The temple that we see in front us is of 4th
B.C. cent. and fifth in order at the same place,
according to a mythical tradition of Delphi. According
to this tradition the oldest temple of Apollo was simple
hut from branches of laurel and the second from bees wax
and feathers. From the third in order temple whose
constructors were considered the mythological architects
Trophonius and Agamides, were found architectural
members, built in newer buildings that dating around 650
B.C. The temple was destroyed at 548 B.C. and
immediately began to be built the 4th in order big
archaic temple of Apollo with money that was assembled
by various Greek cities. In the southern side, the big
polygonal wall retained the land of the dike , above
which the temple was built. In the construction of the
archaic temple contributed after 513 B.C. the
Alcmaeonids, the known Athenian family, which had come
to Delphi exiled by Peisistratids. The Alcmaeonids
finished with their own expenses the temple
manufacturing the facade from parian marble, while the
agreement provided limestone as in the rest of the
temple.
The temple had dimensions 6x15 columns in the exterior
and double internal colonnade at the cella. Very
important for the archaic art are the pedimental
sculptures , that are exposed in the museum, and depict
in the eastern the arrival of Apollo with Artemis and
Leto at Delphi, where they are welcomed by youths males
and females, while in the western, battle of Gods and
Giants.
The archaic temple was destroyed by an earthquake at 373
B.C. and began to built immediately with Pan-Hellenic
contributions the new temple. However his construction
delayed because of two holy wars and finished around in
the 330 B.C. by the architects the Corinthian
Spintharos, Xenodoros and Agathon.
The temple of 4th cent. had the dimensions, the
type and the internal division of his precursor, and in
it's pediments that were made by the Athenian Praxias
and Androsthenes, were depicted the Apollonian trinity
(Apollo, Lito, Artemis) in the eastern, the sunset of
Helios, and Dionysos with the Mainads in the western.
What we know from the interior of the temple comes only
from the ancient writers because there was nothing found
from the excavations. In the walls of the precursor
temple had been written wise men expressions such us
"Gnothei se ayton - Know myself", "Miden agan - nothing
in exaggeration" etc, as well as the mysterious letter
"E". Also in pronaos existed a cupreous picture of
Homer. In the cella was found an altar of Poseidon (an
older holder of the sanctuary too), the iron throne of
big poet Pindar and the altar of Hestia with
unquenchable fire, above in which according to the
tradition Neoptolemos son of Achilles was killed .
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