Editing Delphi (section)

===Ancient Delphi===
Earlier myths<ref>Pausanias 10.12.1</ref><ref name="Harissis 2019"/> include traditions that [[Pythia]], or the Delphic oracle, already was the site of an important oracle in the pre-classical Greek world (as early as 1400&nbsp;BC) and, rededicated from about 800&nbsp;BC, when it served as the major site during classical times for the worship of the god [[Apollo]].

[[File:Delphi by Albert Tournaire.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Speculative illustration of ancient Delphi by French architect Albert Tournaire]]
Delphi was since ancient times a place of worship for [[Gaia (mythology)|Gaia]], the [[mother goddess]] connected with fertility. The town started to gain pan-Hellenic relevance as both a shrine and an oracle in the seventh century BC. Initially under the control of [[Phocis (ancient region)|Phocian]] settlers based in nearby [[Kirra, Phocis|Kirra]] (currently [[Itea, Phocis|Itea]]), Delphi was reclaimed by the [[Athens|Athenians]] during the [[First Sacred War]] (597–585 BC). The conflict resulted in the consolidation of the [[Amphictyonic League#The Delphic Amphictyony|Amphictyonic League]], which had both a military and a religious function revolving around the protection of the [[#Temple of Apollo|Temple of Apollo]]. This shrine was destroyed by fire in 548 BC and then fell under the control of the [[Alcmaeonidae|Alcmaeonids]] who were banned from Athens. In 449–448 BC, the [[Second Sacred War]] (fought in the wider context of the [[First Peloponnesian War]] between the [[Peloponnesian League]] led by [[Sparta]] and the [[Delian League|Delian-Attic League]] led by Athens) resulted in the [[Phocis (ancient region)|Phocians]] gaining control of Delphi and the management of the [[Pythian Games]].

In 356 BC, the Phocians under Philomelos captured and sacked Delphi, leading to the [[Third Sacred War]] (356–346 BC), which ended with the defeat of the former and the [[rise of Macedon]] under the reign of [[Philip II of Macedon|Philip II]]. This led to the [[Rise of Macedon#Fourth Sacred War|Fourth Sacred War]] (339 BC), which culminated in the [[Battle of Chaeronea (338 BC)|Battle of Chaeronea]] (338 BC) and the establishment of Macedonian rule over Greece.

In Delphi, Macedonian rule was superseded by the [[Aetolians]] in 279 BC, when a [[Gallic invasion of the Balkans|Gallic invasion]] was repelled, and by the [[Roman Republic|Romans]] in 191 BC. The site was sacked by [[Sulla|Lucius Cornelius Sulla]] in 86 BC, during the [[Mithridatic Wars]], and by [[Nero]] in 66 AD. Although subsequent Roman emperors of the [[Flavian dynasty]] contributed toward to the restoration of the site, it gradually lost importance.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Scott |first1=M |title=Identity at Delphi: Boiotia in the Fourth Century bc |date=2016 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |location=Philadelphia |pages=100-115}}</ref>{{citation needed|date=May 2023}}

The anti-pagan legislation of the late Roman Imperial era deprived ancient sanctuaries of their assets.{{Citation needed|date=August 2019}} The emperor [[Julian (emperor)|Julian]] attempted to reverse this religious climate, yet his "pagan revival" was particularly short-lived. When the doctor [[Oreibasius]] visited the oracle of Delphi, in order to question the fate of paganism, he received a pessimistic answer:{{citation needed|date=May 2023}}

<blockquote>Tell the king that the flute has fallen to the ground. Phoebus does not have a home any more, neither an oracular laurel, nor a speaking fountain, because the talking water has dried out</blockquote>

It was shut down during the [[persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire]] by [[Theodosius I]] in 381 AD.<ref>{{cite book|title=Grecia. Guida d'Europa|date=1977|publisher=Touring Club Italiano|location=Milano|page=126|language=it}}</ref>