Sachgebiete

Beschreibung:

X, 436, XXVI, 271 Seiten Broschiert / Paperback.

Bemerkung:

Aus der Bibliothek von Prof. Wolfgang Haase, langjährigem Herausgeber der ANRW und des International Journal of the Classical Tradition (IJCT) / From the library of Prof. Wolfgang Haase, long-time editor of ANRW and the International Journal of the Classical Tradition (IJCT). - sehr guter Zustand / very good condition - CHAPTER I -- INTRODUCTION -- Zeus according to the Greek legend once wished to determine the exact centre of the earth. So he released two eagles from opposite ends of the world. Flying towards each other they met precisely over Delphi and demonstrated that it was the midmost point. Accordingly in early Greek maps Delphi occupied the exact centre, like Jerusalem in the maps of medieval Christendom. This pretty myth can claim a certain symbolic truth. Delphi for much of Greek history was the spiritual centre of the Hellenic world. Athens in the classical age became the chief home of art and philosophy. Other states in the swaying struggle for hegemony might for a time hold political dominance. But no city for so long or so generally was recognized as a common meeting around of all Hellenes equally - their central hearth. -- Once every four years Olympia drew the Greek world to its games, but at other times it was comparatively unfrequented. Delphi too had quadrennial games only second in rank to those of Olympia, but the continuous attraction was the oracle. Places of consultation were fairly frequent in Greek sanctuaries, but few attained to more than local importance. Delphi?s only rivals in reputation in the classical period were Dodona and Ammon, and it is hard to say how far their distinction was based on the very fact : of their difficulty of access. Delphi on the contrary lay in Central Greece at a ready distance from most parts of Hellas. -- To the modern visitor the situation of Delphi is one of its chief distinctions. Many have tried to convey in words that blend of sublimity and charm which is the special property of its landscape. The remains of the ancient temple lie on a sloping shelf of the m: mountain-side, which ends in cliffs dropping sheer to the Pleistos gorge and is in turn dominated by further cliffs of rose-tinted limestone which project from the flank of Mount Parnassus. Half a a mile from the sanctuary the cliff wall above is split by the chasm of Castalia. The view south towards the Corinthian Gulf is blocked by the sheer face of Mount Cirphis. The whole setting - must have enhanced the magnificence of the sacred buildings.