Ancient Delphi and hallucinogenic gas

From Itea we drove 10 miles north to Delphi, which once was a home to the famous Greek oracle. It’s a place of many legends, but in a nutshell there was a crack in the mountain producing an intoxicating gas. The gas induced a trance like state in those who inhaled the right quantity and perhaps gave glimpses into the future. The Greeks in their wisdom created an elaborate temple on top of the crack. A female Pythia was chosen (the oracle) who would sit on a tripod, get high and give prophecies to the pilgrims. The Oracle was most active around 6 century BC and started winding down near the beginning of AD. I guess the gas had run out.

The place was well worth the visit, both for the interesting ruins as well as the beautiful landscape surrounded with mountains.

It seems that most ruins in Greece are inhabited by kittens.

There was also a museum.

From Delphi we drove west and parked up by a beach south of Mesolongion for a night of free camping. After enjoying the lovely sunset we managed to get some WiFi from a nearby bar and catch up with the blog.

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