Delphi in the Ottoman period

The Ottomans finalized their domination over Phocis and Delphi in ca. 1410. Delphi itself remained almost uninhabited for centuries. It seems that one of the first buildings of the early modern era was the monastery of the Dormition of Mary or of Panagia (the Mother of God) built above the ancient gymnasium. It must have been towards the end of the 15th or in the 16th century that a settlement started forming there, which eventually ended up forming the village of Kastri.

The first Westerner to have described the archaeological remains in Delphi and offered a rare view of the area for a period relatively unknown was Ciriaco de' Pizzicolli otherwise known as Cyriacus of Ancona. He was a remarkable personality, a genuine representative of Renaissance. He was originally a merchant, yet when he came across antiquities during his travels he became so impressed that he decided to learn ancient Greek and Latin at the age of 30, and then went on to a series of travels aiming at archaeological investigation and documentation, while undertaking various diplomatic missions, particularly to the Ottoman court. Cyriacus visited Delphi in March 1436 and remained there for six days. He recorded all the visible archaeological remains based on Pausanias for identification. He described the stadium and the theatre at that date as well as some free standing pieces of sculpture. He also recorded several inscriptions, most of which are now lost. His identifications however were not always correct: for example he described a round building he saw as the temple of Apollo while this was simply the base of the Argives' ex-voto.

Information for the following two centuries of Ottoman rule is relatively sparse and confused. Delphi was renamed Kastri and was subjected to the kaza (district) of Salona (Amphissa). We also know that the destructive earthquake of 1580 caused severe damage to the antiquities.

Over the centuries the travelers from European countries increased and thus information on Delphi became more abundant. One of the roads which connected eastern and western Central Greece continued to pass from Delphi and thus many travelers coming from the West disembarked at Itea or Naupaktos and then took the long up the mountains passing from Delphi, usually on horseback.

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