S. has already elucidated the complex spatial relationship between monuments, architectural development and historical significance of the sanctuary of Delphi. This book expands his work both chronologically and thematically, taking as its subject the history of Delphi from its inception as a small Bronze Age village through its demise in Late Antiquity to its reincarnation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The book is accessible for a general reader and concludes with a brief guide to the site and museum, but will also satisfy specialists with extensive references (over 60 pages) and its thorough bibliography (24 pages). Individual chapters vary in their balance of evidence (literature, epigraphy and physical remains), but S. achieves his goal of providing a ‘global, fully rounded, view of the wide spectrum of activity that went on at Delphi across its entire lifespan’ (p. 5).
S. engages the reader with a series of questions that continue to elude definitive answer: ‘How did its famous oracle work, and why did it capture the attention of the ancient world for so long? What were the crucial factors in securing Delphi's emergence as the predominant oracular site in a world teeming with oracles? … What eventually caused its demise?’ (p. 4). Such questions are addressed in chapters that follow a chronological order, but digress along thematic paths. The text is divided into three parts which trace not so much the origin, floruit and demise of Delphi as its reinvention over time.
S. begins with the question of how the oracle may have functioned (Chapter 1), steering a logical course between ancient and modern theories of divine inspiration and demonstrating convincingly that the process, including the presence and function of the Pythia, must have changed over time. He provides a clear description of what we know about the physical space for consultation, who was present and what happened, and discusses multiple methods of consultation (beans, lots, gaseous emanations) attested or hypothesised. Combined with his account of the physical transformation of the sanctuary, this highlights the remarkably brief period (c. 600–373 b.c.) within its 1,500 year history during which the oracle could have functioned in what has become the classic image: a Pythia seated on a bronze tripod, uttering complex (possibly metrical) responses in the adyton of a monumental stone temple. S. observes that the Pythia functioned as a ‘management consultant’ (p. 30) rather than fortune teller, hence her popularity in the public sphere during the late Archaic and early Classical periods. The oracle provided guidance, not revelation, and thus became ‘a useful tool with which to think, argue, and explain, in the context of a constantly evolving world’ (p. 286).
Chapter 2 focuses on the earliest history of the sanctuary through both literary and archaeological evidence. Ancient accounts trace the sanctuary's origin to deep mythical time, but physical remains indicate only a very modest settlement before 800 b.c. Remaining chapters provide an account of how the sanctuary evolved until its abandonment in the seventh century a.d. From its inception, the sanctuary attracted a powerful international clientele, witnessed by eighth-century votives from Corinth, Argos, Italy, Crete and Lydia. Repeated natural and man-made disasters such as fire, earthquake, rock falls and warfare at first allowed renewal and expansion, leading to the separation of the sanctuary from the settlement (c. 730 b.c., Chapter 3), and its definition and monumentalisation by the Amphictyony (early sixth century b.c., Chapters 4–5), but shifted into sporadic yet persistent diminishment (fourth to first centuries b.c., Chapters 7–9) and then terminal decline (fourth to seventh centuries a.d., Chapters 11–12).
The narrative is enlivened by digressions on various topics, including several Delphic enigmas: not just the temple's mysterious E, but the historicity of the First Sacred War, Delphi's status as Mediser or beacon of (Pan)Hellenism, shifting forms of competition through ‘spatial monopolization’ (p. 128) with nationalistic dedications, and the balance of power in the administration of the oracle, sanctuary and Pythian Games – generally divided between the polis of Delphi and the Amphictyony, but with interference by states such as Athens, Thessaly, Aitolia and, inevitably, Rome.
Much emphasis is placed on the versatility and evolution of Delphi over time. The oracle may have been essential to early growth, but its role in public life declined when monarchical rulers claimed final, even oracular, authority over matters of state (p. 168). After about 350 b.c., states essentially ceased to consult the Pythia on topics that had once been staples (articulation of constitutional law, state formation and colonisation, interstate arbitration and warfare), although Delphi's role as arbiter of religious and cultic norms remained intact until usurped by Roman emperors. S. traces how attitudes towards the sanctuary ossified as it became an intentional repository for historical and cultural memory. This began in the fourth century b.c., when the first compilation and display of victor's lists for the Pythian Games occurred, old treasuries were reused for administrative purposes, difficulties arose in funding repairs to Apollo's earthquake-damaged temple, and Macedonian kings made few dedications within the sanctuary. From this point on, and particularly under Roman emperors, Delphi had to court favour internationally by granting honours and exemptions within the sanctuary or by erecting honorific statues and inscriptions.
However, S. emphasises that the oracle was just one of many features that made Delphi central to Greek and Roman culture and politics (pp. 286–8). Early growth and popularity also rested on lack of control by any powerful state, a situation guaranteed and perpetuated when the Amphictyony exerted its nebulous control. The sanctuary remained an anodyne international presence, now with exponentially greater resources in funding, natural resources, technical skills and international interest than the tiny community of Delphi alone could muster. This created other advantages: an increase in deities, heroes and festivals celebrated in the sanctuary, control of a huge territory (first sacred, later secular) relative to the size of Delphi's population, and a persistent Roman misunderstanding of the Amphictyony as an early common council of Greeks (p. 205) which might be revitalised for provincial control. Delphi also became the pre-eminent location for display, both performative (through international festivals, musical and athletic competitions) and dedicatory (with votives in precious materials or innovative styles, honorific statues and inscriptions). Not only did this hugely enrich the sanctuary, it made Delphi both a repository of history and culture and a pawn in reshaping each to suit current ideology. S. concludes that ‘it was the cumulative impact and the continued opportunities provided by this combined package of oracle, management, festivals, games and dedications that ensured Delphi was propelled to such prominence in the ancient world’ (p. 288).
There are roughly a dozen typographical errors, extra words or computer relics. Changes to sanctuary practice in the Hellenistic and Roman periods could be explained more fully. The shift towards honorific statues, dedicated at first by individual or state patrons but later by Delphi for foreign benefactors, is a fundamental change. Admittedly, Delphi had long courted multiple patrons, but with this pursued became pursuer. Some less than favourable images of Delphi are omitted. S. mentions how a Spartan king manipulated Delphi by first consulting Zeus at Olympia and then asking Apollo if he agreed with his father (p. 142 and n. 8). S. names Agesilaus, but this version comes from Plutarch (Mor. 191B), who also retells it with Dodona and Delphi (Mor. 208 F). Xenophon (Hell. 4.7.2, also probably Arist. Rhet. 1398b–1399a) attributes it to Agesipolis. While it could just be read as a harbinger of the oracle's decline, the confusion and conflation is illuminating. By Plutarch's day, the story had clearly become a literary trope pejoratively associated with Delphi as much as the proverbial greed of its attendants and the danger of sacrificing there. These are minor quibbles with S.’s thorough and engaging account of Delphi through time.
