Delphi - Navel of the World (22/39)

Delphi - Navel of the World (22/39)

Delphi was once regarded as the centre of the world. It was one of the most important intellectual and cultural sites of antiquity.  Anyone who could afford it sought the advice of the oracle of Delphi before making a decision in both personal and public affairs. Some of these oracle sayings have survived to the present day, over two thousand years later.

The film descibes the faith of the Ancient Greeks, whose ideas in fact often differ surprisingly from the conventional wisdom on this subject. Delphi's impenetrable myths, its mysterious fortune-telling practices and bloodthirsty animal sacrifices have left a trail which is still visible and palpable today, the trail of a legendary oracle which influenced European history for almost 1,000 years...

Delphi galt einst als Mittelpunkt der Welt. Es war eines der bedeutendsten geistigen und kulturellen Zentren der Antike. Wer es sich leisten konnte, befragte vor allen wichtigen privaten und öffentlichen Entscheidungen das Orakel von Delphi. Einige dieser Orakelsprüche sind sogar bis heute, mehr als zwei Jahrtausende später, überliefert.

Der Film schildert die Glaubensvorstellungen der alten Griechen, die oft überraschend anders waren, als man aus der Schule zu wissen glaubt. Delphis rätselhafte Mythen, geheimnisvolle Wahrsagepraktiken und blutige Tieropfer haben bis heute sichtbare und lebendige Spuren hinterlassen, Spuren eines sagenumsponnenen Orakels, das fast 1000 Jahre lang die europäische Geschichte beeinflusste...

This series portrays landscapes, metropoles, sacred sites and monuments, all of which have made a unique contribution to the cultural heritage of mankind. Each episode breathes life into civilizations which thrived in the past ten thousand years, some of them then vanishing without a trace into the shadows of history. The films describe epochs whose legacy lingers in the perceptions and ideas of our own age, and cult sites which have managed to preserve their religious and cultural power up to the present day.