Delphi: Katie

Before traveling to Delphi, I really did not know what to expect. I knew a little about the oracle, but I didn't know what the site was really used for. Upon arrival to Delphi the first thing that really stood out to me was the scenery. We were surrounded by mountains all around us. It was very hot that day, and it made me think about how dedicated the people must have been to travel by foot on days that were just as hot or even hotter than it was that day.

I was also impressed by all of the treasuries, such as the Treasury of Athens, that were found at the site. The treasuries were not only used to hold wealth and offerings, they were also used as a symbol of power. In addition to the treasuries there was also a theatre and a stadium. The most impressive thing about the theatre was the fact that there were no special seats in front reserved for the priests. This was so interesting to me because the front row seats in every other theatre we visited had high backs and were reserved for priests. I also found the stadium to be interesting because it showed that more went on at Delphi than just meetings with the oracle. The stadium was used for various games and, until recently, was open to visitors but due to its deterioration we were not allowed to go inside.

In the museum we were also able to see statues and other artifacts that were found during excavation. The most striking thing, in my opinion, was the amount of gold that was found. Normally during excavations, little to no gold will be found because it is one of the first things to be looted. At Delphi, however, a significant amount of gold was found on three statues. In addition to the gold, I was surprised by the number of bronze statues at the site. One of the most famous of these statues is called the charioteer. When thinking about Delphi as a whole, I really enjoyed the site visit because of the quality of the remains and the quantity of artifacts recovered.