bgr_276415 - PHOKIS- DELPHI Trihemiobole

PHOCIS - DELPHI

(5th century BC)

Delphi was located in Phocis at the foot of Mount Parnassus. Delphi owes its name to Dephos, son of Apollo. Dedicated to the cult of Apollo, it was the most important Panhellenic sanctuary in the Greek world. The Pythia, priestess of Apollo gave oracles there. Delphi was supposed to be located at the center of the world which housed the omphalos (navel of the world). Between the 6th and 4th centuries, Delphi experienced an unexpected destiny for a mountainous and poor region. The sanctuary knew an unequaled influence which made it the center of the Greek world. At the end of the Third Sacred War in 346 BC, the sanctuary fell under Macedonian rule.