Delphi Museum

White kylix with a drawing of Apollo. 480-470 BCE.
The god is crowned with a myrtle wreath and is seated on a lion-footed stool. He is holding his lyre and pours libations from a phiale, while a crow or a raven watches from a perch.

The Archaeological Museum of Delphi shelters the extensive artifacts unearthed during excavations at the Delphi oracle and its vicinity. It is located adjacent to the archaeological site, and it is one of the top must-see museums in Greece, mainly because of the breadth and quality of artifacts it includes. The permanent exhibition covers over a thousand years, from the Mycenaean era to the Greco-Roman times.


Museum Highlights Photo Gallery

  • Chryselephantine (gold and ivory) statues, possibly depicting Artemis (left) and Apollo (right). 6th c. BCE.
  • Ivory feet from a female votive chryselephantine statuette. 6th c. BCE.
  • Bronze statuette of a youth (Kouros) of the daedalic style. Bronze, made by a Cretan workshop. 620 BCE.
  • Clay female figurines from the sanctuary of Athena Pronaia of Psi type. The females are wearing a headdress; their bosom and eyes are rendered in relief while their garment is depicted in painted lines. The figurine on the far left is wearing a necklace which underlines her sanctity.
  • Bronze statuettes.
  • Perirhanterion. It functioned as a stand for a basin used in rituals. It consists of three Kore statues around a single column. Early 6th c. BCE.
  • Bronze cauldron resting on an iron tripod ending in bronze oxen feet. The cauldron and the tripod is put together from fragments belonging to two different units for demonstration and exhibition purposes. 7th c. BCE.
  • Bronze votive shield of the "Herzsprung" type (named after the are of northern Europe where such a shield was found). The earliest examples of this type of shield were found found in grave offerings in Cyprus. Late 8th c. BCE.
  • Bronze votive helmet of the Corinthian type. It is decorated with the embossed figures of Europe riding the bull (the bull's head is visible in this photo), and animal fights. 7th c. BCE.
  • Statue of a bull made with silver and gold.

    6th c. BCE
  • Two identical Kouros Statues. They are the oldest monumental votive offerings at Delphi, and one of the earliest examples of monumental archaic sculpture. Early 6th c. B.C. (circa 580 B.C.) Over life size (6.15m) each. Made by Polymedes of Argos.
    More about Kouros statues...
  • Detail of the twin kouroi. They have been identified either as Cleobis and Biton, the two pious brothers from Argos, or as the Dioscuri whose cult was popular in the Peloponnese. Stylistically, they are an example of the transition from Daedalic to early Archaic art.
  • Metope from Sikyonian monopteros: The abduction of Europa. Zeus, transformed into a bull carries Europa, the daughter of a Phoenician king, on his back. 560 BCE.
  • Metope from Sikyonian monopteros: The Dioskouri, Castor with their cousins (the sons of Aphareus), leading a herd of cattle, stolen from Arcadia. Painted inscriptions indicated the names of the figures. 560 BCE.
  • Metope from Sikyonian monopteros: Scene from the Argonaut expedition. Orpheus at the prow of Argo along with a musician playing the lyre. One of the shields hanging from gunwales to protect the oarsmen is visible below them, and the Dioscuri disembarking on horseback are on the left.
  • Large Sphinx of Naxos sitting on an Ionic column about 10m tall. c

    Circa 560 B.C.
  • The pediment and frieze from the east facade of the treasury of Siphnos. The pediment depicts the dispute between Heracles and Apollo for the oracular tripod. 525 BCE.

    More art from the treasury of Siphnos...
  • The west pediment of the archaic temple of Apollo. It depicts a Gigantomachy. On the far left is a Giant (probably Enceladus), and on his right the standing figure is Athena. Behind Athena another standing figure is next to the horses of Zeus' chariot. Stuccoed poros stone; 510-500 BCE.
  • What remains from the east pediment of the Archaic Temple of Apollo. Apollo's four horses are in the center, flanked by three korai and three kouroi. In the corners lions hunt pray. Parian marble. 510-500 BCE.
  • The west pediment of the classical temple of Apollo. It depicts Dionysus (center) among the Thyiads. Work of the Athenian sculptors Praxias and Androsthenes. Marble, Circa 330 BCE.
  • Fragments of statues from the east pediment of the classical temple of Apollo. It depicts Apollo (far left - seated on a tripod, and holding a branch of laurel and a phiale, symbols of his oracle), Leto, and Artemis among the Muses. Made by the Athenian sculptors Praxias and Androsthenes. Circa 330 BCE.
  • Acroterium from the temple of Apollo depicting Winged Victory (Nike). 510 BCE.




    More about the Temple of Apollo...


  • Treasury of Athens metopes: Theseus and Antiope (left); Heracles and the Ceryneian hind (right) Early 5th c. BCE. More about the Treasury of Athens.
  • Detail of a marble slab from the Athenian treasury with carved musical inscriptions - hymns to Apollo. These are the oldest written notation of a melody.


    Read more in the Athenian Treasury page...

  • The omphalos of the earth. This sacred object was located in the Adyton of the Temple of Apollo, and was viewed only by the priests and priestess who had access to the chamber. It is a Hellenistic or Roman copy of the original . In the background: Dancing girls on the Acanthus Column.
  • The votive offering of Daochus.

    Statue of the athlete Hagias (second from right). It is a marble copy of a bronze original made by Lysippos. 340 BCE.
    Second from left is the statue of Sisyphus I.
  • Hellenistic statues.
  • Marble statue of Antinoos.
    130-138 CE.
  • The entablature of the Tholos' Doric peristyle. It has four metopes with statues depicting the abduction of a female by a Centaur, a seated horse, and a warrior mounting a horse. The metopes were badly damaged in antiquity when they were removed to be used as building material for an unrelated building.
  • Metopes from the Tholos.

    More about the Delphi Tholos...
  • Torso of an Amazon wearing a pleated chiton with straps across the waist and the chest.
  • Altar from the sanctuary of Athena Pronaia. 2nd c. BCE.
  • Roof terracotta parts with painted decorations. From various buildings. Late 5th c. BCE.
  • Fragments of statues from the treasury of the Mammalians (Marseilles).
  • The Charioteer of Delphi is undoubtedly one of the main highlights of the museum, and it is exhibited in its very own hall.

    Read more details about the Charioteer...
  • The Delphi museum facade.
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