“Then you raced up a mountain ridge
and came to Krisa beneath the snows of Parnassos,
where the shoulder of the mountain turns
towards the west, with a rock
hanging over from above
and a hollow rugged glade running underneath.
There the lord Phoebus Apollo
decided to make his lovely temple.” Hymn to Pythian Apollo, trans. by Jules Cashford
One of my personal anxiety triggers is feeling trapped. It’s why I dislike elevators, big crowds, and being stuck in traffic. It’s also why I love panoramic views, being near the sea, and traveling. By which I mean not just the visiting part but the act of going from one place to another, being in transit, which is the opposite of being stuck.
I took these photos at Delphi back in February 2020, on my last visit to Greece. It was my perfect kind of day: great company (the cousins I visited with), a fun and educational adventure (the archaeological site & museum), and to end the day, a delicious meal up in the mountains overlooking blue skies, the sea, and a green valley.
That the trip happened at all is serendipitous. The last few years, I’ve been visiting Greece in March, but I moved my trip up to February so I could stop in London to see the Troy exhibit.