They lived on top of the Temple of Apollo and didn’t even know it.
At the foot of Mount Parnassus, a small village called Kastrí unknowingly sat atop one of the most sacred and mythical sites of the ancient world. No one could have imagined that this village, with its narrow streets and houses built from ancient stones, was located right above the Delphi archaeological site.
The villagers, unaware or perhaps vaguely aware of the legend beneath their feet, walked daily above the ruins of the Temple of Apollo, the Temple of Athena Pronaia, and the Treasury of the Athenians. The ancient stones from the old walls had been repurposed as house walls, courtyards, and foundations.
For centuries, Kastrí remained there, embedded in the land and mystery. But by the late 19th century, something began to change. The desire to unveil the secret of Delphi became an obsession for European archaeologists. The French Archaeological School began pressing for access to the subsoil. At the time, Greece, still a new nation, hesitated.
The villagers didn’t want to leave. Their homes were built with great effort, and the land they lived on was precious to them. However, the past was demanding space. Then came the earthquake. The damage from the tremors made the conversation easier. The government promised compensation and new land. Kastrí would have to move.
In 1893, the first villagers relocated. The village was moved further away, and the land where it once stood was opened up for excavation. What followed became Greece’s largest archaeological revelation. Within a few years, the French brought to light an entire lost world.
The Temple of Apollo. The Tholos of Athena. The Omphalos of the Earth. The stones began to speak. The golden offerings, inscriptions, porticos, columns, and the scents of ancient incense emerged once more. The earth, which had kept silent for centuries, began whispering stories that would change the way we understand ancient Greece.
Kastrí was sacrificed. Its people became, unknowingly, the last guardians of Apollo. And thanks to their departure, history came back into the present. Greece reclaimed one of its most important sites, and the world once again gained access to the mouth of the god.
