The Temple of Apollo, also known as Apollonion, () was a major part of the Panhellenic religious sanctuary located in Central Greece at Delphi. The temple and sanctuary at large were dedicated to one of the major Greek deities, Apollo, the god of archery, music, light, prophecy, the arts, and healing. There have been several temples built at Delphi throughout the history of the site, though the visible ruins seen in modernity are those of the temple built in the 4th century B.C.E. before its destruction under the orders of Theodosius I in 390 C.E.. During antiquity, the temple was home to the famous Greek prophetess the Pythia, or the Oracle of Delphi, making the Temple of Apollo and the sanctuary at Delphi a major Panhellenic religious site as early as the 8th century B.C.E., and a place of great importance at many different periods of ancient Greek history. References to Delphi, the sanctuary, the temple, and the prophecies of the Pythia are made throughout ancient Greek mythology and historical accounts from the periods of its use.
Location
Located on Mount Parnassus in Central Greece, the Temple of Apollo at Delphi is part of the Panhellenic Sanctuary at Delphi and occupies a remote, but central location relative to other Greek cities and settlements. The area is historically a major economic site due to the extensive olive groves nearby, as well as a major religious site between the associations with Dionysus and his Dionysian mysteries and Delphi being situated among the southern slopes in a valley north of the Gulf of Corinth. The Temple of Apollo at Delphi was situated within a central area of the sanctuary, surrounded by the Theater, other sanctuaries to Gaia, Dionysus, and Neoptolemus, treasuries housing the offerings dedicated by major Greek polis', and several other statues, stoa, and altars. Beginning at the Castalian Spring where visitors to the sanctuary would purify themselves before entering, the path leading to the Temple of Apollo was referred to as the Sacred Way and was lined with treasuries housing the offerings of different major Greek states, like Athens, Corinth, Boeotia, and Thebes many among others. Within the ancient Greek world, Delphi was considered the center of the universe, marked by the omphalos, or "navel", of the Earth that was located in Apollo's sacred temple. The Temple of Apollo at Delphi was perceived as an incredibly sacred site, considered a major center of ancient Greek religious practice and belief as well as a place intimately connected to the gods.
Architecture
The First Four Temples
Greek traditions and writing reference five different temples built at Delphi throughout history. Scholars like Henry J. Middleton have argued that the first three temples were constructed before the creation of the Homeric poems and before the cult of Apollo was established at Delphi. The first temple at Delphi took the form of a hut made from laurel from the Vale of Tempe, the sacred tree and major religious symbol of Apollo. The second temple was a gift from Apollo to the Hyperboreans, either constructed using beeswax and feathers or by a Delphian named Pteras using ferns, though Pausanias denies the latter. Within myth, the third temple was said to be made of bronze and built by Hephaestus, though in his writing Pausanias expressed his doubts about Hephaestus' role in its construction. Pausanias also provides two possibilities for the destruction of the third temple, either having been burned down by fire or falling into a deep fissure of the earth. While the Homeric Hymn to Apollo states that Apollo himself laid the foundations, Pausanias states that the fourth temple was one of stone built by Trophonius and Agamedes before it was burned down in 548 B.C.E.. Arguments by historians have been made that the fourth temple was the first sanctuary during the time of Apollo at Delphi, and the temple is referred to in most Greek mythological tradition when talking about Delphi and Apollo's patronage of the city.