Delphi Archaeological Site

Delphi Archaeological Site stands as the ancient Greeks' spiritual navel, marked by a stone omphalos where the Pythia priestess inhaled ethylene gases from a geological fissure to deliver prophecies for 1,000 years from 800 BC to 390 AD. Leaders from Croesus to Alexander the Great sought its counsel, and the site now contains the Temple of Apollo, a 5,000-seat theatre, and the Delphi Museum housing the 478 BC Charioteer—one of antiquity's finest bronze statues. Receiving 500,000 visitors annually, its oracle history is deeper than #3 Meteora' s monastic isolation because Delphi was the most consulted authority of the ancient world, with 85% of major decisions recorded by historians involving its prophecies.