Delphi

Yesterday, we left for our 2-day excursion to Delphi, which is about a 4 hour trek northwest of Athens. After we arrived, we checked into our hotel and then grabbed some lunch. I was still feeling ill, so I only consumed some fruit. Afterwards, we proceeded to the Sanctuary of Athena Pronaia, the southern and secondary sanctuary of the site. There, we viewed the foundations of the three temples to Athena with the second one still having impressive columns remaining. Most of this sanctuary had been hit at some point in history with large rocks which fell from Mt. Parnassus. Afterwards, we walked back uphill and passed the Roman gymnasium. I had barely eaten anything all day, so I consumed much carbs for dinner in preparation for a hike up Mt. Parnassus. That was such a horrible decision, and I struggled hiking up the mountain. The view was absolutely tremendous though, so the pain was definitely worth it. After we got back to the hotel, I passed out from exhaustion. Today, we visited the Sanctuary of Apollo. As we climbed up the site, we noticed the treasuries dedicated at Delphi. The Athenian treasury has been reconstructed and is very impressive. The Temple of Apollo, where the Pythia would have given her oracles, still had about four or five of its columns remaining. We climbed even higher and passed the theater and finally reached the stadium, where the Pythian Games were held. Afterwards, we went to the site's museum. Our instructor, Dr. Leonard, got into a hilarious altercation with another tour guide who was very territorial of the site. Anyway, the museum had some very impressive finds; the Naxian Sphinx, the statues of Cleobis and Biton, and the Bronze Charioteer. Then we grabbed lunch and headed back to Athens. The rest of the evening was spent preparing my on-site report for Corinth, which is this Monday. I will not be able to do it this weekend, since I'm planning on independently traveling to Crete.