Delphi Archaeological museum () is one of the principal museums of

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

and one of the most visited. It is operated by the Greek Ministry of Culture (Ephorate of Antiquities of

Phocis Phocis (; ; ) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Central Greece. It stretches from the western mountainsides of Parnassus on the east to the mountain range of Vardousia on the west, upon the Gu ...

). Founded in 1903, it has been rearranged several times and houses the discoveries made at the Panhellenic sanctuary of Delphi, which date from the Late Helladic (Mycenean) period to the early Byzantine era. Organised in fourteen rooms on two levels, the museum mainly displays statues, including the famous Charioteer of Delphi, architectural elements, like the frieze of the

Siphnian Treasury The Siphnian Treasury was a building at the Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek cult centre of Delphi, erected to host the offerings of the polis, or city-state, of Sifnos, Siphnos. It was one of a number of treasuries lining the "Sacred Way", the proc ...

and ex votos dedicated to the sanctuary of Pythian

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

, like the Sphinx of Naxos. The exhibition floor space is more than 2270 m², while the storage and conservation rooms (mosaics, ceramics and metals) take up 558 m². Visitors are also catered to by an entrance hall, a cafeteria and a gift shop.

History of the museum

First museum

A first, rather small museum was inaugurated on 2 May 1903 to celebrate the end of the first great archaeological campaign of French excavations and to exhibit the findings. The building was designed by the French architect Albert Tournaire, financed by a trust established by the Greek banker and philanthropist Andreas Syngros. Two wings framed a small central building. The arrangement of the collection, designed by the director of the archaeological expedition, Théophile Homolle, was inspired by the view that the architectural parts and sculptures should be put "in context". Thus, parts of the main monuments of the site were reconstructed with plaster. Yet, the exhibits took every inch of available space, making the exhibition look pretty crammed. Furthermore, the museographic approach lacked any chronological or thematic arrangement. The quality of the exhibits themselves was thought to be self-explanatory. The first exhibition was thus destined more to the pleasure of the eyes than to any educational purpose.

Subsequent phases

Despite the admiration it inspired to the Greek and international community, already in the 1930s the museum was becoming too small to accommodate new findings or the increasing number of tourists. In addition, its arrangement (or, rather, the absence of it) and the plaster restorations were being increasingly criticized. Finally, its entire appearance was criticized as a little too "French" in a period which insisted on "Greekness." The construction of a new building was launched in 1935. The new museum was representative of the architectural trends of the Interwar period and was accomplished in 1939, including a new arrangement of the objects by the Professor of Archaeology at

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

, Constantinos Romaios. The reorganisation of the Archaic collections was entrusted to the French archaeologist Pierre de La Coste-Messelière, who discarded the plaster restorations of significant artefacts, including that of the Siphnian Treasury, which had become one of the principal attractions. The antiquities were presented in a chronological order, listed and labelled. However, this arrangement was only briefly in use. The outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

constituted a major threat to the antiquities which were put into storage. Part was kept at Delphi in the ancient Roman tombs or in specially dug pits in front of the museum. The most precious objects (the chryselephantine objects, the silver Statue of a Bull discovered three months before the outbreak of war, and the Charioteer were sent to

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

in order to be stored in the vaults of the

Bank of Greece The Bank of Greece ( , ) is the national central bank for Greece within the Eurosystem. It was the Greek central bank from 1927 to 2000, issuing the drachma. Since 2014, it has also been Greece's national competent authority within European ...

. They remained there for ten years. The charioteer was on display in the National Archaeological Museum of Athens until 1951. The region of Delphi was at the heart of the combat zone in the

Greek civil war The Greek Civil War () took place from 1946 to 1949. The conflict, which erupted shortly after the end of World War II, consisted of a Communism, Communist-led uprising against the established government of the Kingdom of Greece. The rebels decl ...

and the museum was not reopened until 1952. For six years, visitors could view the arrangement that had been envisioned in 1939. However, the museum proved insufficient and it was necessary to undertake a new phase of construction, completed in 1958. The renovation of the museum was entrusted to the architect Patroklos Karantinos and the archaeologist Christos Karouzos was sent from the National Archaeological Museum of Athens to rearrange the collection, under the supervision of the ephor of Delphi, Ioanna Constantinou. Karantinos created two new exhibition halls and modified the structure to allow more natural light into the building. The arrangement of the collection remained chronological, but a greater focus was placed on the sculpture, with statues increasingly separated from their architectural contexts. The museum reopened its doors in 1961. and soon became one of the most visited tourist attractions in Greece: in 1998, it received more than 300,200 visitors, almost as many as the National Archaeological Museum of Athens in the same period (325,000 visitors).

Current Museum

Between 1999 and 2003, the museum underwent yet another phase of renovations, carried out by the Greek architect Alexandros Tombazis. These included the construction of a new facade in a contemporary style and a new hall for the charioteer. The rest of the museum was redesigned in a modern style and adjusted to facilitate the circulation of visitors. A new lobby, a large cafeteria and a gift shop were also created. The collection was rearranged in order to reconcile the need to display the main attractions of the museum effectively and the wish to present the latest theories and discoveries of archaeological and historical scholarships. An effort was also made to illustrate hitherto neglected exhibits like the classical facade of the Temple of Apollo. The museum opened its doors once more for its centenary.

Collections

The collections of the Delphi Archaeological Museum are arranged chronologically in fourteen rooms.

Rooms 1 & 2

The first two rooms are devoted to the most ancient objects. The exhibition starts with Mycenaean finds, particularly clay figurines, among which a significant female figure seated on a three-legged chair, which has been viewed as a precursor of the later tripods. The majority of the exhibits, however, are bronze votive offerings, dating to the 8th and 7th centuries BCE, including bronze tripods and cauldrons with decorative elements inspired by mythical creatures, such as griffins, as well as bronze figurines of warriors. The items displayed date to the late Geometric and early Archaic periods. File:Anthropomorphic figurines-crop.jpg, Bronze figurines, mostly warriors File:027MAD Head of griffin.jpg, Head of a Griffon (bronze) File:Bronze votive shield.JPG, Bronze votive shield File:Delphi-helm.jpg, Bronze helmets File:Kouros - delphi.jpg, Daedelic style kouros, bronze File:010MAD Kouros.jpg, Torso of a kouros

Room 3

Room 3 is dominated by the Kouroi of Delphi, archaic male statues known also as Cleobis and Biton, which were produced at Argos between 610 and 580 BCE. It also contains the

metope A metope (; ) is a rectangular architectural element of the Doric order, filling the space between triglyphs in a frieze , a decorative band above an architrave. In earlier wooden buildings the spaces between triglyphs were first open, and ...

s of the Treasury of the Sicyonians. The latter include four metopes made of yellowish porous stone from Sicyon, coming from the so-called "monopteros". They depict scenes from the Argonautic expedition, a scene from the myth of the Dioskouroi abducting the oxen of Arkadias aided by their cousins, Idas and Lyngeus, some scenes from the hunt of the Calydonian boar and, finally, the scene of the abduction of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

by Zeus transformed into a bull. Some bronze figurines of the 6th century BCE are also displayed in the same room, of which notable is a figurine of Apollo, made by a Laconian workshop. On one of the cases fastened against the wall is displayed a bronze tile depicting a scene from the Odyssey: A man, probably

Odysseus In Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology, Odysseus ( ; , ), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses ( , ; ), is a legendary Greeks, Greek king of Homeric Ithaca, Ithaca and the hero of Homer's Epic poetry, epic poem, the ''Odyssey''. Od ...

, tied under the belly of a ram is possibly escaping from the cave of Polyphemus; another tile depicts

Heracles Heracles ( ; ), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a Divinity, divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of ZeusApollodorus1.9.16/ref> and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive descent through ...

carrying the Erymanthian boar to king Eurystheus, who hides in a jar, terrified. Finally, simae from two archaic treasuries are also displayed; they are made of terracotta and are decorated with rosettes and spiral motifs. File:Ac.kleobisandbiton.jpg, Cleobis and Biton Odysseus under ram, archaic small bronze, AM Delphi,060080.jpg, Odysseus under the belly of a ram.

Room 4

This is dedicated to the very precious offerings found in a pit on the Sacred Way: the silver statue of a bull and the chryselephantine statues which are thought to represent the Apollonian triad, namely

Artemis In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Artemis (; ) is the goddess of the hunting, hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, transitions, nature, vegetation, childbirth, Kourotrophos, care of children, and chastity. In later tim ...

and their mother,

Leto In ancient Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion, Leto (; ) is a childhood goddess, the daughter of the Titans Coeus and Phoebe (Titaness), Phoebe, the sister of Asteria, and the mother of Apollo and Artemis.Hesiod, ''Theogony' ...

. The room is reminiscent of a safe where visitors are let in to admire the precious objects. File:Silver bull at the Delphi Archaeological Museum.jpg, Statue of a Bull. File:Delphi chryselephantine.jpg, Torso of the chryselephantine sculpture of Artemis. File:Chrys2.jpg, Torso of the chryselephantine sculpture of Apollo. Leto, torso of cult statue, ivory, gold, 550 BC, AM Delphi, 060073.jpg, Torso of the chryselephantine sculpture of Leto.

Room 5

This room displays the Sphinx of Naxos and the friezes of the

. The parts of the treasury displayed include one of the two Korae, i.e. the elegant female figures supporting the vestibule of the treasury, one of the capitals and parts of the frieze. The eastern part of the frieze presents scenes related to the Trojan war, such as the convention of the gods, a battle scene in front of Troy (eastern frieze), a Gigantomachy (northern frieze), the Judgement of Paris (western frieze) and the abduction of a woman (southern frieze), identified either with the abduction of Hippodameia by Pelops or with that of the daughters of Leukippos by the Dioskouroi. The sculptures of the pediment of the treasury are also extant, depicting the fief between Heracles and Apollo for the possession of the Delphic tripod. The most impressive exhibit, however, is the sphinx. It is an enormous statue which crowned an ionic column and capital, totaling 12 meters in height. The column stood close to the Halos. The sphinx was dedicated by the city of

Naxos Naxos (; , ) is a Greek island belonging to the Cyclades island group. It is the largest island in the group. It was an important centre during the Bronze Age Cycladic Culture and in the Ancient Greek Archaic Period. The island is famous as ...

, a wealthy island of the Aegean in its prime time, i.e. between 575 and 560 BCE. An inscription at the base of the column renews the right of " promanteia" for Naxos in the . File:028MAD Sphinx.jpg, Sphinx of Naxos File:016MAD Frieze.jpg, Part of one of the friezes of the

File:Treasury of the Siphnians.jpg, East pediment of the Siphnian Treasury File:Delphi-mus-Frieze.jpg, Part of the frieze from to the Treasury of the Siphnians File:Caryatide du trésor de Siphnos.JPG, Caryatid from the Siphnian Treasury

Room 6

This room contains the archaic and classical facades of the Temple of Apollo. The archaic sculptures, made of Parian marble, include a carriage with four horses, carrying Apollo. To the left of the carriage stood three female figures, possibly the daughters of Kekrops, king of Athens, and to the right three male figures. The scene is identified as the advent of Apollo to Delphi. The central acroterion of the temple depicted a victory (Nike) running with her knee lifted up in the air. The two side acroteria depicted Sphinxes. The western pediment sculptures depicted a Gigantomachy. Both pediments are attributed to the Athenian sculptor Antenor. The sculptures of the pediments of the 4th century temple were made of Pentelic marble. On the eastern pediment Apollo was seated on a tripod, flanked by Leto, Artemis, and the Muses. On the western pediment was depicted Dionysus, surrounded by female figures, the Thyades. Both pediments are attributed to the sculptors Praxias and Androsthenes. Torsos from archaic tmeple of Apollo, Parian marble, 510-500 BC, AM Delphi, Dlfm459.jpg, Sculptures from archaic Temple of Apollo. Greece-0884 (2216572422).jpg, Sculpture of Dionysus, from the classical Temple of Apollo

Room 7

These two rooms contain objects from the Treasury of the Athenians; the first room contains the

s, the second contains acroteria, pedimental sculpture and inscriptions. The two pediments of the Treasury of the Athenians are fragmentary and depict, apparently, the meeting of

Theseus Theseus (, ; ) was a divine hero in Greek mythology, famous for slaying the Minotaur. The myths surrounding Theseus, his journeys, exploits, and friends, have provided material for storytelling throughout the ages. Theseus is sometimes desc ...

and Peirithus (eastern pediment) and Heracles in a battle scene (western pediment). Twenty-seven out of the thirty

s of the treasury are also preserved. They bear representations in deep relief. The east side metopes depict an Amazonomachy. The south side metopes depict the heroic deeds of Theseus, such as the killing of the Minotaur, the bull of Marathon, the hero with an amazon, the hero with the goddess Athena, the fight against the bandit Cercyon and against Skiron. On the north side are depicted nine heroic deeds of Heracles, such as the fight against Geryones, in four consequent metopes, in an unusual "narrative" style. File:Theseus and Antiope.jpg,

Metope A metope (; ) is a rectangular architectural element of the Doric order, filling the space between triglyphs in a frieze , a decorative band above an architrave. In earlier wooden buildings the spaces between triglyphs were first open, and ...

of the Treasury of the Athenians File:Heracles and Kyknos.jpg, Metope of the Treasury of the Athenians Metope, Treasury of Athenians, Heracles and Ceryneian Hind, 500 BC AM Delphi, Dlfm410.jpg, Metope of the Treasury of the Athenians Metope, Treasury of Athenians, Theseus and Minotaur, 500 BC AM Delphi, Dlfm409.jpg, Metope of the Treasury of the Athenians

Room 8

The room contains the fragments of the Delphic Hymns and the Attic white-ground kylix with the depiction of Apollo playing the lyre. File:First Delphic Hymn,1st & 2nd verse.jpg, First Delphic Hymn, 1st & 2nd verse File:First Delphic Hymn,3nd verse.jpg, First Delphic Hymn,3nd verse File:Second Delphic Hymn.jpg, Second Delphic Hymn

Rooms 9 & 10

The objects in these two rooms come from the Temple of Athena Pronaia. Among them stand out sculptures from the Treasury of the Massaliots and the Doric Treasury. Two acroteria in the form of running female figures have been attributed to the temple of Athena. Architectural members on the north wall of the room such as simae, gutters in the form of lion-head and acroteria in the form of anthemia, as well as parts of Nike acroteria belong also to various buildings of the sanctuary, date to the late archaic and classical periods and preserve traces of their initial colours. In the middle of the room there are free-standing cases, in which are displayed three bronze figurines, namely a Corinthian figurine of a man playing the double flute (460–450 BCE), two naked athletes dated to the same period and coming from an Attic workshop, and a magnificent bronze incense-burner in the form of a "peplophoros", a female figure holding above her head a cauldron for burning the incense. All three figurines were found in the pit of the Sacred Way along with the chryselephantine statues and several other finds. Along the western side there is a case displaying bronze figurines dated to the first half of the as well as parts of larger bronze statues. Among the latter stand out the part of a crane and the part of a himation decorated with maeander motifs with inlay copper. Room 10, on the other hand, contains parts of the Tholos of Delphi, the round building standing out in the sanctuary of Athena Pronaia, dated to the first quarter of the 4th century BCE. Two rows of simae with lion-heads and two rows of

s have been found. The first row of metopes decorated the external side and the row with the smaller figures belonged to the internal side of the pteron. The sculpted decoration was complete with acroteria in the form of women dressed in floating peplos. The outer metopes depicted an Amazonomachy and a Centauromachy. The sculptures of the Tholos date to 380–370 BCE and constitute magnificent specimens of late Classical sculpture, reminding of the sculptures of the Asclepeion of

Epidaurus Epidaurus () was a small city (''polis'') in ancient Greece, on the Argolid Peninsula at the Saronic Gulf. Two modern towns bear the name Epidavros: ''Palaia Epidavros'' and ''Nea Epidavros''. Since 2010 they belong to the new municipality of Epi ...

. Several of them had been damaged in Late Antiquity. File:Bronze-sculptur-crop.jpg, Bronze sculptures of the

Room 11

The room contains Late Classical and early Hellenistic objects, among which the Dancers of Delphi and the ''ex voto'' of Daochos. Daochos II was the tetrarch of

Thessaly Thessaly ( ; ; ancient Aeolic Greek#Thessalian, Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic regions of Greece, geographic and modern administrative regions of Greece, administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient Thessaly, a ...

between 336 and 332 BCE. The '' ex voto'' consisted of a rectangular base 11 meters long which bore openings for supporting nine statues, discovered around it. Eight of the statues were identified by inscriptions. From right to left were depicted possibly a seated Apollo, next to him Acnonios, former tetrarch of Thessaly, with his three sons, Agias, Telemachus, and Agelaus, victors in various athletic games, then Daochos I, Daochos II and finally Sisyphus II, the latter's son. Some of the figures, at least, have been attributed to Lysippus. The Dancers of Delphi on the other hand, is a column identified due to the inscription of its base. It was dedicated by the Athenians, made of Pentelic marble. The column ended in a composition consisting of acanthus leaves out of which sprang three female figures with their hands lifted, as if dancing. They probably held a tripod (not extant) crowned by the omphalos displayed also in the same room. Among the other important exhibits of the room counts a statue of Apollo in the Patroos type and the statue of a man wearing the himation, dated to the as well as the statue of an aged man with a ''

himation A himation ( , ) was a type of clothing, a mantle (clothing), mantle or Wrap (clothing), wrap worn by ancient Greek men and women from the Archaic Greece, Archaic period through the Hellenistic period ( BC). It was usually worn over a Chiton (gar ...

'' leaving the right shoulder and the breast uncovered, identified as a priest of Apollo or as a philosopher and dated to 280 BCE. File:Exvoto-Daoco.jpg, Dedication of Daochos File:GR-delphi-antinoos-statue.jpg, Statue of Agias of Pharsala, possibly by Lysippos or his son Euthykrates, part of the dedication of Daochos Delfimuseum 08.JPG, Dancers of Delphi File:Delphi omphalos.jpg, Omphalos

Room 12

Room 12 contains Late

Hellenistic In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...

and Roman objects, including a famous

statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or Casting (metalworking), cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to ...

Antinous Antinous, also called Antinoös, (; ; – ) was a Greek youth from Bithynia, a favourite and lover of the Roman emperor Hadrian. Following his premature death before his 20th birthday, Antinous was deified on Hadrian's orders, being worshippe ...

. The main exhibit of the statue of

, favorite of the emperor

Hadrian Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...

; it is probably one of the best specimens of the depictions of the young man which were erected all over the Roman Empire after his untimely death under order of the emperor. Close to Antinous stands a head of a man probably depicting Titus Quinctius Flamininus, the Roman general who conquered Delphi in 198 BCE. In the middle of the room stands a round altar made of Pentelic marble and coming from the Sanctuary of Athena Pronaia. It is decorated in three bands with cyma recta and astragalus patterns and twelve female figures. It dates to the Another important exhibit is the pedestal with the frieze in relief constituting the Monument of Aemilius Paullus. Along the south side of the room are displayed parts of the Roman frieze decorating the theatre. They consist of depictions of scenes from the life and deeds of Heracles, such as the garden of the Hesperides,

Cerberus In Greek mythology, Cerberus ( or ; ''Kérberos'' ), often referred to as the hound of Hades, is a polycephaly, multi-headed dog that guards the gates of the Greek underworld, underworld to prevent the dead from leaving. He was the offspring o ...

, the lion of Nemea, a centaur,

Antaeus Antaeus (; , derived from ), known to the Berbers as Anti, was a figure in Traditional Berber religion, Berber and Greek mythology. He was famed for his defeat by Heracles as part of the Labours of Hercules. Family In Greek sources, he was ...

, the belt of Hippolyte, the horses of Diomedes, etc. File:Antinous Delphi.jpg,

, Parian marble, time of

File:07Delphi Fabius.jpg, Bust of the Roman consul Titus Quinctius Flamininus File:Estauta Plutarcu en Delfu.jpg, Statue of a philosopher, said to be

Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...

Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...

Room 13

This is the room of the Charioteer. The statue constituted one of the finest specimens of 5th century bronze sculpture, of the so-called austere style. It belonged to a larger complex including the chariot, the horses, and possibly a stable boy. File:Delphi Museum 09 Wagenlenker.jpg, Charioteer of Delphi, bronze, 475 BCE, Charioteer of Delphi, 475 BC, AM Delphi, 060088.jpg, Another view of the Charioteer

Room 14

This last room is devoted to the final years of the sanctuary. There are displayed three marble heads: A head of

dated possibly to the 1st century AD, the head of a philosopher of Late Antiquity, dated to the 4th century AD and a head of a priest or philosopher dated to the 2nd century AD. In the past it had been identified as a head of Plutarch. A hermaic stele nearby bears a dedicatory inscription to Plutarch and it probably held a head statue of the ancient author, but the latter has not been preserved. File:Plutarch and herm.jpg, Head of a philosopher, said to be

(left). Herm of a votive with the bust of Plutarch (right). Plutarch stele inscription 100 AD, AM of Delphi 4070060092.jpg, Inscription in the votive stele of Plutarch. File:Heracles-1.jpg, Marble of bearded head said to be

The ground floor gallery

The ground floor room contains finds from the necropolis of Delphi, from houses, from the Corycian cave, as well as several other finds of unidentified origin. Three funerary stelae stand right next to the entrance; they bear depictions of the deceased in relief. The first case contains Mycenaean stirrup jars and the next one various types of Mycenaean pottery from the Mycenaean settlement. Hand-made and wheel-made pottery () are also extant, coming from a chamber tomb discovered at the site of the museum. In the case at the opposite side of the room is displayed pottery, of which stands out a group of pottery from the so-called "Corinthian house" dated to 625–600 BCE. In the next case are displayed seals and scarabs of Egyptian style. In a free standing case in the middle of the room is displayed a bronze hydria with depiction in relief, a rather rare vessel of a workshop located in the north Peloponnese. Burial votive offerings are exhibited in the next case, including belt buckles, aryballoi, and incense bottles. Classical period pottery follows. A large clay bust of Demeter or Persephone along with several other clay vessels come from the so-called "grave of the priest". In the next case are exhibited grave goods from a grave located around the museum, dated to the first half of the 4th century BCE. Two attic lekythoi with depictions in relief, clay figurines of Aphrodite, a dancer, Cassandra, a comic actor as well as a doll with movable hands and legs count among the most important exhibits. The long case along the narrow wall contains finds from the Corycian cave, such as two vessels of the late Neolithic period, some human clay figurines, obsidian blades, and some of the

knucklebones Knucklebones, also known as scatter jacks, snobs, astragaloi (''singular'': astragalus), tali, dibs, fivestones, jacks, jackstones, or jinks, among many other names, is a game of Fine motor skill, dexterity played with a number of small objects ...

discovered there. Some figurines depict korae (young women) and animals. The most impressive exhibit, however, is a chorus of the Muses around Pan. In the rest of the cases are displayed black-figured lekythoi, clay figurines, a rather large figurine of Aphrodite, and a folding mirror decorated with the head of the same goddess. Finally, some Late antique exhibits such as oil-lamps and a leopard made of mother-of-pearl offer a glimpse into the city of Delphi in Late Antiquity.

References

External links

* * * (select ') * * * * {{Authority control 1903 establishments in Greece Museums established in 1903 Buildings and structures in Phocis