from pushing its might too far, and discouraging other cities from attacking Athens: in this period, Athens was told to wait thirty years before attacking the nearby island of Aegina (its on-again, off-again enemy), and Thebes is reported to have consulted the Pythia, having suffered defeat in battle with Athens, on how to seek revenge, to which the oracle, in a particularly ambiguous reply, seems to have suggested it not bother.38

  At the very end of the sixth century BC, Delphi was thus in an extraordinary position. Its new Apollo and Athena temples and expanded sanctuaries were complete (see plates 1, 2, 3). In place of many of its older dedications, some destroyed in the fire of 548 BC and some purpose-fully destroyed as part of the renovations, these sanctuaries were now quickly being filled with new treasury structures. Some of them pushed the boundaries of sculptural and architectural excess. All of them testified not only to the increasing plethora of gods worshiped at the sanctuary, but also to the vast stretch of Mediterranean from which Delphi commanded offerings, and the care to which these dedicators manipulated their offerings to ensure maximum visibility and appropriateness to Delphic themes. Now, on and around the new temple terrace, marble sculptures from craftsmen who had worked on the rebuilding jostled with kouroi statues from Aegean islands, individual dedications from the king of Cyprus, a new statue of Apollo from the Massalians, precious metal dedications from Apollonia in Illyria, over two thousand shields and several statues dedicated by the Phocians following victory in battle over the Thessalians, the new great altar of Apollo dedicated and paid for by the island of Chios (for which they were given promanteia), and the texts of treaties between states like Boeotia and Locria.39 Hundreds of meters above Delphi, in the Corycian cave (see map 3, figs. 0.2, 1.2), which had begun to gather momentum as place of cult worship in the early sixth century, the number of offerings increased greatly, marking the beginning of an era of high popularity that would continue for three centuries.40 Delphi was increasingly a place not only in which to worship a variety of gods, and particularly Apollo, but also to advertise and proclaim wealth, military victory, deference to the gods, diplomatic relations, family and civic pride, and membership in the Greek world. And all the while, the Delphic oracle not only continued its role in issues of settlement foundation, but became increasingly attractive to particular cities in the West (like Croton) and in North Africa (like Cyrene), as well as deeply involved in the politics of mainland Greece’s two major cities, Athens and Sparta, a politics that would come to define Greece in the following century.

  In the first decade of the fifth century BC, Cleomenes from Sparta was back at Delphi. He had a long history of interaction with the oracle: it was this man who was persuaded by the oracle to oust Hippias, and who, earlier, was famously tried in Spartan courts for not attacking Argos as he’d been ordered to do (and exonerated on the basis of his defense that he had interpreted a Delphic oracular response to mean an attack would prove fruitless). In his subsequent involvement with Athens, first removing Hippias, then trying to oust Cleisthenes, Cleomenes had become increasingly exasperated with his co-king Demaratus, since Demaratus had been reluctant to support Cleomenes’ attempts to influence Athenian politics.41 But in the first years of the fifth century BC, Cleomenes was once again given a chance to become involved with Athens. It seems that Athens had become increasingly worried about the loyalty to Greece of the nearby island of Aegina, given the increasing power of the Persian Empire across the Aegean and its recent attacks on Greek colonies on the shores of Asia Minor.42 Athens requested Cleomenes’ help in “securing” Aegina. But Demaratus was a friend of the Aeginetans and so resisted Cleomenes’ attempts to answer Athens’s call.43

  It seems that Cleomenes’ patience finally ran out with Demaratus, and a scheme was hatched to remove him from the throne, a scheme that required the participation of the oracle at Delphi. Cleomenes utilized a local Delphian contact, Cobon, who in turn persuaded/bribed the Pythian priestess Periallus to confirm (in response to a question put forward by a Spartan on Cleomenes’ request) that Demaratus was not the legitimate son of his father (the Spartan king Ariston), hence rendering him unfit to continue in office. The Spartans initially bought the lie, and Demaratus was exiled, fleeing to Persia where he was welcomed by the Persian king. Cleomenes was free to attack Aegina, but his bribery of the Pythia was eventually discovered. His contact in Delphi, Cobon, was exiled from the city; the Pythia Periallus was removed; and Cleomenes himself was forced out of Sparta, only later to return and disembowel himself in what was considered a shameful suicide.44

  In 490 BC, one year after the Pythia’s corrupted response, the Persians landed at Marathon, accompanied by none other than Hippias, the exiled tyrant of Athens who cherished hopes of being reinstated as master of the city. The Athenians, it seems, did not consult Delphi ahead of this battle—there was likely not enough time to do so. Instead, against the odds, the Athenians repelled the Persian invasion on the plains of Marathon. Soon, stories arose that a mysterious figure had appeared on the battle scene to help the Athenians, and that he was slaughtering Persians with his plowshare. The Athenians, in the aftermath of the battle, consulted the oracle at Delphi about whom they should worship in thanks for this divine aid.

  The Athenians also chose to commemorate their victory at several sites inside and outside Athens, including Olympia and Delphi. At Olympia, as was the tradition, they offered armor taken from the battlefield, then inscribed with the names of the victors. At Delphi however, they competed in Delphic style with a new and expensive treasury. Knocking down the small treasury that had been at Delphi since the early sixth century BC, the new Athenian treasury was the first treasury outside of Attica made of Attic Pentelic marble; the first to have its columns built in drum form; the first Doric structure to fill all its metopes with carefully carved reliefs, the themes of which (Theseus and Heracles) were brought together for the first time in sculptural history on this building (see plate 2, fig. 5.4). Its position perched on the steep hillside made it an imposing monument (you still get this impression when you visit the rebuilt Athenian treasury at Delphi today), and its architectural style, combined with the forecourt laid out around it, made it almost a miniature copy of the new Apollo temple, which was, after all, Athenian built, too. Linked to this gleaming new treasury, along its southern flank, was a statue group with the ten eponymous tribal heroes of Athens (those picked by the Delphic oracle) and an inscription making clear to all that this monument commemorated the Athenian victory at Marathon. If this was not enough, the Athenians also appear to have hung shields captured on the battlefield from the metopes of the new Apollo temple, making their ownership—of what was supposed to be a temple of Apollo paid for by the Amphictyony, Delphi, and the wider Greek world—even clearer, and even perhaps to have etched an inscription to their victory onto the temple itself.45

  While they were building themselves into the sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi, the decade 490–480 BC saw no letup in the activity of Athenian politics, interpolis Greek relations, or the changing role and position of Delphi in the wider Greek world. The Alcmaeonids in Athens were accused of scheming to act as traitors at the battle of Marathon.46 Megacles, the new prominent Alcmaeonid in Athenian politics, and nephew of Cleisthenes, was exiled in 487 BC, but maintained Alcmaeonid influence at Delphi by winning the chariot race in the Pythian games the following year. His victory was enshrined in an ode by the poet Pindar, the language of which suggests that Megacles, or at least Pindar, realized the need for a more conciliatory approach to the Athenian people, making Alcmaeonid achievements pan-Athenian ones, including the building of the new Apollo temple.47

  At
the same time, the principal foreign policy issue was preparation for an expected return invasion by the Persians. In Athens, the debates in the assembly focused around whether or not to channel funds from Athenians silver mines into building a substantial fleet. Other cities struggled with the question of whether to submit to such a powerful empire, or attempt (what seemed like) futile resistance. Several put the question to the oracle at Delphi. Argos asked if it should join the anti-Persian alliance, but the response suggested a more defensive, neutral policy. Crete asked if it would be better for them to defend Hellas, and the response suggested that they should keep out of the war entirely. Sparta consulted and was met with the (later-recorded) response that either Sparta or a Spartan king must fall. The Delphians themselves, when the Persians were already marching through Macedonia, consulted on their own behalf and that of Greece, and were told to pray to the winds as allies.48

  None of these responses are particularly inspiring: Delphi, the center of the ancient world, seems unenthusiastic about Greece’s chances in the coming titanic struggle. Much has been made of Delphic ambiguity in this period, suggesting that the sanctuary was pro-Persian. Scholars have also pointed to the fact that Gelon, the tyrant of Gela (and later Syracuse), who had been begged for help against the Persians by the Athenians and Spartans but had evaded giving help by attaching impossible conditions to his offer, sent gifts for the Persian king to Delphi.49 Even more questionable in some eyes is Delphi’s amazing ability to survive intact the subsequent Persian invasion. Such a rich jewel, deep in Persian territory for much of the war, survived without a scratch. Later stories insisted the sanctuary had been saved by supernatural aid: the Delphians had consulted on what to do with the sanctuary’s treasures, but were told to evacuate (many seem to have taken refuge in the Corycian cave and the surrounding area) and leave everything to Apollo (a small garrison of sixty stayed in the sanctuary). The invading Persian force was said to have been knocked back by giant rock falls, the subsequent Persian retreat assured by two long-dead local heroes who took to the battlefield once again.50