Day 4: Archeological Site of Delphi

Καλημέρα! (Good morning!)

    Today we visited the beautiful site of Delphi. Let me say I am in love with Greece. Every where I go, there is something so serene. I mean look at this beautiful site located in the mountains of Greece. It was beautiful today, there was a slight breeze and sun was shining brightly. I felt oddly at peace here in the mountains. Many ancient greeks believed that this site was the center of the world. And it's easy to see why they thought this. 

    According to mythology, Delphi was the site of an an oracle who was the messenger of the Greek god of Apollo. Apollo was the god of light, music, knowledge, harmony and prophecy. The ancient Greeks believed the Oracle spoke the words of the god, delivered as prophecies whispered to her by Apollo. The oracle of Delphi was considered one of the most influential sources of wisdom in Ancient Greece. Many people would travel at great lengths to communicate "directly" with Greek gods. 

    Now while I thought this was a fun myth, considering, many scientist thought that the oracle was just high off of natural gas, this was not what interested me the most. My time so far on this trip, I befriended 2 alumni, both accountants. At this site, we witnessed one of the very first treasuries. These ancient treasuries were buildings that were used to safeguard loots from wars and offerings to the god Apollo. This was one of the first bartering systems in Ancient Greece. Ancient Greeks would offer their treasures, just to hear from the god Apollo. 

    There is a large theme of trade in Ancient Greece. This is just proof of the first economy and trading system that still exists today in modern world. We see this in territorial expansion, local and long distance trading and much more. We know this due to archaeological discoveries of foreign goods in places that we least expect to see them. I thought it was so fun to geek out with my new found friends about this ancient monetary system.