Dancers of Delphi

The Dancers of Delphi, also known as the Acanthus Column, are three figures in high relief on top of an acanthus column found near the sanctuary of Pythian Apollo at Delphi. They are on display in the Delphi Archaeological Museum and were the inspiration for the first of Claude Debussy's Préludes.

The fragments were discovered between May and July 1894 on the terraces to the east and northeast of the Temple of Apollo. The excavators rapidly reconstituted a column of around 13 metres, made up of five drums and a capital decorated with acanthus leaves and surmounted by an extension of the stem with three female figures standing 1.95 metres high, wearing chitoniskoi (short tunics) and carrying kalathoi. Their bare feet are suspended in the air and their arms are raised, making them look like dancers, which is how the column gets its name.

The fastenings at the top of the capital and the concave shape of the upper surface of the column drum at the level of the dancers' heads suggests that the whole ensemble supported a colossal tripod (probably made of bronze) with its feet standing on top of the column and framing the heads of each of the dancers. It has recently been supported with good evidence that the omphalos, on display also in the museum, belonged to this complex, crowning the tripod.

The fragments were discovered in the same location as the remains of the frontage of the archaic temple of Apollo and it was therefore assumed that they belonged to the same period - that is to say, before the earthquake of 373 BC. This high dating does not seem to fit the style of the statues which has more in common with the period 335-325 BC.

In 1963, the publication of more precise details of the different locations in which the fragments were discovered showed that they did not belong with the remains of the archaic temple. However, other elements of the structure to which the fragments originally belonged were identified at the same location:

The base bore the inscription ΠΑΝ, sign of the merchant Pankrates of Argos, whose involvement in the business of the naopes (commissioners) of Delphi is attested in the period 346-345 BC. Furthermore, the base was found next to the Monument of Daochos, an ex-voto which is precisely dated between 336/335 BC and 333/332 BC, and the contemporaneous temenos of Neoptolemos. The two inscribed limestone blocks have been interpreted as the first and third layers of a three level pedestal (the location of the second layer remains unknown) which would have rested on the poros foundation. The white block has traces of a dedication stating that the Athenian people were the dedicators of the monument; the shapes of the letters and other factors suggest a late Classical or even an early Hellenistic date.

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