The navel of the world..
The site, later known as Delphi, was a sacred place inhabited by the Earth Goddess Gaia (or Gaea), the great mother of all and guarded by her child, the serpent Python.
Both the navel stone as the figurines found at this site I have used for this installation, representing the celebration of life…
‘Long before Zeus established Delphi, the site was called Pytho and was sacred to Gaia, from whom Apollo took over the omphalos and its symbolic meaning. Historians speculate that Gaia, the Greek personification of the Earth, was the goddess of a former earth religion, with Apollo appearing as a second-generation god.
The shrine was guarded by a serpent-dragon named Python, who was also thought to be the master of the oracle. According to the legend, Apollo slayed the serpent and the site became his chosen land. In some accounts, the omphalos also referred to the tomb of Python, as it marked the exact spot where the sun god slayed the serpent.’
The site at Delphi contains a spring as well as the volcanic fumes arising from the earth.
XerXa 23
