Athens is not unlike our major cities in Australia...peak hour traffic! Motor scooters and motor bikes zoomed past as our coach crawled along...so familiar. This arterial ring road in Athens resembled a parking lot. We eventually escaped the trafiic and reached cruising speed on our way to the ancient site of Delphi.
We are realising first hand this unique country...a multifaceted land of civilization, history,mythology and philosophy. The city of Athens is the oldest European city with a history of more than 4000 years. It is the birthplace of Democracy, Philosophy, Theatre, Music and Poetry.
It was appropriate that Pastor Phil read Psalm 24 as we started the Delphi excursion.."The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein...". What a contrast to what we were about to experience in Delphi; a place of pagan worship and mythology! The apostle Paul ministered in such an environment preaching the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul, as a disciple of Christ was confronted with paganism in his day - in like manner we are confronted as disciples of Christ, with an aggressive humanism!
Passing the industrial area north of Athens we entered rural life. Farms, pine groves, lakes (one being Lake Marathon), cotton fields, olive groves, wheat fields and other sites passed by. Eighty percent of Greece is covered by hills and mountains. Joanna our guide gave us a rest stop after a couple of hours...most welcome! The mountains now encircled us and revealed the ancient Delphi. Majestic location with a backdrop of almost shear cliffs looking to the deep valley below. We walked the track to the treasury, the only remaining one of multiple such buildings to house the gifts of gold and other precious gifts to the god Apollo. Greeks came from everywhere to seek help and direction from Apollo. ...they would queue to get a word for their life choices...virgins who entered a trance-like state would be the medium through which that anticipated word would come. The more gifts given to Apollo by a worshipper the quicker the person would advance in the queue. What was left of the temple of Apollo gave a real sense of how prominent this edifice would have been in this most dramatic landscape.
Aside from some Roman-era remains we were looking at remains dating to the 5th century BC!. Our guide Joanna gave us a wonderful tour through the adjacent Delphi Museum where we saw amazing artifacts of this by-gone culture. One significant exhibit was of an inscription mentioning Gallio who was proconsul of Achaia in the time of the Apostle Pauls visit to Corinth (Acts 18:12ff). Clear validation of the historicity of the Bible.
We had an amazing lunch break at a restaurant called "Taberna Omfalos" - real Greek food and the best Baklava and homemade ice cream we have ever tasted!
What a day! What irony that such a race as the Greeks who have given the world so much, should succumb to bizarre beliefs of myth and legend...and more so, offered the gods such undeserved artisanship as we observed today. It seems to us such a meaningless effort. Only the Bible beginning with Genesis can give us the answer. To those of you who have been praying for us...THANK YOU! Surely the Lord has kept us safe on the roads and blessed us with rich fellowship in His glorious Name.
Mal & Val Armstrong
Bridgie, Anne N and Marg at Delphi
Jim at the ancient Sports Stadium
The theatre and view from Delphi
The amazing lunch (it's still coming!!)
John rests at the rooftop cafe of our hotel with the Acropolis in the background
Hello from the surgery, Leila and I are wishing you well from Henry
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