Delphi

The site of Delphi (Greek: Δελφοί) is located in central Greece, along a slope of mount Parnassus.  The name Delphoi comes from the root delphys (δελφύς) that means "womb" and indicates the veneration of Gaia at the site.

According to Greek mythology, when Zeus wanted to know where the navel of the Earth (Gaia) was, he sent two eagles to find it.  When their path crossed over Delphi he determined that the center of Gaia was there.  A conical stone is present at the point where the crossing occurred and Earth’s umbilicus (ομφαλος) is located.

Pythia, the Delphic oracle, officiated in the temple of god Apollo.  The priestess took her name when Apollo slew a python "the dragon" to prevent him from raping Gaia.  Apollo spoke through his oracle that was an older local woman who had led a blameless life.  Pythia sat on a tripod seat over an opening in the earth. When Apollo slew the Python, its body fell into a mountain fissure and fumes arose from its decomposing body. Intoxicated by the vapors, the oracle would fall into a trance, allowing Apollo to possess her spirit and prophesied thru her. People consulted the Delphic oracle on everything from important matters of States to personal affairs.  

In the Temple of Apollo, an eternal flame burned after the battle of Plataea, at which time the Greek cities extinguished their fires and procured new fire when needed from the hearth of the Earth, Delphi.  Although City-States in Ancient Greece cherished their independence customs such as the eternal flame or the games point to their common Hellenic traditions. 

Every four years, at Delphi, athletes from all over the Greece competed in the Pythian games to celebrate the slaying the dragon by Apollo.  According to legend Apollo walked to Delphi from the north and stopped at Tempe, a city in Thessaly to pick laurel (bay tree) a sacred plant. In commemoration of this legend, the winners at the Pythian games received a wreath of laurel picked at Temple.

From the entrance of the site, continuing up the slope almost to the temple itself, are a large number of statues, and numerous treasuries. These were built by the various Greek city-states to commemorate victories and to thank the oracle for her advice, which was thought to have contributed to those victories. They are called "treasuries" because they held the offerings made to Apollo; these were frequently a "tithe" or tenth of the spoils of a battle. The most impressive is the Athenian Treasury, built to commemorate the Athenians' victory at the battle of Marathon in 490 BCE.

Tholos is a circular temple that is located approximately half a mile from the sanctuary and was devoted to Goddess Athena Pronoia (Ἀθηνᾶ Πρόνοια, "Athena of forethought").  It was constructed between 380 and 3h60 BCE and consisted of 20 Doric  columns in its exterior and 10 Corinthian columns in the interior.  Three of the Doric columns have been restored, making it the most iconic building at Delphi.