The three columns
Re-erected survivors of the twenty that ringed a circular chamber.
**The round building that became the face of Delphi in every photograph** โ three re-erected columns on a circular base, among olive trees, with Mount Parnassus behind. It stands on a separate terrace called **Marmaria** ("the marbles"), below the main site along the road, sacred to **Athena Pronaia** โ "Athena before the temple" โ because pilgrims passed her sanctuary before climbing to Apollo. The tholos itself dates from around **380 BC** and originally had **twenty columns** around a circular chamber. Nobody knows for certain why it was built round, or what it was used for โ one of the open questions of Greek architecture. โ It is **flat and low-lying**, unlike the sloping main site, so it is easy for anyone to visit. โ And a great many people **drive straight past without stopping**, not realising this is the thing they saw in the pictures.
Re-erected survivors of the twenty that ringed a circular chamber.
Athena's sanctuary, passed by pilgrims before climbing to Apollo.
Olive trees and Mount Parnassus directly behind the columns.
Marmaria, Delphi, 33054 Fokida, Greece
**Nobody knows โ and that is an honest answer, not an evasion.** โ **What we know**: round buildings (tholoi) are rare in Greek architecture but they exist, with other examples at **Olympia** and **Epidaurus**. The Delphi one was finished around 380 BC with exceptional care โ marble and fine carving โ so it was not a minor structure. โ **What we do not know**: **its function**. The hypotheses on offer include a **shrine to a hero or to chthonic powers**, a treasury, a commemorative monument, or a building tied to rites whose details are lost โ and no inscription or ancient text settles it. โ **Why does that matter to a visitor?** Because it is a reminder that what we know about the Greeks rests on **what happened to survive**: we know the architect's name, the type of marble and the date, and we do not know why it was built โ a gap in the evidence rather than in the explanation.
**Make it your first stop, not your last.** โ **The common mistake**: you arrive at the main site entrance, spend two and a half hours climbing and descending in the sun, then come out **tired**, decide you have seen Delphi, and leave โ while the tholos sits **300 metres down the road**, unseen. โ **The right order**: stop at **Marmaria first** as you come in from the Arachova side โ it is on your left before the main site โ and give it twenty minutes while you are still fresh, then carry on to the site and museum. โ **A practical point**: if you are on an organised tour from Athens, **ask explicitly before booking** whether Marmaria is included โ many short tours **do not stop there** for lack of time, and do not tell you so.
Sign in to write your review of this place.
No reviews yet โ be the first.