Greece Trip: Delphi and Nafpaktos (4.23.2024)

Delphi is two hours west of Athens, high in the mountains.  In ancient times, the oracle of Delphi whispered advice, political and personal, to people who came seeking.  Archeologists now believe that wise men were called to be oracles in the hidden spaces of Delphi

Dave and I didn't hike the steep hill to the ruins, but we did visit the excellent museum of ancient Greek art.

It was hot day, with hordes of tourists, many of them students, and some exhausted dogs.

One of our favorite statues was this bronze statue of a charioteer.  

Archeologists rarely find complete specimens.  This exhibit shows the pieces they found of one sculpture and what they think the sculpture would have looked like if all the pieces were available.

I loved the realism of this statue of a portly older man.  Many of the statues were idealized depictions of people.  I liked this one that showed the man the way he really looked.

These sculptures probably decorated the front of a temple or one of its edges.  There are in "low relief," i.e. carved so as to be seen on one side only, and not three dimensional.

Greek mythology is full of animal/human combinations.  This creature is part man, part lion or dog, and has wings, as well.  It was large an beautifully preserved.

After leaving Delphi, we drove west along the bay separating the Greek mainland from the Peloponnesus.  We passed through olive groves and along the shore.

Our goal was Nafpaxtos, where, in 1571, at the Battle of Lepanto, an armada of Christian ships from several countries, organized by Pope Pius V, had fought off the Muslims, even though the Christians were outnumbered. The Pope asked the seamen to pray to the Virgin Mary for victory, and the outcome was seen as a miracle.  The victory kept the Muslims from invading further into Western Europe.

A painting of the Battle of Lepanto by Veronese.

The dock at Nafpaktos, looking out into the Gulf of Patras, was very picturesque.

Nafpaktos was under Venetian rule for many years, and many of the buildings have an Italian look to them.

Greece is full of stray cats.  They are fondly fed and played with.

Greece is also full of ice cream shops, which Dave and I could rarely resist.