While planning a European tour, I set the intention to receive a sign from the famous Oracle at the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, Greece. Apollo, the god of revelation and inspiration, not only sent me a good omen, he also made sure the moment was captured on video...without me being aware of it at the time.
In this altered state of consciousness, possibly induced by the hallucinogenic gasses from below the temple foundation, she would utter mysterious, prophetic messages from Apollo himself. It is rumored that she predicted the fall of Troy. Surely she could manage a simple little sign from Apollo for me? Yet, the temple ruins remained as silent as the grave. Maybe the Christians, who later turned a part of the site into a church, were successful in driving out the last remnants of the old religion with their Grecian crosses? They posted these crucifixes at the entrance to the sanctuary, possibly to dispel the evil and heresy of the site’s pagan past. They no longer had any need for the protection of the colossal Naxian sphinx, which used to guard this place from up high, on top of a marble column.
For millennia pilgrims have made the trek up to the Acropolis, the mythological citadel of Athens. Heeding the whispers of an ancient deity, my feet wandered off the beaten tourist track to find their way to the doorstep of the Goddess Athena.
But when my friend Sandra and I reached the Theatre of Dionysus, I did not hear the echoes of the choruses of long-forgotten Greek tragedies, or the murmur of the 17,000 spectators who came to see them lament. Instead I heard the resounding, reassuring voice of Athena only – a goddess I never paid much attention to before. She called to me, inviting me higher up to her sanctuary.
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