#delphi speaks

[d3lph1n1um]

Since you guys liked the last one so much, and since it's his birthday here's a shitty Alex doodle

Happy birthday to my favorite loser

[apollosgiftofprophecy]

was thinking abt cassandra n apollo bc 💔 love them and yk its become even stranger to me how it’s treated as like. some failed romance of apollo’s all because he couldn’t take rejection. because it wasn’t ever really a rejection? like they both agreed to a deal, she just didn’t uphold her end. like consider how relationships were treated in the past as transactional, and this specific exchange being a trade for prophetic powers—can we really even consider the idea that there is any sexual/romantic attraction towards each other? of course i know there’s a mutual level of devotion, but i’ve personally interpreted it as a complicated relationship between a devotee, her faith, and her god. it’s something transcending sexuality or romance. and their failed trade is a lesson on expecting too much from the divine without yourself being fully committed to them. all i’m saying really is that i think watering their dynamic down to some rejection story is silly and ruins the religious symbolism like there IS a reason that she is his priestess before and after!

(also thinking abt it: the exchange is soo symbolic its actually driving me nuts. he gives part of himself to her and she gives part of herself herself to him in return. a god and a follower’s mutual devotion to one another.)

anon your interpretation is soooo based let relationships transcend the meaning of romance and sexuality fr fr

biting this ask. gnawing. anon u get me. they are soooo complex and can have soooo many GOOD interpretations and you are RIGHT that reducing them to a ~rejection~ story not only waters them down, but also CHEAPENS who they are and the culture they come from!

[melit0n]

And so my favourite Ancient Greek site ever; Delphi!!

This place (and, of course, the mythos behind the oracle of Delphi herself) has been a fixation for me for years, so I was buzzing basically the entire time I was there.

While everything I saw was beyond gorgeous, this place took the cake. An absolute trek up a mountain side (with a further trek if you wanted to see the Pythian stadium, which I happily did), but we'll worth it. Massive props to everyone and everyone who traveled from literally anywhere in order to get a prophecy.

Speaking of prophecy (info dump under the cut)...

Okay! So! Delphi, aside from being a temple of Apollo, was considered the centre of the classical Greek world (and just the world in general), for a long time, mainly because it was the seat of the Pythia; the high priestess, aka, the oracle of Delphi. Which, fun fact, in Greek shares the same root word for 'womb'.

Now, the temples (as well as the village, various treasuries, gymnasium and theatre) at Delphi are of varying ages, with the temple of Apollo being built around 7th century BCE, before being burnt down in 548ish BC, and then again in the 4th century BC. The ones which you can see (and are in the photos 😌) are all from the 4th century BC. Two thousand plus years old.

Isn't that insane? Sure, not the oldest thing in the world, but walked by so many people. Awesome, in the truest meaning of the word I fear.

But, onto the Pythia. For a bit of context, the original site of Delphi is believed to have housed a different God, suspected to be Gaia, who's son/daughter (varies depending on what translation of the myth you're reading into), named Python (sometimes called Drakon // Drakaina) resided in a cave. When Apollo took over the site, he killed it, and, when he did, it caused a great chasm to open up in the Earth and spew gas. Henceforth, the oracle was known as the Pythia.

She would've also sat on a tripod over this chasm, of which with inhalation of the gas, the spirit of Apollo could posses her in order to give prophecies.

It's been debated whether this chasm did or didn't exist—it is highly possible for one to have been there; the area is known for earthquakes, and natural gas that causes hallucinations, such as methane, ethane and ethylene is able to come from the ground—but, either way, the priestess was high as balls when giving these prophecies. Either from gas, laurel (known in the modern age as Oleander), or both.

So, imagine, you've been travelling from Athens to Delphi for a week or two, have waited a month to see this oracle, only to step into a dim temple to see a lady probably between 40-60 years old, dressed as a young woman, with visable gas spewing out from underneath her, and she spews what sounds like absolute nonsense, in which, very helpfully, a priest translates into poetry for you to take home, which turns out to be scarily accurate. I'd be damn sure the Olympians existed too.

Her being so accurate is, in fact, what brought Delphi such high prestige.

While the idea of living breathing oracle is very cool, the way Delphi was set up aided her being so precise. As noted before, Delphi was considered a hub (would've had street markets, banks, small villages, religious sects etc.), with almost everyone there to see the oracle—people would be waiting weeks to months for a visit from her—and, during this time, they'd interact and talk with those around them. War plans would be drunkenly shared, marriages would be quietly talked of, and most of these conversations between generals and kings, and their messangers and servants, were all heard and noted down by the various priests in the area, who'd provide information to the oracle, and slip in some more details in their 'translation'.

Interesting, no?

The oracle of Delphi is dates back to about 1400 BC, with her last prophecy being delivered about 390 CE, to a Roman Emperor who began stating various laws to end pagan (classical Hellenistic) activities.

[official-nrc-prophet]

Plz plz plz more daddy python content

Sorry anon, you're gonna have to compete with Delphi, and I don't think that's happening.

Tagging @inotonline bc this is funny

[delphi-dreamin]

The feminine urge to be utterly destroyed by 4-5 men at once...

[decadence-divination]

Dedicated a sticker to Apollo! I used to have a sort of similar design on my Etsy, but when I got a new laptop I lost the file and never got around to a mach 2.0. In an effort to get back to myself and to finally feel normal again, I'm trying to push through this art block. This one felt necessary.

Anyway, I don't have the funds rn to list it or to buy ink to print it but if I make a few more sales or readings maybe something will happen. Anyway here's my Esty store, I'm really to the goal.

Do you guys like it? 👉👈

[percabeth4life]

Not being able to write when I have multiple chapters for fics I need to update plotted out fully, multiple new fics in progress of plotting or completely plotted out and literally nothing to do at work is killing me.

[slythereen]

the fact that max dgaf about media. he would not let the media team make participate in smth useless like a sticker war w/ ferrari. if that ever happened we’d know that max did it on his own free will (and 99% sure he would stick it onto charles because max is the #1 chirlie)

i have faith in max’s obsession w charles being strong enough to overcome his hatred of media. someone get that boy a sticker pack immediately

[disorganizedkitten]

Fav Delphi headcanons, go

I need you to know that I adore this ask but it also sent me into a pretzel knot because so many of my Delphi's are different. I wrote an essay about it

I need to add Cilia Delphi and Fears to Fathom Delphi to that document, now that I think about it. I adore her. Her character had so much potential, and I think it gets underused!

Immediate favorite headcanon is definitely 'she's as strong as her dad but most people don't notice' with the runner up being 'she is so good at achieving her goals but she cannot plan to save her life'. I think those two traits are pretty Delphi-Universal.

By cannot plan to save her life I mean she will make what looks like a flawless plan but it will, inevitably, go wrong in the most buckwild ways. How did that even happen?

[fernsplaysthings]

Look.

It didn't have to be that cute. I am not immune.

[official-nrc-prophet]

Our beloved villains

I know I said I'd wait, but Python and Delphi were begging to be released. Calliope and Circe will come out tomorrow instead.

Python and Delphi are the villains in Atlas' story.

Python is of course the Python from myth that was slain by Apollo, only now he's been resurrected and preying on the Cassandrasan family for millennia. His design is based on a Naga, though he has some human traits.

Delphi is Atlas' great grandmother, who met Python during a great "plague" in 1936 where the village water supply was poisoned with Python's venom. Finding him devouring the recent deceased, Delphi was coaxed into helping him eat more members of her family with the promise of immortality.

Delphi is now 101, and still completely fit and at ease thanks to Python's magic. She's helped Python for decades, even sacrificing her own children. Once Python devours the dead, Delphi burns a sheep and uses those ashes instead of the recently deceased family member. Since she's the head prophet, she's gotten away with this since she met Python.

@b0njourbeach @inotonline

[delphi-dreamin]

I don't share well. I'm possessive and jealous and it makes me rather irrationally upset to see other people shipping with my F/Os unless I know those people and am friendly with them. And sometimes it makes me sad because the culture on tumblr is very much pro-sharing, at least in the corner I've found. Which makes me feel like the odd one out.

[decadence-divination]

Hellenism Woes with (/o) Apollo

I've been feeling really detached from Apollo for a long time, which is a problem for someone who claims to be a devotee. I try meditating and reaching out to Him, but I only ever feel Him passing by. Especially with the rise of hAhi, my passion for art has stalled out, and I still cringe at myself when I try to make music. Digital art feels desanctified as worship to me now, tainted by the soulless touch of a machine. I don't want their greedy data vacuums anywhere near my practice.

I grew up my own worst critic, making sure I had every base covered so when I did inevitably arrive at conflict, I already had a strategy. No one could injury me more than I had already suffered at my own hand. I was perceiving danger around every corner and every friendly introduction was like sizing up an adversary. In my creativity and upon completion, my first reaction was to viscerally destroy it. Gut it's very essence. I was conditioned to immediately and permanently disdain everything I produced.

It was probably not until this year that I genuinely believed unconditional love and validation even existed. I had never felt valid in my emotions or in my pain unless I had a physical representation or a dollar sign to attach it to. I had no way of knowing if my feelings were real. I never learned or practiced how to let love in. My emotional strife was invisible and nobody took it seriously; it wasn't until I was bleeding, crying, throwing up that I was worth calling attention to. I'm 27 and a half now, and I'm still shming, and I still try to shame myself for that, but I have healed so many other overwhelming, pervasive emotional and spiritual wounds; wounds that had previously controlled my entire life and behavior.

In this way, I know He is still with me, and I know I will never be done healing. I know this is probably His way of guiding me onto my next adventure.

But this loneliness is intimidating. I want to ask Him to protect me from myself.

[percabeth4life]

Me: this is gonna be a short fic really

Me: on page 24 of my outline

[scar-crossedlvrs]

HI TEA i was thinking of you so i just wanted to pop in and say hey! hope you have a nice day today

BELOVED DELPHI thank you, you made me smile 😌 I hope your day is a million times better & to ensure it is so here’s mister man using a pillow

[d3lph1n1um]

Just unearthed some fanfiction I wrote from when I was first in the creepypasta fandom (I was like 11-12) I'm gonna rewrite them and post them to ao3 so enjoy that I guess