Archaeological Museum of Delphi: Tracing the history of the famed Delphic Sanctuary

In 1935, it was decided that a larger museum had to be erected, which was later enriched with new exhibits over time. The presentation of the collections you see today, follows modern museological principles.

The Archaeological Museum of Delphi is one of the most significant in Greece and houses magnificent finds that tell the history of the renowned Delphic Sanctuary. Its rich collections include architectural sculptures (such as the reliefs from the metopes of the Treasury of the Siphnians and the Treasury of the Athenians), statues (Kleobis and Biton and the Sphinx of the Naxians, among others), as well as minor works of art, like votive offerings dedicated to the sanctuary by worshippers. These artifacts document the religious, political and artistic activity throughout the entire historical course of the sanctuary, from its foundation to its decline in late antiquity.

The three chryselephantine statues are particularly arresting – most likely depicting the Apollonian triad (Apollo, Artemis and Leto) – and are the only surviving examples of chryselephantine sculpture. Equally remarkable is the life-sized silver statue of a bull, composed of numerous silver sheets fastened onto a wooden core.

The timeless symbol of the Museum is none other than the Charioteer of Delphi, a bronze statue of a young man dating from the 5th century B.C. It was once part of a larger composition that included a chariot drawn by four horses, whose reins were held by two young attendants – the work of a great artist. Now only a single charioteer remains. The statue was erected at Delphi as a commemoration of the victory of Polyzalus, tyrant of Sicily, in the Pythian Games.