Delphi Archaeological Museum

The Delphi Archaeological Museum is one of the finest in Greece, which is saying something. Its central object is the Charioteer of Delphi, a life-sized bronze figure from 478 BC that is among the best-preserved sculptures from Classical antiquity. The Charioteer stands in the middle of a dedicated room, and the quality of the casting — the tense grip of the reins, the slightly turned head, the extraordinary naturalism of the pleated robe — is extraordinary even by the standards of a period famous for great sculpture.

The museum holds much else: the haunting Sphinx of Naxos on its tall column, the muscular archaic Kouroi (Cleobis and Biton), the painted metopes of the Treasury of the Athenians, chryselephantine (gold and ivory) statues, and the Omphalos — the egg-shaped stone that the ancient Greeks believed marked the center of the world. Allow at least ninety minutes; the collection rewards careful attention and the labels are informative in both Greek and English.

things to do museum
A story
The Charioteer of Delphi was buried deliberately — not destroyed by conquest or accident, but carefully covered to protect it, probably after a wall collapsed in an earthquake in 373 BC. It lay undiscovered for over two thousand years, which is why it survives in almost perfect condition. The eyes of colored stone are still in place; the original eyelashes of copper still frame them. It is among the very few large-scale Greek bronzes to survive antiquity intact.

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