Apolloselinaios Brizai 2009

NATIONAL & KAPODISTRIAN UNIVERSITY OF ATHENS
SCHOOL OF SCIENCES
FACULTY OF GEOLOGY & GEOENVIRONMENT
DEPT. OF DYNAMIC – TECTONIC – APPLIED GEOLOGY
THE ORACLE OF APOLLO IN NORTH

EVIA (GREECE)
IN THE CONTEXT OF REGIONAL
GEODYNAMICS
BIRZAI, 14 March 2009

I. MARIOLAKOS, I. FOUNTOULIS, I. BANTEKAS, N. PALYVOS & E. NICOLOPOULOS
“THE ORACLE OF APOLLO IN NORTH EVIA (GREECE) IN THE CONTEXT OF REGIONAL GEODYNAMICS”
• We consider that the cultural evolution of a people depends directly on

the physical-geological potential of their living region and even more
so, during prehistoric periods, when mankind was totally dependent on
its natural environment (mainly on the physical-geological regime of its
habitat).
• Consequently, we believe that the economical, social & cultural

evolution, even the religion and the political system of a people, are
directly or indirectly connected to their physical-geological environment
physical-geological evolution of their broader region.
• The Greek civilization, should be connected to the geo-environmental

evolution of the geographical units of Aegean and Periaegean areas.
2
Olympus
Evia Isle
Delphi
Athens • Evoikos Gulf is a narrow strip of sea separating the

island of Evia from the mainland of central Greece.
Sparta Delos• The prehistory of the broader area of North Evoikos

Gulf is a typical example of that relationship between
the physical-geological potential and its
paleogeographical evolution during the last 20.000
years, the period which is known as prehistoric
and/or the mythological era.
3
• Thus, in the greater North Evoikos Gulf region the heroe

Hercules and god Apollo have been activated.
• Hercules has been deified on the mount Oeta that stands to
its west. On those high standing crests Deucalion and
Pyrrha walked after the historical flood.
• Deucalion flood is the corresponding of the Noah’s flood in

the Greek Mythology. Those floods should have happened,
more or less, during the climatic optimum of the Holocene.
• Mount Othrys was the base of the Titans when they were
attacking the Olympian Gods during their well known
Titanomachia, of which Zeus came off triumphant. This is
also where the Expedition of Argonauts in search of the
Golden Fleece started.
4
• The entire above-mentioned mythological tales are

connected to the geotectonical status of that particular
area.
• The greater Greek region from the geotectonic point of view

comprises the so-called Hellenic Arc.
• Let’s see which the geodynamic features of that area are.
5
The main purpose for our work is:
i. To present the recent

archaeological findings (E.
Nicolopoulos)
i. To underline the relationship

between the Oracle and the
geodynamic regime of the area,
and
ii. To prove that the oracles were
built not everywhere, but on
areas with special geodynamic
characteristics
6
Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Location map of the

Fig. 2
greater study area
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Oracle of
Apollo
Selinaios
7
Hellenic Arc
arch shaped arrangement of mountains
arch shaped arrangement of islands= island
arc
arch shaped arrangement of volcanoes =
volcanic arc
the southernmost part of the

Hellenic subduction zone 8
General characteristics of
the Hellenic Arc:
Complex geotectonic
structure and evolution,
Very active present day
geodynamic regime
9
The Red Sea rift causes the northward displacement of the Arabian
plate that collides the Eurasian plate 15 million years ago. The
consequent motion of the Anatolian plate to the east (along the north
anatolia fault zone “nafz”) controls the present day geodynamic
regime of the Aegean and forms the shape of the Hellenic arc.
(=Represents the active subduction zone of the African plate
underneath the Eurasian
Eurasian Eurasian
Plate Plate
Anatolian
Plate
Arabian Plate
The westward movement (tectonic escape) of the Anatolian Plate

along the North Anatolian Fault Zone (NAFZ) and its impact to the
contemporary geodynamic regime of the Aegean.
GEODYNAMICS”
The great active fault zones that traverse the study area
where the majority of the Oracles are located 12
13
The North Evoikos
Gulf constitutes part
of the volcanic arc
Lichades islands are

of volcanic origin
3D Terrain Model of
North Evia
Lichas cape
Lichas cape & Lichas mountain

are named after Lichas – a
person connected to Hercules.
14
Thermal springs:
1 Yialtra
•2 •3 2 Aedipsos
•1
3 Helia
• Numerous of thermal springs and among them Thermopylae (Thermal/Hot

Gates) where the glorious battle between Persians and Greeks took place (480
B.C.)
• Numerous active faults (seismic faults)
• Numerous and great earthquakes etc.
• Combination of seismogenic /active faults – earthquakes and seismic activity 15
Oracles
• Many Oracles were established in the

wider area
• Among them, the most famous Oracle
was that of Delphi
•
• The Oracle in Northern Evia was

dedicated to Apollo Selinaios
• It is reported by the geographer Strabo
• The precise location of the Oracle has
been remained unknown for centuries
Apollo's route to Delphi (mainland)
Location of the most important oracles
16
Active faults
Aedipsos
Lichades Islands
17
Strabo (Ist century B.C.), in his 10th book (c 445), in his

description of the island of Eubea (Evia), mentions an
oracle which never failed to foretell the future:
Strabo
“…ΚΑΙ ΤΗΝ ΙΣΤΙΑΙΑΝ ΠΡΟΣΚΤΙΣΑΣΘΑΙ ΚΑΙ ΤΗΝ
ΠΕΡΙΑΔΑ ΚΑΙ ΚΗΡΙΝΘΟΝ ΚΑΙ ΑΙΔΗΨΟΝ ΚΑΙ ΟΡΟΒΙΑΣ,
ΕΝ Ω ΜΑΝΤΕΙΟΝ ΗΝ ΑΨΕΥΔΕΣΤΑΤΟΝ. ΗΝ ΔΕ ΜΑΝΤΕΙΟΝ
ΚΑΙ ΤΟΥ ΣΕΛΙΝΟΥΝΤΙΟΥ ΑΠΟΛΛΩΝΟΣ”
“…have added Perias, Cerinthus, Aedepsos, and Orobia; in

this place there was an oracle most averse to falsehood (it
was an oracle of Apollo Selinuntios)…”
18
Various authors thought that the oracle should not be where Strabo
put it but further North at a place where the Ayios Georgios of Helia
Monastery (XVI century) was erected
In 2001, at the vicinities of the village of Rovies (ancient Orobiai)

there were found accidentally, two inscriptions next to a partly
preserved Hellenistic wall, made of large blocks and badly damaged
by natural causes.
(E. Nicolopoulos)
19
The first inscription mentions the dedication

of a slave to the temple of Apollo Selinaios (1st
half of 1st cent. B.C)
The second inscription, partly preserved

mentions clearly the township [demos] of
Istiaia, and a priestess. (mid 4th cent. BC)
20
. . Ω Σ Α Ι Ο Λ Ε Ο…Ο Υ Η.
..ΜΕΝΟΥ. . ΟΛΕΥΣΑΡΑ
3.. ΑΤΟΥΑΝΕΘΗΚΕΝΑΦΡ
. . . . . . . . Ε Λ Ε Υ Θ Ε Ρ Α Ν Τ Ω[Ι]
Α Π Ο Λ Λ Ω Ν Ι Τ Ω Σ Ε ΛΙ Ν Α Ι Ω Ι
6 ΙΕΡΑΝΛΕΙΤΟΥΡΓΟΥΣΑΝ
ΤΩΘΕΩΑΡΧΟΝΤΩΝΠΑ
[Ρ] Η Ν Ξ Ε Ν Ω Ν Α Ρ Ι Σ Τ Ο Κ Λ Ε [Ο]
9 Υ Σ Α Σ Τ Υ Ν Ο Μ Ω Ν Π Α Ρ [Η Ν]
Α Ν Τ Ι Κ Ρ Α Τ Η Σ Χ Α Ρ Η Τ [Ο Σ]
Μ Α Ρ Τ Υ Ρ Ε Σ Θ Ε Ο Ι Κ Α Ι Θ Υ [Τ Α Ι]
21
… Σ Ι Σ Τ Ι Α[Ι Α]……
…. … Ι Ω Ι : Ε Ι……
3 …. … M O Y Λ Υ Σ……
… … [Δ]Η Μ Ο Υ : Δ…….
… … Υ Τ Ι Μ Ο Κ Λ Ε [Ο Υ
Σ]…
6 ……. Ν Ο Υ : Ξ Ε Ν… …
… ….Ι Ε Ρ Ε Ι [Α]…….
……..……Π………..
22
• The oracle was active, according to the datings

of the two inscriptions and surface pottery, at
least during the time of two centuries and a
half. We do not know if this use was
uninterrupted or not.
• Further field investigation has to be done to
precise the duration of the oracle.
• According to the inscriptions and the findspot, in
relation to the architectural remains it is proved
that the “lost” oracle was indeed where Strabo
said it was located.
23
• Both “Selinountios” and “Selinaios”

etymologically derive from the same
word “selinon” (celery),
• “Selinous”- “Selinos”- “Seleinos”

etc. was the name of local river deities
in Asia Minor and Peloponnese (near
Helike) symbolized with the leaves of
celery
To the celery the ancient and early

medieval Greeks attributed various
properties and symbolisms.
24
Medical properties
(Hippocrates, Galenos, Dioscoridhes)
1. Psychotomimetic properties
2. Celery crowns were offered to the winners of the
Nemean games commemorating the death of the
young hero Ofeltes who was killed by a dragon
who was protecting a spring nearby
3. Thus, celery was related to mourning
4. So, traditionally, celery was thought to be an omen
in ancient times (Plutarch, Diodoros of Sicily)
5. All the above indicate relations to chthonian
(underworld) deities.
25
Gaia
Poseidon Apollo
The Oracles initially were dedicated almost everywhere to (Earth) or

Poseidon
Apollo, God of newer generation replaces Poseidon, who was the God
of Earthquakes and Sea, was perhaps representing the chthonic
(/underworld) powers when the choice of location was made.
In the end, the Oracle of Selinaios Apollo was most probably
destroyed by an earthquake. 26
• Apollo
2nd century AD Roman statue of Apollo depicting

the god's attributes - the lyre and the snake
Python.
• God of music, poetry and oracles
• Parents:
Zeus and Leto
• Siblings:
Artemis
• Children:
Asclepius, Troilus, Aristaeus
27
In Greek and Roman mythology, Apollo (in Greek: Ἀπόλλων—Apóllōn or Ἀπέλλων—Apellōn),
is one of the most important and many-sided of the Olympian deities.
Apollo has been variously recognized as a god of light and the sun; truth and prophecy;
archery; medicine and healing; music, poetry, and the arts; and more.
Apollo is known in Greek-influenced Etruscan mythology as Apulu.

Apollo was worshipped in both ancient Greek and Roman religion, as well as in the modern
Hellenic neopaganism.
As the patron of Delphi (Pythian Apollo), Apollo was an oracular god — the prophetic deity
of the Delphic Oracle.
Medicine and healing were associated with Apollo, whether through the god himself or
mediated through his son Asclepius.
As the leader of the Muses (Apollon Musagetes) and director of their choir, Apollo functioned
as the patron god of music and poetry. Hermes created the lyre for him, and the instrument
became a common attribute of Apollo. Hymns sung to Apollo were called paeans.
In Hellenistic times, especially during the third century BCE, as Apollo Helios he became
identified among Greeks with Helios, god of the sun, and his sister Artemis similarly equated
with Selene, goddess of the moon.
28
Oracular shrines
• Apollo had a famous oracle in Delphi, and other notable ones in Clarus and Branchidae. His oracular shrine in Abae in
Phocis, where he bore the toponymic epithet Abaeus (Ἀπόλλων Ἀβαῖος, Apollon Abaios) was important enough to be
consulted by Croesus, (Herodotus, 1.46). His oracular shrines include:
• In Didyma, an oracle on the coast of Anatolia, south west of Lybian (Luwian) Sardis, in which priests from the lineage of the
Branchidae received inspiration by drinking from a healing spring located in the temple.
• In Hierapolis Bambyce, Syria (modern Manbij), according to the treatise De Dea Syria, the sanctuary of the Syrian Goddess
contained a robed and bearded image of Apollo. Divination was based on spontaneous movements of this image.
• In Delos, there was an oracle to the Delian Apollo, during summer. The Hieron (Sanctuary) of Apollo adjacent to the Sacred
Lake, was the place where the god was said to have been born.
• In Corinth, the Oracle of Corinth came from the town of Tenea, from prisoners supposedly taken in the Trojan War
• In Bassae in the Peloponnese
• In Abae in Phocis
• In Delphi, the Pythia became filled with the pneuma of Apollo, said to come from a spring inside the Adyton.
• At Patara, in Lycia, there was a seasonal winter oracle of Apollo, said to have been the place where the god went from Delos.
As at Delphi the oracle at Patara was a woman.
• At Clarus, on the west coast of Asia Minor; as at Delphi a holy spring which gave off a pneuma, from which the priests drank.
• In Segesta in Sicily
Oracles were also given by sons of Apollo

• In Oropus, north of Athens, the oracle Amphiaraus, was said to be the son of Apollo; Oropus also had a sacred spring.
• in Labadea, 20 miles (32 km) east of Delphi, Trophonius, another son of Apollo, killed his brother and fled to the cave where
he was also afterwards consulted as an oracle.
29
286

408
361 626
559 N
545
Aedipsos T781E L E
4 ( 253 T H R I 764
776 ON 569
10
2 359 769 588

Ayios Georgios
Ayios Georgios of
of Helia
Helia
26
2 242 ( 918
747 969 808
26 2 Baths of 460
26 1
43
23 Aedipsos 575 567
(
820 615
51 38 5 609 Helia 816
60
1 5 662 542 (
5
63 50 15 81 86
39 512
20 101
55 76 183 81 37
98
205
255
46
44
1
22 239
293
18
293 1
46
{
{
340 22 117
38
68 1 328
276 315 20 18 293 366 229
695
160
240
13 146
98
293
5
293 Oracle
Oracle of
of
4
4 440
390 40
438
237
256
293 366
366
Apollo
Apollo Selinaios
Selinaios 428 366
220
49
91
4
140 366 218

255 9
411 366 81
341
439
37
4 227
384 318
366 5 4
134
N. EV 425
412 384 130
18
Roviai
OIKO 412 366 329
240 145
S GUL 57
16
(
F 0 1 2 366 366 365

317
128
68
5
22 7
Kilometers 366
412 75
412
412 Cape
Cape Hercules
Hercules 4
26
311 40
1
Detail Topographic map with the active faults and the location of Oracle 30
The Oracle of Apollo Selinaios
• It stands on a great fault

scarp.
• Many thermal springs
exist nearby.
e.g Aedipsos
thermal springs
(~12 Km WNW, of the
Oracle’s location)
31
Triassic crystalline
limestones
The Oracle
The
Waterfall of Apollo
Selinaios
Metamorphosed
Igneous rocks
32
Remnants of the giant blocks

of the Oracle’s walls
Fragments
of pottery
adjacent
the Oracle’s
walls
33
• The crossing of active faults forms
a small cave (Oracle’s Adyton?)
• Travertine deposits on active fault
plane: Evidence of former
(thermal) springs.
34
DELPHI
TEMPLE
OF
APOLLO
35
Delphi
marginal
fault
F1
F1
Delphi
marginal
fault
F2
36
37
Geodynamic characteristics of the Oracles:
i. They are located in areas traversed and/or crossed

by great active faults or fault zones.
ii. From time to time various natural gasses emit from

the ground
iii. It is throughout possible that the same happened in

the Oracle of Apollo in Northern Evia
38
THE ORACLE OF APOLLO IN NORTH EVIA
(GREECE)
IN THE CONTEXT OF REGIONAL GEODYNAMICS
THANK YOU FOR YOUR

ATTENTION…
39

Apolloselinaios Brizai 2009

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NATIONAL & KAPODISTRIAN UNIVERSITY OF ATHENS

THE ORACLE OF APOLLO IN NORTH

BIRZAI, 14 March 2009

• We consider that the cultural evolution of a people depends directly on

• Consequently, we believe that the economical, social & cultural

• The Greek civilization, should be connected to the geo-environmental

Athens • Evoikos Gulf is a narrow strip of sea separating the

Sparta Delos• The prehistory of the broader area of North Evoikos

• Thus, in the greater North Evoikos Gulf region the heroe

• Deucalion flood is the corresponding of the Noah’s flood in

• The entire above-mentioned mythological tales are

• The greater Greek region from the geotectonic point of view

• Let’s see which the geodynamic features of that area are.

The main purpose for our work is:

i. To present the recent

i. To underline the relationship

Location map of the

the southernmost part of the

The westward movement (tectonic escape) of the Anatolian Plate

Lichades islands are

Lichas cape & Lichas mountain

• Numerous of thermal springs and among them Thermopylae (Thermal/Hot

• Many Oracles were established in the

• The Oracle in Northern Evia was

Strabo (Ist century B.C.), in his 10th book (c 445), in his

“…have added Perias, Cerinthus, Aedepsos, and Orobia; in

In 2001, at the vicinities of the village of Rovies (ancient Orobiai)

The first inscription mentions the dedication

The second inscription, partly preserved

• The oracle was active, according to the datings

• Both “Selinountios” and “Selinaios”

• “Selinous”- “Selinos”- “Seleinos”

To the celery the ancient and early

The Oracles initially were dedicated almost everywhere to (Earth) or

2nd century AD Roman statue of Apollo depicting

Apollo is known in Greek-influenced Etruscan mythology as Apulu.

Oracles were also given by sons of Apollo

2 359 769 588

140 366 218

F 0 1 2 366 366 365

The Oracle of Apollo Selinaios

• It stands on a great fault

Remnants of the giant blocks

Geodynamic characteristics of the Oracles:

i. They are located in areas traversed and/or crossed

ii. From time to time various natural gasses emit from

iii. It is throughout possible that the same happened in

THANK YOU FOR YOUR

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