It takes only a glance at the scenery to explain why ancient Greeks called Delphi the "navel" of the earth. The breathtaking, awe inspiring scenery is overwhelming before one has the opportunity to visit the magnificent ruins of this shrine of Apollo, whose mystique is still alive today. It is well known that ancient Greeks, and especially the servants of their gods, appreciated and enjoyed beauty and harmony. Therefore, it is frequently said that if one wants to go to a really beautiful location, then one has to just pick out any ancient shrine and go there. He will not be disappointed. Nowhere is this more in evidence perhaps, than in Delphi.

Natural Beauty
The whole of the prefecture of Fokis is a place of incredible physical beauty, combining majestic mountains where eagles soar high above with the pride of their own heritage, with the village of Arahova leading up to the snow covered slopes of Mount Parnassus, and the warmth of the sea with the ports of Itea and Galaxidi steeped in their own significance and history below.

Turning one's gaze from the rich blue of the sea back up towards the imposing mountain, one's eyes can also feast on the large olive groves, extending all over the plain of Amfisa that has been producing the same succulent and renowned olives for thousands of years in honor of Apollo, the Sun-God.

The Magic of Delphi that lives on Today
In his excellent book on Greece "Inventing Paradise" Edmund Keeley quotes the poet Seferis' definition of eternity as what Pythia at Delphi saw when seized in ecstasy, namely: "all space and all time, past and future, as one". And this is precisely what gives Delphi its magic in a timeless awe inspiring manner that we can still savor today.